Police: Villanova Official Killed By Lover's Wife In Radnor Murder-Suicide
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- A former candidate for state Senate in Delaware and a current assistant vice president of Villanova University has been identified as one of two people found dead Monday night inside a Radnor Township home. Authorities say Meredith Chapman was killed by her lover's wife.
Police say sometime after 5 p.m. on Monday, Chapman walked into her home in the unit block of Lowrys Lane in Bryn Mawr. Police say she was walking into a trap.
Jennair Gerardot, the wife of the man who was having an affair with Chapman, had broken into the home and was waiting inside with a gun.
"There were email and text messages indicating what she planned to do, and the detectives are still sorting that out," said police.
Gerardot, of Wilmington, Delaware, killed herself after killing Chapman.
Police say Gerardot's husband, who was having an affair with Chapman, discovered their bodies.
"We believe the husband was in the area, believed he was meeting the other woman for dinner. When she didn't show up for dinner, that is when he got concerned and went to the house," Radnor Township Police Superintendent William Colarulo said.
Chapman, a 2007 graduate of the University of Delaware, worked for the school in media relations and marketing and ran unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat in Delaware in 2016. She recently was hired as an assistant vice president at Villanova University.
Villanova University spokesman Jonathan Gust said the school was informed Monday night about her death.
"Our hearts are broken by the devastating loss of our new colleague," he said. "The thoughts and prayers of the entire university community are with her family, friends and colleagues during this extremely difficult time."
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
