Nigerian professor in Pennsylvania fatally stabbed by wife who also shot and killed herself, authorities say

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

An individual informed police that a woman in the residence was armed with a gun while another person inside had been stabbed. A SWAT team later responded to the scene to help after the officers were unable to get a response from the people inside the home. Upon entry, the SWAT officers found the bodies of Dr. Iwuchukwu and his wife, Charte Dunn.

The release also stated that the two deceased individuals also had stab wounds. But the cause of the fatal incident isn’t known. Per 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.”