• Hero Banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Buying or Selling a Practice
Hospital Design
Leadership & Personal Growth
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Technology
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Live Conferences
Conference News
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Veterinarian arrested, faces charges of killing pregnant mistress

March 31, 2011
Rachael Zimlich, BSN, RN

Landsdale, Pa. -- Veterinarian David Rapoport sits in a Pennsylvania prison without bail while he awaits a court date to face charges that he murdered his mistress, a veterinary technician, and her unborn child.

Landsdale, Pa.

-- Veterinarian David Rapoport sits in a Pennsylvania prison without bail while he awaits a court date to face charges he murdered his mistress, a veterinary technician, and her unborn child.

The 30-year-old veterinarian from Landsdale was arrested at his father’s home March 22 by Pennsylvania State Police and charged with criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child.

Rapoport and Jennifer Snyder, 27, met while working together at Maple Hills Veterinary Hospital just outside Philadelphia, but Rapoport took a new job at the nearby Harleysville Veterinary Hospital last year. Rapoport’s profile on the clinic’s website, which has since been removed, stated that he earned his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 and had worked for a time as a research specialist for Penn’s Neurobiology Department before attending veterinary school. He and his wife live in Landsdale; Snyder lived with a roommate in Whitehall.

Advertisement

Veterinarians from Harleysville Veterinary Hospital couldn’t be reached for comment about the case.

On March 17, police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of a North Whitehall Township orthodontics office. Around the same time, Snyder had been reported missing after failing to show up to a doctor’s appointment. Troopers found Snyder’s car parked in the back corner of the lot with a broken side window. Blood and two bullet casings were found inside, according to a police report. An aerial search the next day revealed the location of Snyder’s body in a nature preserve not far from her car.

Police believe Snyder was killed at that location. She was pronounced dead on the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso. Police say Snyder was shot three times, and an autopsy confirmed she was about 12 weeks pregnant with a baby boy.

Snyder’s co-workers at Maple Hills Veterinary Hospital tell

DVM Newsmagazine

they can’t comment on the tragedy, but her obituary indicates she had been a veterinary technician there for four years and was very passionate about caring for and rescuing animals. More than 60 entries in an online guestbook in her memory from friends, family, clients and strangers paint a picture of a “sweet girl” who was loved by many and well-known for her compassion toward animals.

“If there is a place for souls beyond this world, she has the company of the many animals she showed compassion to,” wrote Mark Dicket of Northhampton, Pa. “Many of us, strangers, are touched by her senseless loss, but feel such pride for her beautiful spirit and compassion. To save the life of an animal is noble, and to revere the life of an unwanted soul is magical.”

Snyder had lived for the past few months with another veterinary technician from Maple Hills in a small apartment attached to the veterinary clinic. The two young women were joined by Arthur, a Shepherd mix that had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina and adopted by Snyder.

She had been reported missing after failing to show up for a doctor’s appointment, and police say they interviewed Rapoport before Snyder’s body was found after learning that the two had been dating.

After her body was found, police say they retrieved evidence from a trash receptacle and reviewed a video surveillance tape from the parking lot where Snyder’s car was found. Police charge that evidence also was removed from Rapoport’s car, and a ballistics test concluded that the bullet casings found in Snyder’s car were discharged from a gun owned by Rapoport, according to a police report.

Rapoport is being held without bail in Lehigh County Prison. A preliminary hearing had been scheduled for March 29 but was moved to April 12 at press time.

Services for Snyder were March 23 and 24 at the T.K. Thomas Funeral Home in Palmerton, Pa. A memorial fund has been set up in her name in her hometown at Jim Thorpe National Bank, 145 South 4th Street, Lehighton, PA 18235.

Related Content:

Breaking News
The new Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine breaks ground
The new Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine breaks ground
Fentanyl combined with xylazine designated an emerging threat to the United States
Fentanyl combined with xylazine designated an emerging threat to the United States
Veterinarian kills 2 police officers in Mississippi
Veterinarian kills 2 police officers in Mississippi

Advertisement

Latest News

Morris Animal Foundation accepting canine cancer research proposals

AI-enhanced MyLabX90VET ultrasound system unveiled

The Brady Hunter Foundation teams up with Humane Society of Greater Miami for Clear the Shelter event

Saving sea turtles helps rescue see data insights

View More Latest News
Advertisement