New documents reveal compelling case against Rachael DelTondo murder suspect, but charges are unlikely

It's been nearly eight years since Rachael DelTondo was shot and killed in the driveway of her parents' home in Aliquippa, Beaver County. 

The case has drawn national attention and sparked intrigue as it remains unsolved. A "prime suspect" has been named, but there have still been no arrests. Now, dozens of unsealed warrants reveal a compelling case against the suspect, Sheldon Jeter Jr., but prosecutors continue to believe the evidence falls short. 

Who is Rachael DelTondo? 

DelTondo was found shot to death in May 2018 after coming home from getting ice cream with friends. She was shot at the end of her driveway after getting out of the car on Mother's Day, authorities said.

The 33-year-old was a teacher at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School and a beloved member of the community. 

Rachael DelTondo "prime suspect"

Jeter, the then-20-year-old spurned boyfriend who lied to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the shooting, has been identified as the prime suspect for years.

But while the now unsealed warrants reviewed by KDKA make a strong circumstantial case against him, there was no eyewitness and no murder weapon recovered. Jeter's former attorney told KDKA there's never been enough evidence to arrest him and never will be.

"No gun, no eyewitness, no DNA, no video," Michael Santicola, Jeter's former attorney, said. "You need some of that to point the finger at the person they think committed this crime."

Still, the warrants paint a compelling picture of Jeter as an obsessive and jealous stalker. They reveal he wrote a love letter to DelTondo, kept a running written record of wherever she went and whomever she was with, and once showed up outside her house at 2 a.m., yelling she was not returning his calls.

Documents detail night of shooting  

On the night of the murder, text messages show DelTondo, a friend and Sheldon's brother went to Hank's Frozen Custard in New Brighton, and Jeter texting disappointment he had not been invited.

"is yal there already...I got left huh," the message said. 

A little while later, at 10:30 p.m., Jeter texted his brother stating, "Hanks closed." The message was sent 15 minutes before DelTondo was shot and killed. 

The warrants cite geolocation data from Jeter's phone showing he was "moving towards and in the area of DelTondo's residence" when the shooting occurred. But Jeter told investigators he was home at that time.

According to the warrants, Jeter told investigators he drove around with friends and returned to his residence at 10 p.m. and then stayed in for the rest of the night, playing the video game Fortnite and going to bed.

But investigators say surveillance cameras found him arriving at his mother's residence at 11:55 p.m. on the night of the shooting, leaving a half hour later in a new set of clothes.

The warrants say earlier in the evening, Jeter was wearing a grey shirt, but left his mother's place in another pair of pants and a blue or black jacket, which he turned over to police in the morning. The warrant states this is "not the clothing that Sheldon Jeter Jr. was wearing when he arrived at his mother's residence," leading investigators to believe he destroyed the clothes he was wearing at the time of the murder.

Case against Sheldon Jeter

Despite the evidence, Jeter's family maintains his innocence, saying he did not kill Rachael DelTondo.

In one of his last acts as Beaver County district attorney in 2023, David Lozier, who named Jeter as the prime and only suspect, said the evidence was not enough to make an arrest and appealed to the public for more information.

"I can't put him in the driveway beyond a reasonable doubt. Somebody out there knows something. Somebody knows something to affirm what happened," he told KDKA in 2023. 

The current district attorney, Nate Bible, wouldn't return phone calls, but he has told several people, including the DelTondos, that he doesn't have enough evidence to charge anyone in this murder, and the case has gone cold.

"It's my understanding that District Attorney Bible is not going to pursue charges at this time, or maybe anytime, against Sheldon," Santicola said. 

DelTondo's parents, Joe and Lisa DelTondo, said they now don't expect charges to be filed but no longer wish to talk with reporters. They said they are angry at the media for injuring Rachael's reputation, with Lisa DelTondo telling KDKA on the phone, "My daughter is dead. Nothing is going to change that. Leave her alone to rest in peace."

Jeter, meanwhile, is in prison after he was convicted in 2021 of killing Tyric Pugh, though his attorneys in that case have asked for a new trial. If that appeal is not successful, he will remain behind bars for a long time, but not for the killing of Rachael DelTondo.