That didn’t take long.

A little more than 24 hours to be exact. That’s how long it took for the first murder of the new year to occur in Delaware County.

Michael Jackson, 29, was found shot on the floor of the New Chester Deli in the first block of West Ninth Street. Police responded to the deli and found Jackson’s body around 3:30 p.m. Friday. His death likely will be ruled the county’s first homicide.

Jackson’s death came on the same day we noted the grim total from 2008, when the county racked up 38 homicides in 2008. Actually those “killer” numbers, both in the county and Chester, were down from the levels of 2007.

That’s why it’s so disheartening to learn of the first murder of 2008 less than two days into the new year. Last year the county did not record its first homicide until nearly halfway through January.

Delco also had a part in the first murder in the region in the new year. A Darby man, Jalim Robinson, was charged in the first homicide in Philadelphia, which occurred just hours into the new year.

Robinson turned himself into Philadelphia police.

So much for goodwill toward men. I guess now we’re back to business as usual.