“We are devastated by the tragic death of two of our pre-doctoral researchers. These researchers were members of our Class of 2020 and vibrant members of our Stowers Institute community. Our deepest condolences go out to their families at this difficult time.” In this way, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research -located in Kansas City, United States- communicated to its students the death of two of its members: Camila Behrensen (24), Argentine, and Pablo Guzmán (25), Chilean.
The death of both young people occurred in a dramatic context. According to early reports from the Kansas City Police Department, at 5 a.m. Saturday, on Oak Street, A call alerted them to a fire at number 4,100 on that street, where two people had been found deceased with “apparent trauma suffering,” according to what was reported in the local media The Kansas City Star.
Local authorities are collecting information on how the death would have occurred, although they did point out that it would be the cause of a homicide. Moreover, the Kansas police established that it is the 126th murder so far this year, in that city.
At the Foreign Ministry, they have already established the first communications with the family of the young graduate of the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC). “The Foreign Ministry is in contact with the family of the Chilean citizen who died in Kansas City, in order to provide you with the necessary support. Meanwhile, the Consulate General of Chile in Chicago is at the disposal of the local authorities to provide the assistance required regarding the case,” they said from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RR.EE.).
Later, Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola, along with regretting what happened, said: “We send a hug of solidarity to her friends and of course to her entire family. We hope that these facts will be clarified as soon as possible.”
Guzman earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chilean institution that also mourned his death, since he entered that house of studies in 2015 and graduated in 2020. “It is a sensitive case within the faculty,” they acknowledged, adding that they are communicating with their relatives to make themselves available to them.
One of his professors at the Faculty of Biochemistry, Juan Larraín, regretted what happened. “I am shocked by the news, I have no more information regarding what has come out, but there is nothing left but to offer condolences to the family and remember him as a great person, a great scientist, who left a great memory among us for his work”, Indian.
The young man was investigating the process of spinal cord regeneration and focusing his studies on the development of cells. He was a fundamental piece at Stowers Institute, where his peers described him as “a gentle soul, with a true passion for science and biology”, adding that his great tastes outside the laboratory were reading, movies and music.
And he gave an account of that on his social networks, where he uploaded the books he read and the recitals he attended, for example, when six days he traveled to Texas to see singer Florence Welch.
For now, the Foreign Ministry is coordinating with the family of the young man what steps did I followr and, in addition, request the information corresponding to the circumstances of the event.
