Two men have been charged with murder after they allegedly bound, gagged, and assaulted a man they met on a dating app.
Law enforcement identified the victim as 63-year-old George N. Levin, who was discovered tied up in his home in Chicago’s Norwood Park neighborhood on January 26. The suspects, Geiderwuin Bello Morales, 21, and Jefferson Ubilla-Delgado, 29, each face charges of murder and robbery against a person aged over 60.
During a court session, prosecutors revealed that Levin had met the two men on the dating app Grindr and invited them to his apartment for a sexual encounter. Levin’s sister later found him in a disturbing state: taped with duct tape, gagged with a sock, and tied up with an extension cord in the basement of his home. She became concerned after hearing a loud noise and went to check on him around 8 p.m.
Upon arriving, she saw Bello Morales leaving her brother’s bedroom. When she asked him about Levin, he suggested that he would have her brother call her. After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Levin, she broke into his apartment around 10 p.m. and discovered him unresponsive.
Levin’s sister quickly removed the tape from his mouth and tried to perform CPR until help arrived. Unfortunately, Levin was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, and an autopsy revealed he had died from multiple injuries related to the attack.
Surveillance footage captured the two suspects attempting to use Levin’s phone and cards at a vape shop and a gas station shortly after the incident, allegedly spending over $4,000 of his money. Levin’s sister was able to identify both men from the footage, leading to their arrests.
Bello Morales is originally from Ecuador, having moved to the U.S. a year ago, while Ubilla-Delgado arrived from Venezuela about a year and a half ago. In court, defense lawyers claimed there was no conclusive evidence of what transpired in Levin’s apartment, arguing the men received Levin’s phone as payment for sex.
Both men were denied release prior to trial and are expected to appear in court again soon. During the hearing, Judge William Fahy remarked on the severe nature of the crime, stating it was “an understatement” to call it a violent crime.
