Source: Getty
The woman’s husband and his mistress have been working together since last fall at the University of Delaware.
Jennair Gerardot sent a series of texts to her husband, Mark, on Monday in which she laid out how she planned to kill the woman with whom he was having an affair.
Sometime before 7 p.m. Monday, Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, police said, Jennair Gerardot of Wilmington, Del., broke into the home of a former University of Delaware communications official and waited for her to come home, then shot her once before turning the gun on herself.
Police later received a 911 call around 7:05 for “two people down” and “blood on the floor.”
When police arrived, Mark Gerardot was outside the house saying, “My wife may be inside.”
Radnor Township police called it a murder-suicide and said it stemmed from a love affair between 33-year-old Meredith Chapman and Mark Gerardot.
“It’s not a love triangle. You had a man who was married that was having an affair with this other woman,” said Bill Colarulo, superintendent of Radnor Township police. “The wife knew about it. And this was a calculated, planned attack. She broke into the house. She was lying in wait, and she shot her as soon as she walked in, and then she shot herself.”
Emails and text messages detail the wife’s plan to murder her husband’s mistress, Colarulo said.
Two rounds were fired from the gun police found at Chapman’s home, which she had recently moved into for a new job at Villanova University.
“Meredith was a beacon of light to anyone who was fortunate enough to meet her,” a spokesperson for the Chapman family said in a statement. “She loved her family fiercely, was a compassionate friend and among the most talented and innovative professionals in her field. Her death was sudden and tragic, but will not define who she was to the thousands of people who loved her. Her family is devastated, heartbroken and requests privacy and respect as they grieve.”
Mark had been a creative director at UD and reported to Chapman. The university said he left his job there earlier this month.
He was supposed to meet with Chapman for dinner Monday night, according to police, and became concerned when she did not show up. That’s when he headed to her home, police said.
Officials said this was a “thought-out plan” that likely involved Jennair Gerardot putting on a disguise and taking public transit from Delaware to break into Chapman’s home and wait for her to return.
A wig and other clothing items were found in a bag inside the house that did not appear to belong to Chapman, police said.
A post shared by Mark Gerardot (@gerardot1) on
Chapman left UD in March and started a job as an assistant vice president at Villanova University.
“Villanova University was informed last night about the death of Meredith Chapman,” said Jonathan Gust, a Villanova University spokesman. “Our hearts are broken by the devastating loss of our new colleague. The thoughts and prayers of the entire University community are with her family, friends and colleagues during this extremely difficult time.”
Officers discovered the women’s bodies in a house about a mile from Villanova University. Multiple sources told The News Journal that Chapman moved into that house sometime in the last week.
Chapman was married to Newark City Councilman Luke Chapman, who could not be reached Tuesday.
Chapman, a former communication manager for then-Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., in 2007-2008, ran unsuccessfully in 2016 against veteran state Sen. Dave Sokola, D-Newark. She lost by 5 percentage points.
READ MORE: WFAA.com
Article Courtesy of The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal and WFAA-TV Dallas
First Picture Courtesy of South Agency and Getty Images
Second Picture Courtesy of Getty Images
Delaware Woman Goes All the Way to Pennsylvania to Kill Sidepiece Before Taking Her Own Life was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
