In a murder-suicide case, Dr. Marinus Iwuchukwu’s wife fatally stabbed him before shooting and killing herself. He was a beloved Nigerian college professor in Pennsylvania. According to a statement from the Allegheny County Department of Police, on Wednesday morning, police were dispatched to a Wilkins Township residence following a report of a “violent domestic” dispute involving a couple according to PEOPLE .
A witness told police that a woman was holding a gun inside the house while someone else had been stabbed. After the officers failed to get a reaction from anyone inside the house, a SWAT team was dispatched to the location to provide assistance. The bodies of Dr. Iwuchukwu and his wife, Charte Dunn, were discovered inside by the SWAT personnel.
The release also stated that the two deceased individuals also had stab wounds. But the cause of the fatal incident isn’t known. According to marital records obtained by the Duquesne Duke, Dr. Iwuchukwu, 59, and Dunn, 50, married in 2017. And though the deceased college professor filed for divorce in 2020, their separation was yet to be formally approved.
Dr. Iwuchukwu had a doctorate degree in systematic theology and an M.A. in journalism. Since 2008, the Nigerian native had been working as an associate professor of theology at Duquesne University. He also authored and edited several 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.”
