Man pleads guilty to killing ex-wife; says he thought they were TV show characters

Nick Perez | The News Journal

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A 60-year-old Claymont man has pleaded guilty to killing his ex-wife during a drug-induced hallucination.

In Nov. 2018, Joseph Slider and Mary Ellen Slider, 59, of Folsom, Pennsylvania, were at his Claymont apartment taking PCP (phencyclidine).

Joseph began to have hallucinations and believed the television program they were watching was real, and Mary was a character on the program who killed his character’s mother, according to court documents. He took his .22-caliber revolver and shot her multiple times, including twice in the head, according to the Delaware Department of Justice.

BACKGROUND

Claymont homicide suspect arrested day of shooting

Drug hallucinations inspired Claymont killing, says suspect in court records

Joseph then called 911 to report the shooting, court documents said. He was sitting inside a vehicle when police arrived.

Joseph was charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony on Thursday.

Joseph will be sentenced in 2020.

He is in custody at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution near Wilmington.

TRIALS

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Have a court or data story idea? Contact Nick Perez at (302) 324-2856, nperez@gannett.com or Twitter @nickdnperez.