Award-winning British photojournalist Paul Lowe, 60, was allegedly murdered by his 19-year-old son Emir while hiking in California.
Lowe’s body was found on October 12 in the San Gabriel Mountains with stab wounds to the neck, according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
Emir Lowe has been charged with one count of murder and is scheduled to appear in court today, October 16, at the West Covina Courthouse.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported that the District Attorney’s office filed the murder charge against Emir for the murder of his father, Christian Paul Lowe.
The alleged attack occurred at 3:28 pm on Mount Baldy Road, near Stoddard Canyon Falls. Responding officers found a white male adult with trauma to his upper torso.
The San Bernardino Fire Department pronounced the victim dead at the scene, and a white male adult was detained after being involved in a solo traffic collision nearby.
King’s College London, where Lowe was a visiting professor in war studies, released a statement expressing their deep sadness at his passing.
“Paul was a Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies, a Professor of Photojournalism at the University of the Arts London, and an award-winning photojournalist with VII Academy… His boundless energy, warmth, creativity, initiative, and enthusiasm were contagious and uniquely inspiring. He will be deeply missed.”
Lowe was renowned for his coverage of conflicts, including the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war. His work had a significant impact on shedding light on the siege and its legacy.
As a photojournalist, Lowe believed in the importance of bearing witness to conflicts, stating, “To be frank, I’m not a big believer in objectivity… You can be ‘neutral’ but still say, ‘This is right and this is wrong'”.
The investigation into Lowe’s murder is ongoing, with no additional information available at this time.
