A former candidate for the Delaware State Senate was shot dead by her alleged romantic rival, who then took her own life as part of what police are calling a planned and calculated murder-suicide.
Officers responded to a home on Lowry Lane in Radnor Township at around 7pm on Monday and discovered the bodies of Meredith Chapman, 33, and a 48-year-old woman who has not been named.
According to neighbors, Meredith, who had been married to former Newark City Councilman Luke Chapman for nearly a decade, had just moved into the house in Radnor Township a week ago.
Murder plot: Meredith Chapman, 33 (pictured left and right with her husband), was found dead in Pennsylvania along with another woman as a result of a murder-suicide
The bodies of Meredith and the 48-year-old gunwoman were found inside this home in Randor Township, Pennsylvania, on Monday night
Police say both women suffered fatal gunshot wounds but there is no danger to the community
Philly.com reported that the older woman suspected that Meredith was having an affair with her husband, so she decided to take revenge on her by ambushing her.
The female assailant had broken into the three-story brick house on Lowry Lane while Meredith was away, picked up shards of glass to cover her tracks and waited for the victim to return.
When Meredith opened the door, police say the attacker opened fire, killing her, and then committed suicide.
When police responded to the scene, they found the bodies of both women on the first floor of the residence, which was splattered with blood. The suspected murder weapon was found under the older woman’s body.
Radnor Township Police Superintendent William Colarulo shared additional details concerning the deadly plot, including how the jealous wife took a train from Delaware to Pennsylvania wearing a wig to hide her identity, and how she cleaned up the shattered glass from the window she used as her entry point so that her victim would not be tipped off that someone had broken in.
Meredith had served as the director of digital communications and an adjunct professor at her alma mater, University of Delaware, until earlier this month, when she took a new job as assistant vice president as Villanova University, reported DelawareOnline.com
The house where the murder-suicide took place on Monday is located near the Villanova campus.
Meredith, nee Sullivan, married Luke Chpman in 2009 and the couple lived in Fairfield Crest, Delaware, with their dog Indy. As recently as March 30, she posted a message on her Facebook page referencing her husband’s political career.
Meredith had served as the director of digital communications and an adjunct professor at her alma mater, University of Delaware, until earlier this month
Meredith, pictured left with former Vice President Joe Biden and right with her former boss, ex-Rep Mike Castle, ran an unsuccessful campaign for State Senate District 8 in 2016
Happy couple: Meredith married Delaware politician Luke Chapman (right) in 2009
Meredith had just taken a new job as assistant vice president of Villanova University
Earlier this year, Meredith’s husband announced he would not be seeking re-election for a fourth term on the Newark City Council.
In 2016, Meredith ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat incumbent State Senator Dave Sokota in Delaware’s District 8.
She ended up losing the election to the veteran Democrat from Newark by 5 percentage points.
Before trying her hand at politics, Meredith worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia-based PBS affiliate WHYY-TV and was later hired as a communication manager for then-Congressman Mike Caste, a Republican.
Upon learning the news of Meredith’s passing, Castle described his former aide as industrious and capable.
‘I’m terribly saddened. She was a very good person and one of the last people I would have thought could have something like this happen,’ he said. ‘It’s a terrible shame.’
Meredith, a native of Pennsylvania, graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s degree in communication and a Master’s degree in education.
Police in Radnor Township said there is no danger to the community, reported 6abc.com.