CA Scholar's Flower Research Took Him To Mexico And A Violent Death
A 31-year-old Ph.D. student at Berkeley went to Mexico to find a flowering shrub called the common buttonbush. He never came back.
Associated Press,
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Posted Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 9:34 pm PT
In a photo provided by Roxanne Cruz-de Hoyos, Gabriel Trujillo conducts field research for his doctorate in Arizona. His research across North America was tragically cut short last week in Mexico, where Trujillo’s father says he was shot seven times. (Roxanne Cruz-de Hoyos via AP)
LOS ANGELES, CA — For four years, Gabriel Trujillo trekked the breadth of the United States and south into Mexico in search of a flowering shrub called the common buttonbush.
The plant is native to the varied climates of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Trujillo, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley, wanted to know why it thrived in such a range of places, and whether the evolution of the species held possibilities for future habitat conservation and restoration efforts.
The research was tragically cut short last week in Mexico, where Trujillo’s father said he was shot seven times. Authorities discovered his body on June 22 in the state of Sonora, in northwest Mexico, days after his fiancée reported him missing.
The killing has left the family reeling and searching for answers in a case that has yet again highlighted the rampant violence that plagues Mexico locations controlled by drug cartels.
More:
https://patch.com/california/across-ca/ca-scholars-flower-research-took-him-mexico-violent-death
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BERKELEY, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) student is dead after his research took him to a dangerous region near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Ph.D. student Gabriel Trujillo was studying a shrub native to the area when his father say he was shot and killed.
The 31-year-old's body was discovered last week in the state of Sonora, in northwest Mexico. The state is a key route for smuggling drugs, migrants, cash and weapons from the south into the U.S.
Local Mexican officials say they are analyzing evidence to "establish the facts, conditions and causes of the death."
They have not provided details about what occurred or ruled Trujillo's death a homicide.
https://kyma.com/news/crime/2023/07/01/california-college-student-shot-and-killed-in-mexico/
