How investigators will examine the case of missing and dead US scientists

DEDHAM, Mass. — The cases of up to a dozen US scientists and researchers who have disappeared or died under suspicious circumstances are still causing widespread concern.

How Investigators Will Examine Case of Missing and Dead US Scientists

In Washington, the FBI and Congressional leaders say they are looking into it, including Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch.

“Do you believe this is worth looking into?” Boston 25’s Bob Ward asked the Congressman recently.

“Oh, absolutely,” Rep. Lynch said. “Probably six of those cases raise serious questions about the manner in which these people disappeared or were killed. We need to get to the bottom of that.”

FBI agents are now investigating the cases, trying to determine if there is any hard evidence linking some or all of the cases together.

“As an FBI profiler, what we’re looking for is similarities. We’re looking for patterns. So, we’d start with: do these scientists know each other?” retired Massachusetts-based FBI Profiler Julia Cowley told Ward.

She added that investigators will only go where the evidence takes them.

“You really have to check your bias at the door and say is this really a significant connection? Am I really seeing a link here? Or am I wanting to see that link?” Cowley said.

This week, the FBI issued a final report on the December murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, concluding that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente acted on a decades-old grudge and murdered Loureiro days after targeting Brown University.

Some have tried to tie the Loureiro case into the larger case of the US Scientists

“Do you think it’s safe to exclude that case from this list of other potential cases that we do not yet have final reports on?” Ward asked Cowley.

“Yes, I do,” she said. “I think it is an isolated incident. I think this person was specifically targeted by one person that held onto a grievance for many, many years.”

Retired FBI Special Agent Julia Cowley also hosts a regular podcast, “The Consult,” which features other FBI Profilers examining unsolved and solved cases.

You can find “The Consult” here: https://www.truecrimeconsult.com/

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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