2 life terms for man involved in murder for hire scheme that claimed lives of auto shop owner, wife

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One of the men responsible for the murders of a Wilmington couple in 2013 will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Aaron Thompson, 34, of Wilmington was sentenced to two life terms plus 45 years for his June 2017 conviction on two counts of Murder First Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy First Degree for the murders of Joseph and Olga Connell. 

In September 2013, the Connells were killed outside of their home on Paladin Drive in Wilmington. Connell’s business partner Christopher Rivers planned the murders  so he could collect on an insurance policy that he and Joseph Connell took on each other as way to protect the north Wilmington business. 

In April 2016, a Superior Court jury convicted Rivers on two counts of Murder First Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy First Degree, and Criminal Solicitation First Degree. Rivers was sentenced to two life terms plus 50 years. 

The other suspected hitman, 26-year-old Dominique Benson, faces a retrial for murder and weapons charges in November after a jury convicted him of Conspiracy First Degree and deadlocked on the remaining charges when he was tried along with Rivers. 

Deputy Attorneys General Jenna Milecki, Colleen Norris, and Karin Volker prosecuted the case, with assistance from paralegal Stacey Coupe and social worker Evelyn Smith. 

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