Duquesne University professor dead in apparent murder-suicide in Wilkins
A popular Duquesne University professor and his wife died Tuesday morning in Wilkins in what Allegheny County Police described as a murder-suicide.
Emergency dispatchers received a third-party call just before 10 a.m. requesting a police check on a couple engaged in a violent domestic incident inside their home on Thorncrest Drive.
The caller learned that a man had been stabbed, police said. The woman remained inside the residence with a gun.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday night identified the man as Marinus Chijioke Iwuchukwu, 59, and the woman as Charte Dunn, 50. Iwuchukwu was a theology professor at Duquesne University.
Wilkins police and neighboring departments responded to the scene and attempted to contact the couple. When officers did not receive a response, the Allegheny County Police SWAT team was called in.
The SWAT team entered the home and found Iwuchukwu and Dunn dead, police said.
Both appeared to have suffered lacerations, and Dunn died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“This is a tragedy for all involved and our thoughts and prayers are with Professor Iwuchukwu’s colleagues, students, friends and loved ones,” said Gabriel Welsch, a spokesperson for Duquesne University.
Iwuchukwu was hired at Duquesne in 2008. An associate professor of theology, he taught undergraduate courses in world religions and culture, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and dialogue among religions, plus graduate courses on religious pluralism, freedom of religion and interreligious dialogue, according to the university’s web site.
His death jolted his academic department and the campus at large, including students who remembered him for his warmth and positive energy. Students described Iwuchukwu as someone who seemed genuinely interested in them as students and people.
Leigh Merski, 21, a speech language pathology major from Erie, said Iwuchukwu had an easy-going demeanor and he helped her as a transfer student become comfortable on a new campus. He welcomed different opinions in his media and religion class, she said, and that made her more inclined to speak up and participate.
“He would always make jokes. He could find humor in anything,” she said.
“I emailed him afterward and told him how much I appreciated his class,” she recalled. “I’m glad now that I didn’t leave anything unsaid with him so he understood how much I appreciated him.”
Marisa Captline, 19, a sophomore theology student from Kennedy, said she got to know Iwuchukwu through her work-study job in the department as a student aide.
She helped him transfer belongings as his department switched buildings and watered his plant while he was out of the country.
“He was very sweet. He always cared so much about other people,” she said.
Iwuchukwu penned two books and co-edited another, according to the university’s website.
Prior to joining Duquesne, he was a faculty member at a public college in Kano, Nigeria, for 12 years, according to the university.
Homicide detectives are investigating.
Court records showed he filed for a divorce from Dunn in July 2020.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Allegheny County Police tip line at 1-833-255-8477 (ALL-TIPS). Callers can remain anonymous.
Staff writer Justin Vellucci contributed.
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