Nigerian Professor In Pennsylvania Fatally Stabbed By Wife Who Also Shot And Killed Herself, Authorities Say

Left Photo Credit: Georgetown University | Right Photo Credit: Google Maps

 

In a murder-suicide case, Dr. Marinus Iwuchukwu, a beloved Nigerian college professor in Pennsylvania, was fatally stabbed by his wife before she shot and killed herself. Allegheny County Department of Police said in a statement that officers responded to a Wilkins Township home on Wednesday morning after receiving a report of a “violent domestic” dispute involving a couple.

A witness told police that a woman in the house was armed with a gun and that another person inside had been stabbed. After the officers were unable to get a response from the people inside the house, a SWAT team was called in to assist. The bodies of Dr. Iwuchukwu and his wife, Charte Dunn, were discovered by SWAT officers upon entry.

The two deceased people also had stab wounds, according to the release. However, the cause of the fatal incident is unknown. According to Duquesne Duke marital records, Dr. Iwuchukwu, 59, and Dunn, 50, married in 2017. And, despite the fact that the deceased college professor filed for divorce in 2020, their divorce had yet to be formally approved.

Dr. Iwuchukwu earned a doctorate in systematic theology as well as an M.A. in journalism. The Nigerian native had been an associate professor of theology at Duquesne University since 2008. He also wrote and edited a number of books.

Responding to his death, a spokesperson at Duquesne said the incident was a “tragedy for all involved.” A theology department student aide who previously worked with Dr. Iwuchukwu described the deceased professor as a “kindhearted person” who was very interested in what was happening in her life.

“Marinus became an incredibly accomplished academic theologian … and our world is enriched by his work,” Richard Hanson, who said he was in grad school with Iwuchukwu, wrote on a Catholic Theological Society of America announcement of his death, PEOPLE reported. “But I know that I personally felt even more deeply his kindness, warmth, and ability to communicate peace and love in the most simple and profound ways with all those whom he encountered.”

Dr. Iwuchukwu’s neighbors also said he was an “outstanding neighbor”, adding that his death had left them in shock. “I’m still looking across the street,” Carl Mosley told the Duquesne Duke. “There’s no words, really. I’m kind of speechless, because he was a good guy.”

 

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