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Delco boys who saw father kill mother with relatives

The 4- and 5-year-old boys who witnessed their father killing their mother in Drexel Hill before he fled to New York and killed himself have returned safely to Delaware County to stay with their grandfather, police said Friday.

The 4- and 5-year-old boys who witnessed their father killing their mother in Drexel Hill before he fled to New York and killed himself have returned safely to Delaware County to stay with their grandfather, police said Friday.

Tom Corrigan, who lives in Folcroft with his father, obtained a court order to have custody of the boys, ages 4 and 5, said Michael Chitwood, the Upper Darby Township police superintendent. Corrigan retrieved the boys from Staten Island, N.Y., where their father had taken them.

Meanwhile, police released further details about the marital issues that evidently led to the horrific incident.

In the presence of the boys, Keith Belajonas, 32, fatally shot and stabbed Christina Belajonas, 28, early Thursday in what police called a jealous rage. He then fled to Staten Island with the couple's sons, stole beer, cigarettes, and cash from a CVS store where his brother worked, and left the boys there unharmed.

In response to an Amber Alert issued with a description of Belajonas' car, Chitwood said New York City police officers attempted to stop the vehicle and followed it into a cul-de-sac. But Belajonas evidently killed himself before officers reached the car.

"They were getting ready to do a felony stop on him when they heard a pop," Chitwood said.

Police found several weapons in Belajonas' gray Pathfinder, including two .40-caliber semiautomatic handguns, a shotgun, a hatchet, and knives, Chitwood said.

"This guy was ready for a war," he said.

On Friday, police provided more details about the couple's marital discord.

Keith and Christina Belajonas, married since 2011, had decided to separate, but were still living together, Chitwood said. The father was babysitting the boys Wednesday evening while the mother was out. One of the sons found condoms in his mother's purse and took them to his father, who then discovered handwritten letters in the purse that his wife had exchanged with a man who was in prison, Chitwood said.

Belajonas called his brother in Staten Island and told him about the letters, Chitwood said, before his wife returned home.

Police believe he shot and stabbed Christina Belajonas about 2 a.m., before fleeing their Drexel Hill home.

While on the way to Staten Island with the two boys and a car full of weapons, Chitwood said Belajonas called his brother again to tell him what had happened and warned him that he was bringing the two boys to the CVS where he worked.