The murder of Jennifer Snyder by David Rapoport is featured in the latest episode of Primal Instinct on Investigation Discovery.
On March 17, 2011, Snyder, a veterinary technician at Maple Hills Veterinary Hospital in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, was reported missing after her abandoned vehicle was found in a parking lot in Lower Macungie Township with blood, shell casings, and a broken rear, passenger-side window.
The vehicle had been parked at the location since 1:19 pm that day. A surveillance camera captured a man getting out of the driver’s side and walking to a nearby dumpster where he threw items inside before running from the scene.
Police later recovered a container of bleach from the dumpster, as well as a 9mm handgun.
At around 9:45 am, police officers in a helicopter found Snyder’s body in a wooded area in the Trexler Nature Preserve in North Whitehall. She had been bound with a blanket and duct tape.
The 27-year-old’s remains were transported to the local medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. The results revealed that Snyder had been shot three times, and she was almost three months pregnant with a baby boy.
Police learned through an investigation that Snyder was in a relationship with a married veterinarian, David Rapoport, who she met at her job.
When his wife—Elizabeth Rapoport—found out about the affair, she followed them to North Penn Marketplace on Valley Forge Road around 2am on October 14, 2009, and confronted them, which led to a scuffle.
Elizabeth was cited for harassment. She pled guilty in a district court.
The couple separated, but they later reconciled.
Snyder’s roommate, Hilary Schiavone, told investigators that when she became pregnant, David and Snyder stopped speaking to each other. The day before she went missing, Snyder told her that she was going to see him and she never returned.
When police questioned David, he denied having recent contact with her. He later stated that he had to lie to prevent his wife from finding out that he was still having an affair with Snyder.
David then allowed police to search his vehicle, where they found ammunition, a backpack containing blood-smeared duct tape, and a box of baby wipes with a spot of blood on it.
Investigators learned that David purchased the items at a nearby Target the day before Snyder went missing. The circumstances leading up to the murder is unknown, but officials did state that David placed a gun in Snyder’s mouth and pulled the trigger twice. He shot her a third time in the back.
David was arrested and booked into the Lehigh County Jail on charges of homicide and homicide of an unborn child.
To avoid the death penalty, David pled guilty to murdering his pregnant mistress a day before she was to have her first ultrasound appointment, after taking a plea deal that would require him to waive his right to appeal.
David was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2012, David appealed his conviction. He claimed he did not forfeit his Post Conviction Relief Act rights on-the-record after sentencing.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied his appeal.
Primal Instinct — The Appointment, airs at 8/7c on Investigation Discovery.
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