Wife Stabs Beloved Penn, College Professor To Death, Commits Suicide

A well loved professor was stabbed to death by his wife on Tuesday at their Wilkins
Township, Penn., home, after which she shot herself to death.

In a statement by the Allegheny County Police Department, officers arrived a few
minutes before 10 a.m at a local home to check on a couple reported to be involved in
domestic violence. The police got a report that someone inside the building had been
and that the woman inside was with a gun.

When the officers' efforts to get a response from the residents in the apartment proved
futile, SWAT officers were invited to assist. After gaining access, the SWAT team
found the lifeless bodies of Dr. Marinus Iwuchukwu, 59, and his wife, Charte Dunn,
50.

According to the press release, both of them had suffered stab wounds, and Dunn had
a gunshot wound which was self-inflicted.

There were no clues to what led up to the fatal incident.

Marital records reviewed by the Duquesne Duke showed that the couple had been
married since 2017. Dr. Iwuchukwu had filed for a divorce in 2020, the split was yet
to be finalized.

Iwuchukwu had a Ph.D. in systematic theology and an M.A. in journalism from
Marquette University, and hails from Nigeria. He was an associate professor of
theology at Duquesne, where he had worked since 2008 and specialized in
interreligious dialogue, inclusive religious pluralism and media & religion. He was
also an editor and author with many books to his credit.

A Duquesne University spokesperson described the professor's death as a "tragedy for
all involved."

A student aide in the theology department, Marisa Captline, who worked with him in
2022, described him as a genuinely kindhearted person, who always expressed
concern about what went on in her life.

Others who knew him were heartbroken as his death was announced on a forum of
Catholic Theological Society of America.

Richard Hanson, who had been in grad school with Iwuchukwu wrote: "Marinus
became an incredibly accomplished academic theologian … and our world is enriched
by his work.", adding that, "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."

Iwuchukwu's neighbors also expressed shock over his death, and described him as an
"outstanding neighbor."