Bing Liu Death: Zero evidence connected to his work on coronavirus
University researcher Bing Liu was slain in a murder-suicide. HANDOUT / UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL SCHOOL |
Initially, there were whispers the murder was connected to Liu’s coronavirus work, but cops torpedoed that theory Wednesday.
“We have found zero evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with employment at the University of Pittsburgh, any work being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and the current health crisis affecting the United States and the world,” said Ross Township Det. Brian Kolhepp.
Bing Liu, 37, was murdered by Hao Gu, 46, who then walked to his car and killed himself with a gun.
Police said the two man knew each other and the suspected murder-suicide was a result of a lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner.
Liu was a researcher with the department of computational and system biology in the Pitt School of Medicine, the department said Monday.
“He was a very talented individual, extremely intelligent and hardworking,” Ivet Bahar, the head of the computational and system biology department in Pitt’s School of Medicine, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Colleagues said Liu was “on the verge of making very significant findings” about the deadly virus that has shut down the planet and left thousands dead.
“He has been contributing to several scientific projects, publishing in high-profile journals. He was someone whom we all liked very much, a very gentle, very helpful, kind person, very generous.
“We are all shocked to learn what happened to him. This was very unexpected.”
Police said nothing was stolen from Liu’s home and there were no signs of forced entry. The victim had been shot multiple times with bullets striking his head, neck and torso.
He was married without children. His wife was not home at the time of the murder.
The killer was also married and a software engineer.
Coronavirus death riddle: Chinese researcher Dr Bing Liu killed in murder-suicide VIRUS DEATH RIDDLE Chinese coronavirus researcher, 37, who was "on the verge" of making 'very significant findings' related to the coronavirus in the pandemic fight has been ... |