Crime

After killing of Stowers researchers, KC police ask area residents for video footage

Kansas City police are asking anyone living in the vicinity outlined in red with video surveillance to contact detectives. Two people were found dead Saturday after an apartment fire in the 4100 block of Oak St.
Kansas City police are asking anyone living in the vicinity outlined in red with video surveillance to contact detectives. Two people were found dead Saturday after an apartment fire in the 4100 block of Oak St. Kansas City Police Department

Police in Kansas City are asking members of the public to send surveillance video footage to detectives investigating the double homicide of two Stowers Institute researchers.

Camila Behrensen, 24, of Buenos Aires, and Pablo Guzmán Palma, 25, of Santiago, Chile, were found dead Saturday following a fire in the 4100 block of Oak Street.

Homeowners or tenants in the area of 41st to 43rd streets, from McGee to Gillham, with video surveillance cameras are asked to contact Kansas City police detectives. Police are interested in footage from between 10:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, to 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1.

Both victims were “suffering from apparent trauma” when firefighters found them, Officer Donna Drake, a spokeswoman with the KCPD, said on Saturday. They were both declared dead at the scene.

Behrensen and Guzmán Palma were predoctoral researchers with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, which has a graduate education program and carries out biomedical research.

A homicide investigaiton is underway after Camila Behrensen, 24, of Buenos Aires, and Pablo Guzmán Palma, 25, of Santiago, Chile, were found dead Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at an apartment in Midtown. Both were researchers at Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
A homicide investigaiton is underway after Camila Behrensen, 24, of Buenos Aires, and Pablo Guzmán Palma, 25, of Santiago, Chile, were found dead Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at an apartment in Midtown. Both were researchers at Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The Stowers Institute

The two were members of Stowers’ 2020 predoctoral research class, according to a statement provided by the institute.

Behrensen earned a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology in 2020 from the University Argentina de la Empresa and studied metabolic changes in fruit flies for two years. She was also published in Scientific Reports.

Guzmán Palma earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Pontifical Catholic University in Chile, according to Stowers. He previously conducted research on spinal cord regeneration.

Kansas City police detectives can be contacted at 816-234-5330 or 816-234-5043.

This story was originally published October 4, 2022 at 12:35 PM.

Katie Moore
The Kansas City Star
Katie Moore was an enterprise and accountability reporter for The Star. She covered justice issues, including policing, prison conditions and the death penalty. She is a University of Kansas graduate and began her career as a reporter in 2015 in her hometown of Topeka, Kansas.
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