Nobel winner found wandering on road near car containing wife’s dead body
Family believes Ei-ichi Negishi and wife Sumire were heading to Chicago airport
US police are investigating the death of the wife of a Japanese Nobel Prize-winning chemist after her body was discovered at a landfill site in Illinois.
Ei-ichi Negishi and his wife, Sumire, were reported missing on Monday. Ei-ichi was found by police early the next day wandering along a rural Illinois road about 200 miles from the couple’s home in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he is a professor at Purdue University.
After taking him to hospital, deputies found Sumire’s body in her car at a nearby rubbish dump, according to the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Police have said they do not suspect foul play. According to Ei-ichi’s family, Sumire was “near the end of her battle with Parkinson’s”. In a statement released to media, they said that they believe he was “trying to get to the airport for a trip”.
The Orchard Hills Landfill, where Sumire was found, is about eight miles (12km) from Chicago Rockford International Airport, the BBC reports.
"We are very proud of his distinguished career, but more importantly know him as a beloved and loyal husband, father and grandfather,” the family said. “Thank you for your compassion and for respecting our privacy as we process this tragic loss."
Ei-ichi Negishi was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work in palladium-catalysed cross coupling to link carbon atoms and synthesise molecules.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - February 1, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - broken eggs, contagious lies, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 humorously unhealthy cartoons about RFK Jr.
Cartoons Artists take on medical innovation, disease spreading, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Brodet (fish stew) recipe
The Week Recommends This hearty dish is best accompanied by a bowl of polenta
By The Week UK Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published