PLANTATION ‑ Who would want to kill scientist Joseph Morrissey, who
enjoyed an international reputation for his pioneering research into the
use of radio frequency waves in cancer treatment?

Thats the
question friends and colleagues were asking late Tuesday after
Morrissey, 46, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Nova
Southeastern University, was fatally shot during what police say was a
home invasion robbery.

Morrissey was "very well-liked," said
Andres Malave, dean of NSUs College of Pharmacy.

Just after
midnight Monday, an intruder burst into his Plantation home, bound him
and his wife, and set fire to the house in the 600 block of NW 75th
Terrace, according to police.

A neighbor told WFOR-Ch. 4 that
during the ordeal the robber also abducted the couple, took them to a
nearby bank and forced them to make a cash withdrawal.

Morrisseys
wife Linda, 48, and the couples young son, who was asleep at the time,
later escaped from the house and were not injured.

"This is very
disturbing," said Appu Rathinavelu, a fellow scientist who has known
Morrissey for 15 years. "I am not able to believe it when I heard the
news. Its like a dream."

First to respond to the scene were
Plantation firefighters, who extinguished a blaze accelerated by
gasoline, according to Detective Robert Rettig.

Plantation
Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Joel Gordon said firefighters were met by a
woman, apparently Morrisseys wife, and directed to his body in a patio
area.

The investigation, quickly joined by officials from the
State Fire Marshals office, continued well into the afternoon Tuesday.

Access
to the quiet suburban street in a neighborhood called Secluded Gardens
was blocked to all but residents for much of the day, and yellow crime
scene tape surrounded the turquoise-colored house.

Any fire damage
to the house was not visible from the outside.

During the day two
cars belonging to the Morrisseys were towed away.

Police said the
suspected robber was a man, but provided no additional details.

While
Morrissey was not teaching classes this semester, he still kept a
rigorous schedule in the lab.

Malave said Morrissey customarily
arrived at his lab by 7 a.m., and often returned to his work the late
afternoon after picking up his son from school at 4 p.m.

"He was
very focused on his research," Malave said. "We will miss him as a
friend at the college."

In a statement, NSU Chancellor Ray Ferrero
Jr. said, "Our hearts and prayers go out to his family. Dr. Morrissey
was an excellent professor and well regarded in the research world. He
will be missed by the entire NSU family — faculty, staff and students."

Morrissey
earned bachelors and masters degrees at the University of South
Florida and a PhD from Stanford University. He came to Florida in 1993
to work for the Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research in Plantation.

"He
was so energetic. He enjoyed his life and his work," said Claire
Thuning-Roberson, the founder and former director of the institute.

At
NSU, Morrissey did research in the use of electromagnetic energy to
enhance the effectiveness of cancer medications, the university said.

He
recently brought in grants worth $100,000 to fund his work at NSU and
was just back from delivering a keynote address at a conference in
Australia.

"We lost a great individual, a great scientist, and
someone who was to [help] move this college into the future," said
Malave. "He was a key faculty member."

For 12 years he worked as a
senior scientist at Motorola in Plantation.

He and Linda, who was
born in Peru, were married in 1997. Each had been married at least
twice.

The couple moved into the Plantation home — just four
blocks from the police station — in August 2006, according to property
records.

Thuning-Roberson said she frequently saw Morrissey and
his family at St. Gregory Catholic Church for Sunday mass.

"He was
quite dedicated to his family," she said.

Family friend Kenneth
Rider, 47, said he knew Morrissey for 30 years.

"A good person
was killed in his home this morning," Rider said while standing outside
the crime scene Tuesday morning. "We ask that anyone who has information
contact the police department."

Phil Beasley, 61, who has lived
in the neighborhood since 1986, said the area has not seen much crime.

"Its
sad when you have to be afraid in your neighborhood," Beasley said. "I
don’t know what motivates such a horrible crime."

Police can be
reached at 954-797-2100, or call Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at
866-493-TIPS (8477).