Veterinarian Charged with Killing Pregnant Lover Will Give up Preliminary Hearing

Lawyers for David Rapoport, the veterinarian who was arrested, state police investigators say, for the killing of Jennifer Snyder on March 18, will surrender his right to the preliminary hearing scheduled for May 12.

According to this report, Rapoport is in the midst of examinations by a forensic psychologist and a forensic psychiatrist, says his lawyer John Waldron. The doctors' findings should be ready for Rapoport's next scheduled court date.

Rapoport, 30, a veterinarian in Harleysville, was arrested March 22 and is charged with killing Jennifer L. Snyder, 27.  Snyder was a verterinary technician who worked and lived at Maple Hills Veterinary Hospital along Kressler Road. The two met when Rapoport worked there as well.

The two had a relationship for about three years, and Rapoport, who has been married for about six years, did not take well the news that Snyder was pregnant with his baby, according to court documents.

State police released a missing person's alert regarding Snyder on March 17. The bulletin listed her as "endangered." She was last seen about 11:30 a.m. the day before, police said.

A body was found March 18 in a wooded area near Trexler Nature Preserve in North Whitehall Township and later identified as Snyder's, police have said.

Court records reveal investigators' allegations a follows:

Rapoport texted Snyder to meet him at a "surprise" location on March 16. A surveillance camera showed Snyder and Rapoport together on that date at Sam's Bagel and Deli, 4041 Route 309 in North Whitehall.

Rapoport shot Snyder in her vehicle that same night, wrapped her in a blanket, poured bleach on it, wrapped her in garbage bags and sealed it with duct tape. He then dumped her body near the nature preserve.

Snyder's vehicle was found March 17 in a rear parking lot of a professional building about two miles from where her body would eventually be found, police have said.

Court records also have said Rapoport purchased a 9-mm handgun on March 11 and he bought cleaning supplies hours before meeting Snyder on March 16. Ballistics tests matched the casings found in Snyder's vehicle and near her body to the gun of Rapoport.

A preliminary hearing is a proceeding held to determine whether probable cause exists to bring a defendant to trial. Rapoport has been held without bail.