Law&Crime readers might remember the stunning 2018 murder-suicide that took of life of Villanova University employee Meredith Chapman. Police say Jennair Gerardot fatally shot her target at the victim’s home, and then turned the gun on herself. The alleged motive: Chapman had been having an affair with Gerardot’s husband, Mark Gerardot.
Now the man involved in the love triangle that led to this startling crime is speaking to “20/20” about the events surrounding this tragedy. He said his wife realized ahead of time that he had having an affair, and correctly figured out that it was with Chapman, his boss at Villanova University.
“I just wasn’t myself,” he said. “And Jennair picked up on it.”
“We had talked about Meredith before in the context of her professional decorum,” he said. “I oohed and aahed about Meredith. It wasn’t too far of a leap for her to get there, and I denied it.”
But his wife didn’t let it go, according to the report. She allegedly found a way to record his passionate conversations with Chapman.
The day of the incident, Mark Gerardot was going to have dinner with his wife at a restaurant to discuss their divorce. According to him, she sent him a text saying she would be late. Minutes passed. He got another one telling him to go home because she wasn’t coming. Then she sent him a picture of a condom, he said. He claimed Jennair Gerardot had been going through Chapman’s trash to find evidence of the affair.
She sent him three final texts, he said.
“You ruined my life,” she allegedly wrote. “I hope you never find happiness. Bye, Mark.”
“20/20” is scheduled to air 10 a.m. ET on Friday on ABC.
[Screengrab via ABC]
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