Officials believe an extramarital affair is the motive behind the murder-suicide that resulted in the deaths of two women on the Main Line on Monday evening.
The victims in the case have been identified as Jennair Gerardot, 47, and Meredith Sullivan Chapman, 33.
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Reports state Gerardot had learned of an affair between her husband Mark Geradot, 49, and Chapman, prompting her to break into Chapman’s Lowrys Lane home in Radnor Township where she waited for Chapman to come home.
Geradot shot Chapman shortly after she had returned home before turned the gun on herself, police said.
Chapman until recently had been employed by the University of Delaware communications department, where Mark Geradot had recently been working as a creative director.
Chapman left her post at UD earlier this month to take a job as an assistant vice president at Villanova University. Neighbors told 6ABC that Chapman, who was recently divorced from former Newark City Councilman Luke Chapman, had just moved to Lowrys Lane in the last week. The couple is pictured below.
Radnor Police Superintendent William Colarulo said the incident was a calculated attack. Texts and emails, still under investigation, to Mark Geradot may have detailed Jennair Gerardot's plans, DelawareOnline.com reported.
Mark and Jennair Gerardot's Facebook pages, filled with public photos of the couple (including below), have since garnered a flood of comments about the couple.
Though now removed, Gerardot's LinkedIn page detailed her own career in marketing and previous experience running a marketing and design company with her husband.
In 2016, Chapman ran for a state senate seat in Delaware against Sen. Dave Sokola, losing by five percentage points. Her online portfolio shows she once worked as a producer for WHYY and as a communications manager at the U.S. House of Representatives for then-Congressman Michael N. Castle.
“Our hearts are broken by the devastating loss of our new colleague,” a spokesperson Villanova said in a statement.
“The thoughts and prayers of the entire university community are with her family, friends and colleagues during this extremely difficult time.”
Chapman's family released a statement Wednesday, saying her marriage with Luke had come to an end amicably and they had "remained friends and confidants."
"We understand that the circumstances of her death are the focus of news attention today, but we have chosen to refrain from participating in these stories because they do not and cannot capture the essence of her life," the statement said.
"She was a vibrant, vital and caring woman of incredible talent, and we ask for the opportunity to mourn her in private."