The Wilmington man sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the Carousel Park area 2023.

A Wilmington man was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his partner in 2023. Cynthia Amalfitano. On January 31, 2025, Stephen Hek, 67, received a life sentence for first-degree murder from a Judge of the High Court of the New Castle County.

In September 25, 2023, it was reported that Amalfitano had disappeared after not reporting a job. Concerned colleagues have signaled authorities leading police in New Castle County for her residence in 3400 block of the birch circle, near Karusel Park.

Employees found her vehicle at the home and found her personal belongings, including her bag and mobile phone. Amalfitano was last seen on the evening of September 23, 2023, when he left home.

On September 26, 2023, the officers deployed a deceased elderly woman in a wooded area near the parking lot of the Park “Krizcheta. Later, the victim is identified as Amalfitano. Autopsy confirmed that she had died of strangulation and dull force trauma. Evidence collected during the investigation, including mobile phones, DNA and blood spots, found in the Heck vehicle, led to his arrest, the indictment and the subsequent presence.

Hek was sentenced in October 2024.