GMU Professor Dies In Vienna Stabbing, Son Charged: Police
VIENNA, VA — A George Mason University professor's son was charged in connection with the professor's death in a Vienna stabbing Wednesday, according to Fairfax County police.
Michael Buschmann, 59, a professor and chair of the bioengineering department at George Mason University, was found dead at his house in the 9800 block of Palace Green Way on Wednesday, police Chief Kevin Davis announced at a news conference Thursday.
His son, Axel Buschmann, 26, was charged with second degree murder, police said. Axel Buschmann was being treated for stab wounds at an unnamed hospital, Davis said. He will be taken into custody after he is released from the hospital, police said.
The incident happened southwest of Vienna town limits. Officers responded to calls about a person covered in blood walking in the street, according to Lt. Erin Weeks of the Major Crimes Bureau.
Officers encountered a man later identified as Alex Buschmann, who discarded a knife, Weeks said. They took him to a hospital to be treated for multiple cuts, Weeks said.
Officers then conducted a welfare check at the Palace Green Way house and found Michael Buschmann, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Michael Buschmann was recruited to George Mason University in 2017, according to Paul Allvin, vice president and chief brand officer at George Mason University. Buschmann was from Montreal and had a Ph.D. in medical engineering and medical physics and did postdoctoral work in Switzerland, and his research led to four biotech startup companies, Davis said.
At the university, Buschmann did research on making mRNA vaccines such as the COVID-19 vaccines less costly and more widely available with fewer side effects, Allvin said.
"We are crushed and anguished by this shocking news of Professor Buschmann's tragic death. He was an eminent scholar," Allvin said.
The university's leadership is working to ensure the well-being of people Buschmann worked with at George Mason University, Allvin said. An announcement on how the university will mourn his death will come at a later time, he added.
"Dr. Buschmann meant so much to not only our community but George Mason and the international academic and research world," Davis said. "We offer our condolences to the family to the community."
Since the start of 2021, there have been six homicides by adult sons in their homes in Fairfax County, Davis said. The department wants to find a way to address family disputes before they turn deadly, he added.
"I've spoken anecdotally about the reasons, the despair and the isolation and the family dynamics surrounding COVID and the way we've been living as a society for the past couple years, and I don't know to what degree that played a case here," Davis said. "But the logical question is why. We're thinking really hard about that."
This article originally appeared on the Vienna Patch
