A scientist on the leading edge of COVID-19 research was found shot dead in his home. The body of his killer also showed up shortly thereafter. | Image: NIAID-RML via AP
Coronavirus researcher Bing Liu, 37, died by murder-suicide on Tuesday. Liu, who was an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was reportedly on the verge of making “significant findings” about the disease before he was found shot dead in his home.
Strangely, however, Liu’s murderer’s name was not disclosed in a news story about his death . All we know is that Liu’s murderer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that his body was found a few hours later. Allegedly, Liu’s murderer was “someone he knew.”
On its own, Liu’s death is tragic. But when looked at as part of a bigger picture, it’s downright suspicious.
Liu is the first American Coronavirus researcher to turn up dead.
But Russian Coronavirus researchers are dying at rapid rates under even more mysterious circumstances.
Take the case of Dr. Alexander Shulepov. The emergency doctor, who lives in the Voronezh region of Russia, fell from a second-story hospital window on May 2 . As of this writing, he is in critical condition.
Just ten days prior to his “accident,” Shulepov complained about working despite testing positive for COVID-19 .
But Drs. Alexander Kosyakin and Yelena Nepomnyashchaya are both dead after “falling” from other high-story windows in their respective hospitals. Kosyakin, Nepomnyashchaya, and Shulepov are three doctors in ten days who are either dead, or on the verge of it, after their coronavirus-related discoveries.
It’s no secret that Russia has a habit of silencing detractors who don’t fall in line with the official party-line. Vladimir Putin, who previously said the coronavirus situation is “under control” in his country, is suspected of having everyone from journalists to former intelligence agents assassinated for not falling in lockstep with his statements.
It’s a stretch to say that something similar happened in the United States, but vigilance and caution are always recommended.
To be fair, correlation and causation are not the same things. And it’s difficult to confirm a cause-and-effect relationship between coronavirus researchers and their discoveries causing their deaths.
However, their deaths are nothing if not suspicious. Certainly, Liu’s death deserves scrutiny. And it would behoove us all to continue monitoring the fates of various coronavirus researchers, especially as their new discoveries come to light.