Police: Woman seen stalking home before murder-suicide

ROSEMONT, Pennsylvania -- Radnor Township police say a resident had seen a suspicious woman near a home in the Rosemont section that, two days later, would be the scene of a murder-suicide.

Police can't say for certain the April 23 crime could have been prevented had the resident come forward, but they are still using this incident to remind residents: if you see something, say something.

The resident came forward 16 hours after Jennair Gerardot shot and killed Meredith Chapman, then took her own life.

Gerardot was seen standing near the tipster's driveway, that person said. The woman was apparently fixated on Chapman's home and was clutching a pair of binoculars.

"Possibly doing surveillance or actually watching the victim with a set of binoculars," said Radnor Township Police Deputy Superintendent Christopher Flanagan.

Police said binoculars were later discovered in a black SUV that Gerardot had rented to drive from her Wilmington home to Radnor on the day of the murder.

According to investigators, Gerardot shot Chapman after she discovered the 33-year-old had been having an affair with her husband.

"We were never called," said Flanagan. "We didn't have a chance to investigate it."

Most residents said that because Lowry Lane is a busy street and these types of crimes are not common in this area, it was easy to think this was more of a strange sighting than anything suspicious, but it is definitely driving more residents to be forthcoming about out-of-the-ordinary behavior.

"Better to be safe than sorry," said Flanagan. "If something odd is going on, or someone is being suspicious, it can't hurt, because this isn't normal."