Cesar Delgadillo appears at the Luzerne County Courthouse on March 10, 2026.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader file photo
Virginia Delgadillo appears at the Luzerne County Courthouse on March 10, 2026.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader file photo
Jacob Delgadillo
WILKES-BARRE — Attorneys for homicide suspect Cesar Delgadillo recently filed a motion in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas seeking records from Luzerne County Children, Youth, & Families involving four other adopted children.
The motion filed July 9 by attorneys John B. Pike and Andrew D. Bigda is seeking court intervention to access the records and interview the four children due to the agency ignoring their repeated requests.
Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael T. Vough scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on the motion.
Cesar Delgadillo, 40, was charged by the Pennsylvania State Police at Hazleton and detectives with the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office with the beating death of his adopted son, 13-year-old Jacob Delgadillo.
District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, First Assistant District Attorney Anthony G. Ross, and Assistant District Attorneys Brian A. Coleman and Gerry Scott are seeking the death penalty for Cesar Delgadillo if convicted of first-degree murder.
Four other children in the Delgadillo home on Lois Circle in Butler Township were taken into protective custody and reportedly placed in foster care.
Cesar Delgadillo’s wife, Virginia Delgadillo, 35, was charged with five counts of child endangerment, four counts of corruption of minors, two counts of hindering apprehension, and one count each of tampering with evidence and cruelty to animals.
Court records allege Cesar Delgadillo assaulted Jacob Delgadillo beginning on Aug. 3, 2025, and continued into the early morning hours on Aug. 4, 2025.
Investigators allege Cesar Delgadillo used an electrical cord to repeatedly whip Jacob Delgadillo, struck the boy with a mallet, and shoved a back scratcher down the teen’s throat.
Jacob Delgadillo was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital – Hazleton, where he died Aug. 4, 2025.
Court records allege Virginia Delgadillo was aware Jacob Delgadillo was being physically assaulted and failed to call 911. She also attempted, along with other children in the home, to clean up blood and discard evidence from the home prior to Butler Township police responding to the house.
In seeking records from Children, Youth, and Families, Pike and Bigda advocate they need to interview the other children who were taken from the home to prepare their defense of Cesar Delgadillo.
“Defense counsel has made repeated good faith effort to contact representatives of Luzerne County Children and Youth Services. … Despite these efforts, defense counsel has received no meaningful response and has been unable to arrange interviews or otherwise obtain access to the children through voluntary cooperation,” Pike and Bigda wrote in their motion.
Pike and Bigda are seeking a court order to obtain records and interview the children taken from the Delgadillo home.
Aside from an open count of criminal homicide, Cesar Delgadillo is also facing five counts of child endangerment, two counts of hindering apprehension, and one count of corruption of minors, tampering with evidence, obstruction, and cruelty to animals.
The cruelty to animals charge alleges a pet dog was struck with a hammer.
In seeking the death penalty, if convicted, prosecutors on March 10 filed two notices of aggravating circumstances, involving torture and the killing of a person while committing aggravated assault.
Cesar Delgadillo remains jailed without bail at the county correctional facility. His trial is scheduled for November.
Virginia Delgadillo, who is represented by Attorney Lawrence J. Kansky, remains jailed for lack of $250,000 bail. Her next court appearance is July 27.
Vough has imposed a gag order prohibiting prosecutors, attorneys, and law enforcement from publicly discussing the case.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.