Charges have been upgraded against Vladimir Lushevskiy, who is accused of killing his wife and hiding the body in the closet of a Philadelphia home

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Charges were upgraded Wednesday against a man whose wife was found wrapped in plastic in their Philadelphia home earlier this month.

A court hearing was held in New Jersey for 65-year-old Vladimir Lushevskiy.

Lushevskiy was taken into custody last week at a motel in Westampton Twp., New Jersey, and was initially charged with abuse of a corpse and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

He is now accused of murder, strangulation and tampering with evidence, among other things.

A judge decided to hold him in New Jersey while he awaits extradition to Pennsylvania.

The body of his wife, 61-year-old Lola Karabaeva, was discovered Oct. 13 in the closet of the couple's home in the 9000 block of Diplomat Place in Philadelphia's Bustleton section after neighbors reported her missing.

The cause of Karabayeva's death is not yet known.

Neighbors told police they had last spoken to Karabayeva the morning before, after returning from a week-long trip to Europe.

They say the couple has lived there for almost 20 years.

In a video obtained by Action News, you can see a woman who neighbors say is Karabayeva drive up to the home in the early morning hours of Oct. 12. Video stops.

The next day, neighbors said they saw Vladimir Lushevskiy on video entering and leaving the house and moving his and his wife's vehicles.

The victim's car was later found less than a quarter mile away in that parking lot at Mother BVM Church on the old Bustleton Pike.

Sources have told Action News that authorities are investigating the motive and suspect that this incident may have stemmed from the breakup of the couple's marriage following the tragic death of their son Evgeniy Lushevskiy.

The 19-year-old went missing while hiking in California in 2004.

His image was taken as part of a nationwide missing persons case featured on cold case website The Charley Project.

His body was found in 2011 and later identified. Authorities do not believe foul play was involved in his death.

An investigation into this case is still ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.