Suspect in wife's killing in Drexel Hill is dead; abducted kids safe

DREXEL HILL, Pa. (WPVI) -- Two children taken from a Drexel Hill home after their mother was killed were found safe in New York City early Thursday.

The children's father, a suspect in the killing, was later found dead in a vehicle sought by police, authorities said.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood tells Action News the suspect, 31-year-old Keith Belajonas, dropped the boys at a CVS store on Staten Island several hours after he allegedly stabbed and shot his wife to death in Delaware County.

The incident began before 2:30 a.m. Thursday at a home in the 200 block of Abbey Terrace in Drexel Hill, Pa.

Police say 28-year-old Christina Corrigan Belajonas was stabbed multiple times and shot in the head in a second floor apartment. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities began looking for the woman's husband, Keith Belajonas, who witnesses say fled with the couple's two sons.

One of the occupants of the building told police he heard a struggle and then saw Belajonas come down the stairs with the boys, ages 4 and 5.

The witness told police he heard one of the children ask, "Is Mommy dead?"

He said Belajonas then loaded the boys into a gray Nissan Pathfinder and took off.

Pennsylvania State Police issued an Amber Alert a short time later. State police in New Jersey, New York and Delaware were also notified.

However, police knew early on that Belajonas had connections to Staten Island, New York and several hours later came word that the suspect had indeed traveled to New York.

New York City Police say Belajonas arrived at 5:30 a.m. at the CVS store on Victory Boulevard in Staten Island.

They said the suspect's brother works there, though it was not clear if the brother was there at the time.

Belajonas was armed with a handgun and stole beer and cigarettes, police said, but didn't point the weapon at anyone.

He dropped off the two boys and police were called.

They appeared to be unharmed, but were taken to a hospital to be checked, New York City police Lt. Thomas Antonetti said.

"Apparently the older of the two is telling everybody about 'Daddy killed Mommy' type thing. So obviously that's very traumatic for them," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

At 7:00 a.m., a 911 caller reported seeing a vehicle matching the description of Belajonas' Pathfinder posted during the Amber Alert.

Police arrived at Bartlett and Katan Streets in Staten Island and found Belajonas inside, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Chitwood said authorities were investigating whether Keith Belajonas was responsible for a Facebook posting on his page about a dispute with his wife.

"Had an argument with her. She was cheating on me. I won," the Facebook posting said, according to Chitwood.

Neighbors, who tried to process the horrific violence, say there had been no sign of domestic troubles with the couple in the past.

"Nothing like this, they never did anything that appeared to be violent or anything like that. He seemed very mild-mannered and so did she," said Joe Ryan, neighbor.

Yet some neighbors say Christina had recently removed her married name from her social media page and started using only her maiden name before the incident occurred.

"Lost his mind, got a gun, shot her and I heard he did it in front of the kids too. That's also pretty crazy, those kids are scarred for life," said Alex McWilliams, neighbor.

"Our hearts go out to the family and the children, like where do they go next?" said Craig Peterson, neighbor.

As for the two young children, they were taken to a NYPD's 120th precinct for questioning and later turned over into the custody of relatives.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.