Yes it is. I heard about this story lurking in a chat room. Some were saying that there's a connection between this, and other recent researcher's deaths. (i.e, typical tinfoilery). Reading the article though, I came away believing it was most likely a random act of violence. I decided to post it in the (admittedly remote) hope maybe someone would have some info they could pass along.
May God bless his family during this difficult time.
It caught my eye because one of my girls went to UM and I have some FReeper friends there. I'll ping zip.