Students had just been begun returning to class when authorities confirmed that they were investigating the deaths of a student and a faculty member, both of whom were found dead at separate locations on the University of South Carolina campus.
On Friday, officials from the Columbia-based university confirmed that the body of a student, who has not been identified, was found in a residence hall, while a faculty member was found near a parking garage on the school’s grounds, The State reported.
A coroner from Richland County later identified the deceased university employee as Anna M. Gawlicka-Chruszcz.
Officers from the State Law Enforcement Division initially said that the two deaths do not appear to be connected, spokesperson Renée Wunderlich told The State.
The university has tapped the SLED for assistance in investigating the two deaths, as is required by state law when a death occurs on a university campus.
Gawlicka-Chruszcz, 48, was married to another faculty member at the school, Dr Maksymilian Chruszcz, according to a recent issue of an alumni magazine. The couple had moved to Columbia in 2012 with their two young daughters, Zuzanna and Lucja.
Dr Chruszcz works at the school in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as an associate professor, while his late wife appears to have been employed in the chemistry department at the school as well, having published papers under that affiliation.
WYFF4 also confirmed that the 48-year-old had been employed in the chemistry department without specifying her specific role.
The school’s president offered his condolences for the deceased members of the university community in a statement released shortly after the bodies were confirmed on campus.
“My condolences go out to the families impacted by these deaths,” said USC President Michael Amiridis in a statement. “The university is doing everything it can to support our students and staff affected by these tragedies.”
The school’s president said that there isn’t an immediate threat to the public at this time.
