Woman Finds Brother Dead in Basement of His Home After He Was Beaten and Gagged by 2 Men He Met on Dating App, Prosecutors Say

Two men are facing murder charges after prosecutors say they bound, gagged and assaulted a man they met on a dating app.

According to reports from CBS News Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times and WGN-TV, 63-year-old George N. Levin was found tied up in his home in the Norwood Park neighborhood of Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26.

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) identified the two men arrested and charged in connection with his murder as Geiderwuin Bello Morales, 21, and Jefferson Ubilla-Delgado, 29. Both men face one felony count of murder and one felony count of robbery against a victim over 60 years old, per a CPD press release.

Prosecutors said during the two men’s court appearance on Saturday, Feb. 1, that Levin had met Bello Morales and Ubilla-Delgado through the dating app Grindr and the two men had gone to his apartment for sex on Sunday night, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Levin’s sister later found him taped up with duct tape, gagged with a sock stuffed in his mouth and tied up with an extension cord in the basement of his home, located on the 7600 block of West Talcott Avenue, per CBS News Chicago. The siblings lived in two separate units in the same building. Levin’s sister claims she heard a loud bang come from his unit and decided to go investigate at around 8 p.m. local time, per the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to CBS News Chicago, Levin’s sister saw Bello Morales leaving her brother’s bedroom. When she asked him where her brother was, Bello Morales allegedly responded, “Yes, I am with your brother. I will have him call you,” per a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

At around 8:30 p.m., Levin’s sister tried to call and text Levin, but his responses seemed as though he was “brushing her off,” prosecutors said, per the Chicago Sun-Times. About two hours later, she went to check on her brother again and found that his door was locked. She broke into the apartment and found Levin “cold to the touch,” the outlet reported. Police also said that Levin’s phone and wallet were missing.

Levin’s sister pulled the duct tape off her brother’s mouth and performed CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive, prosecutors said in court, per CBS News Chicago.

The outlet reported that Levin was taken to Ascension Resurrection hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy performed by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined he died of multiple injuries from the assault, CBS News Chicago added.

Surveillance video taken later on Sunday night, Jan. 26, showed Bello Morales and Ubilla-Delgado at a vape shop and a gas station, where they allegedly tried to use Levin’s cards and phone to make purchases and withdraw money from his bank account, prosecutors said, per the Chicago Sun-Times. According to WGN-TV, the suspects allegedly spent more than $4,000 on Amazon purchases through Levin’s account.

Prosecutors said on Saturday, Feb. 1, that Levin’s sister identified the two men in a lineup as well as in the surveillance video, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Ubilla-Delgado was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 29, and allegedly told police that Bello Morales had beaten Levin and took his phone and cards, per the outlet.

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Bello Morales is originally from Ecuador and moved to the U.S. one year ago, per the Chicago Sun-Times, and Ubilla-Delgado came to the U.S. from Venezuela about a year and a half ago.

In court, defense attorneys argued that although the police obtained surveillance videos of the two men with Levin’s belongings, there was no evidence that could show exactly what happened in the 63-year-old’s apartment, per WGN-TV. Attorneys for the men also argued that they were given Levin’s phone as a part of a payment for sex.

Judge William Fahy denied pretrial release for both men, the outlets reported, and they are scheduled to appear in court again next week.

“I can’t overlook the horrifying nature of this crime,” Fahy said during their court appearance, per the Chicago Sun-Times. “To call this a violent crime is an understatement.”