Man Admits Killing Ex-Wife, Says It Was During Drug-Fueled Hallucination That Made Him Think TV Show Was Real
Joseph Slider pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his ex-wife because he thought they were characters in a TV show and that she’d killed his mother.
A Delaware man pleaded guilty last week to killing his ex-wife during a drug-fueled hallucination that caused him to believe that they were characters in a television show that they were watching.
Joseph Slider, 60, pleaded guilty on Thursday to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony on Thursday, the Delaware News Journal reports.
Slider, a Claymont resident, shot and killed his ex-wife, 59-year-old Mary Ellen Slider, in November 2018, the Delaware Department of Justice said Friday. Mary Ellen Slider, a Folsom resident, was spending time with Slider at his apartment on the day of her death; the two were using PCP, or phencyclidine, together, and Joseph Slider began hallucinating that the TV show that they were watching together was actually real, according to Friday’s release. Slider, believing that his ex-wife was a TV character who’d killed his character’s mother, used a .22 caliber revolver to shoot his former partner numerous times and then called the authorities to report the shooting. The shots, which included two that struck Mary Ellen Slider in the head, proved fatal, the department said.
Responding authorities found Slider sitting in a car upon their arrival, according to the Delaware News Journal.
Authorities have not stated what exactly the pair was watching before the murder occurred, but court documents say that Slider told police that he was watching a show about a biker gang and that he believed that the bikers were going to hurt him, the outlet previously reported. Those documents also reportedly state that Slider admitted to the killing to a neighbor prior to calling the authorities.
Before pleading guilty to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, Slider was initially charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, the outlet reports. He is reportedly currently in custody at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution near Wilmington.
Although his sentencing date has not yet been set, it is scheduled to take place at some point in 2020, the release states.