US: Nobel laureate discovered in disoriented state, wife found dead nearby

Ei-ichi- Negishi won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in year 2010.

Nobel Prize winning chemistry professor Ei-Ichi Negishi was hospitalised after he was found wandering in Illinois. / Image: Instagram

New Delhi: The 2010 Chemistry Nobel Laureate of Japan Ei-ichi- Negishi was discovered in a shocking state in the suburbs of Northern Illinois, US, on Tuesday morning.  With his wife’s dead body lying nearby, the disoriented looking chemist was wandering arbitrarily some 200 miles away from their home. The couple was discovered nine hours after they were reported missing from their house. After he was spotted in the disoriented condition near Rockford, the 82-year-old laureate was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The couple’s car and the dead body of wife, Sumire Negishi, were later discovered at nearby Ochard Hills Landfill. Sumire was reportedly suffering from Parkinson's disease. The post mortem autopsy of the body was pending, but the officials ruled out any foulplay. Ei-Ichi Negishi’s condition is still unknown. At around 8 PM on Monday, the couple was reported missing to the Indiana State Police. According to reports they were last seen at their home in West Lafayette, near Purdue University campus. Ei-Ichi is a professor of chemistry in the same university.