Former Indianapolis woman lay in wait to slay husband's lover, police say

A former Indianapolis woman ambushed and killed her husband's lover Monday before shooting herself at the woman's suburban Pennsylvania home.

Jennair Gerardot sent a series of text messages to her husband describing how she planned the assassination and likely wore a disguise before breaking into the home, police say.

"This was a calculated, planned attack," Bill Colarulo, superintendent of Radnor Township police, told the Delaware News Journal. "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."

Gerardot grew up in Fort Wayne and was a 1996 graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She married Mark Gerardot in 1993, and the couple lived and worked in Indiana until 2011, the Delaware News Journal reported.

Acorrding to a 2006 business feature published in the Indianapolis Star, Gerardot worked in marketing for the Stratford Cos. and Duke Realty. She also worked for Gerardot & Co., a branding firm she co-founded with her husband, according to the firm's website.

Mark Gerardot gained some media attention in 1996 when his "Crossroads of America" design was chosen to adorn Indiana license plates.

In Pennsylvania, police said the murder-suicide stemmed from a love affair between Mark Gerardot and his former supervisor, 33-year-old Meredith Chapman, a former Delaware Senate candidate and the wife of a Newark, Deleware, city councilman.

The slaying occurred sometime before 7 p.m. Monday in a neighborhood about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, police said.

When officers arrived, Mark Gerardot was outside Chapman's home saying, "My wife may be inside."

Colarulo said Jennair Gerardot had sent her husband text messages indicating what she planned to do.

"We believe the husband was in the area under the belief that he was meeting the other woman for dinner, and when she didn't show up, that's when he got concerned and showed up at the house," 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 representative 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 Gerardot had been a creative director at the University of Delaware and reported to Chapman, who had been a communications official. The university said he left his job there earlier this month.

Authorities said the slaying 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.

Chapman was married to Newark City Councilman Luke Chapman, who could not be reached Tuesday.

A former communications manager for then-Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., in 2007-2008, Meredith Chapman ran unsuccessfully in 2016 against veteran state Sen. Dave Sokola, D-Newark. She lost by 5 percentage points.

The news of her death began to spread Tuesday morning, rocking Delaware as those who knew her expressed shock and sadness.

“I am shocked and devastated by the news,” said Emily Taylor, executive director of the Delaware Republican Party. “While so much can be said about Meredith being a rising star in the Republican Party, this is a deeply personal loss for me. Meredith and Luke Chapman are close friends. I simply can’t imagine what he is going through.”

Chapman, originally from Landenberg, Pennsylvania, graduated from the University of Delaware, where she earned a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's degree in education.

Chapman and Mark Gerardot worked together at UD since fall, when the Gerardots relocated to Delaware. 

News Journal reporter Jeff Neiburg contributed to this story.