Delehanty appealed her murder conviction, saying the court should not have admitted gruesome crime scene and autopsy photographs. She also said the jury was never given an instruction regarding self-defense. Delehanty also appealed the trial court sentencing her to lifetime post-release control and requiring her to enroll in the violent offender registry.
The appellate court ruled the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the photographs or in refusing self-defense because there was no evidence to support self-defense nor any other circumstances suggesting self-defense. The appellate court also noted Delehanty denied any memory of stabbing her husband, Roman Roshchupkin, 34, at their Deerfield Twp. apartment.
However, the appellate court vacated her sentence and remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing for purposes of complying with the mandatory advisement concerning the violent offender registry and post-release control.
Prosecutors said Roshchupkin was stabbed 38 times in the head, neck, back, chest, arms and legs. Prosecutors also said Delehanty had moved his body into a bedroom in the apartment and purchased cleaning supplies to clean up the mess.
Delehanty left her dead husband and her then 16-year-old brother behind as she fled to Las Vegas, prosecutors said.
Delehanty was arrested July 11, 2020, at the Boulder Station Casino in Las Vegas after a nationwide search. She was extradited to Warren County to face the charges. Prosecutors said police found the weapons in her possession in Las Vegas.
Prior to her husband’s slaying, Delehanty had been placed on probation in April 2020 after spitting on deputies during her arrest in a 2019 drunk-driving incident, according to court records.
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