She Was a Scientist and a Devoted Mother. Then She Was Found Fatally Stabbed on the Street

A man from Scotland is accused of killing a scientist who was found injured on a street in Dundee.

Kyler Rattray, 20, was charged with murder in connection with the death of 39-year-old Fortune Gomo, a PhD graduate from Dundee University and devoted mother who worked for a water supplier company, BBC reported.

“A 20-year-old man was arrested shortly after this incident and has been charged in connection with Fortune’s death,” Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Nicola Russell wrote in a statement Monday, July 7. “He appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court today and has been remanded in custody.”

He didn’t enter a plea, per the BBC. Russell said the police are “confident that nobody else was involved and there is no wider threat to the public.”

Gomo was pronounced dead at the scene at about 4:25 p.m. on Saturday, July 5, according to Sky News.

Gomo’s brother told the BBC that her 40th birthday was in a few weeks.

“Two weeks ago, we were laughing about throwing her a big 40th birthday bash but she said she had achieved most of what she wanted,” Gomo’s brother Regis Nyatsanza said. “After all the struggle she had everything she wanted and so she was going to have a quiet celebration.”

Police Scotland said they were increasing patrol in the area where Gomo was found and asked anyone with information to come forward.

Police Scotland said Gomo’s family and friends were being supported by specialist officers.

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Angela Machonesa, who went to school with Gomo at Chinhoyi High School and the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe, said the scientist had “this calm, poised maturity that set her apart.”

“Her brilliance in the classroom was only matched by her emotional intelligence,” she wrote on Facebook. “She was the kind of person you’d go to when you needed clarity, not just of mind, but of heart. She listened. She cared. She uplifted.

“Her path was written in the stars long ago. To serve. To lead. To heal. And she was doing just that. But now, that dream, our Fortune’s dream, has been violently, senselessly, stolen from us all.”

She added: “A child will now grow up without the love and presence of a mother. A family will mourn a daughter who once lit up their home with hope and promise.”