Ex-Husband To Collect On 1 Of 2 Policies Of Murdered Radnor Township Wife: Judge

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — A 2018 love triangle murder-suicide in Radnor Township brought about a dual decision both for and against an ex-husband collecting on insurance policies of his ex-wife who was murdered by her new boyfriend's wife.

Vice-Chancellor Sam Glasscock III on Thursday ruled that Meredith Sullivan's ex-husband, Luke Chapman, is entitled to keep the proceeds from her University of Delaware group life insurance policy, but must relinquish proceeds he received from her individual life insurance policies, ABC6 reported.

In April 2018 Meredith Sullivan Chapman, 33, was shot in the head by Jennair Gerardot, 47, of Wilmington, Delaware, inside Chapman's home on Lowrys Lane in Radnor's Rosemont section.

Gerardot then took her own life after killing Chapman, according to authorities. Radnor Police found both bodies with gunshot wounds to the head, inside the home. Police at the time surmised Gerardot took some sort of public transportation to the home, wearing a wig, and broke into the home through the front door.

Meridith Sullivan was recently divorced and a new hire at Villanova as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Before that she was at the University of Delaware as its Senior Director for Marketing.

Police said Mark Gerardot had been in Radnor to meet Chapman for dinner, but went to her home when she did not show up. Mark Gerardot worked with authorities during the early investigation stages, police said.

Police said Jennair Gerardot, 47, of Wilmington, Delaware, shot Chapman in the head with a .357-caliber revolver after learning of an alleged affair between her and her husband, Mark Gerardot. Authorities say she carefully plotted the attack, renting a car, carrying a disguise and even cleaning up evidence of the break-in.

The differing decisions over the collection of insurance are because divorce laws differ between Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Pennsylvania law presumes when you divorce, you no longer want your ex- as your insurance beneficiary, while Delaware only applies that thinking to wills.

Pennsylvania law presumes a policyholder who's named a spouse as a beneficiary but then divorces and dies without changing the designation intended to remove the ex-spouse as the beneficiary. Delaware law does not hold to revocation upon divorce for insurance beneficiaries, only in wills, an ABC6 report explained.

The case was unusually complex because the policies had been issued in Delaware, but Sullivan had moved to Pennsylvania. Glassock's decision said, "Pennsylvania surely has more interest in the vindication of the intent of its residents than Delaware has over non-residents," according to the ABC6report. The decision allowed Chapman to collect as the beneficiary for a group policy held by the University of Delaware, which as the insurer is also a Delaware resident, the case stated.

Max Bennett contributed to this report.

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