A co-founder of a Los Angeles-based biotech company has been arrested and charged with alleged involvement with a murder-for-hire case, Endpoint News reports.
Serhat Gumrukçu, the co-founder of Enochian BioSciences, was arrested for allegedly having a role in the 2018 death of a Vermont man, Gregory Davis, it adds. Davis was found dead in a snowbank a few miles from his residence in Vermont in January 2018. In addition to Gumrukçu, three other men have been arrested in connection with Davis's kidnapping and murder, which the Department of Justice describes in a press release as a murder-for-hire case.
Gumrukçu, Endpoint News says, has been credited with developing much of the technology underpinning Enochian, which develops gene-modified cell therapies for infectious diseases. In a statement, the company's board of directors calls the arrest "unexpected and shocking" and says "there is no link between the criminal charges and any actions of the company."
Endpoint News notes that, if convicted, Gumrukçu could face life in prison or the death penalty.