Husband Charged With Murder of Former Soccer Star

The husband of former Universty of Kansas soccer star Regan Gibbs was arrested after he called 911 and her body was found in their Lawrence apartment. The Lawrence Police Department says Chad Marek, 26, was arrested at the scene and "domestic violence is being investigated as a contributing factor," the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Gibbs, 25, played in goal for the Jayhawks from 2015 to 2018 and was part of two teams that made NCAA tournament runs. "She was a tremendous teammate and young woman, and touched so many during her time at Kansas," said soccer coach Mark Francis.

"Regan will always be remembered for the impact she had both on and off the field," Francis said. Gibbs, who grew up in Washington state and had four younger sisters, was a "beautiful, kindhearted girl who loved Jesus and people," a GoFundMe campaign for funeral expenses says. "She had a big heart for the homeless and hoped to go back to school to become a Physicians Assistant to do mission work." Marek has been charged with first-degree murder.

Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart says Marek told the 911 dispatcher that God had told him to kill his wife, the Lawrence Journal-World reports. The chief says Gibbs was dead when emergency crews arrived. The Journal-World reports that Marek, who posted anti-LGBT and anti-COVID vaccine videos online, has been regularly seen in downtown Lawrence "evangelizing with a bullhorn and playing keyboard and guitar." (More Kansas stories.)