The son of a famed war photographer who was found stabbed to death on a California hiking trial has been pictured for the first time after being charged with murder.
Emir Abadzic Lowe, 19, appeared in West Covina Courthouse in chains and a anti-suicide vest to be arraigned in the killing of his father Paul Lowe, 60.
Lowe, who covered the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Nelson Mandela’s release from prison died from wounds to the neck.
He had been hiking around the San Gabriel Mountains on Saturday when he was found, and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Emir has been held in the Los Angeles County Jail on a $2 million bond after crashing his car while attempting to flee the scene.
His body was discovered with ‘trauma to his upper’ body and a stab wound to his neck, which the LA County Medical Examiner concluded was his cause of death, according to The Independent.
The younger Lowe faces one charge of murder, and faces a maximum sentence of 25-to-life plus one year in state prison. His motive remains unknown.
Lowe was a professor at the University of the Arts London, as well as a visiting professor in war studies at King’s College London (KCL).
He split his time between London and the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, but was in Southern California to handle ‘family matters’.
Amra Abadzic Lowe, his widow, told The New York Times that their son had been struggling with mental health issues and had been hospitalized for psychosis.
Lowe had traveled to the US to persuade his son to return to the UK after Emir had been left for a brief trip, but stayed for a number of months, according to Amra.
On his social media pages, Lowe had frequently shared images of him and his son hiking areas in Bosnia, while his wife shared drawings Emir had made as a kid.
Lowe had made plans to meet with his colleague Lara Jo Regan while in California, who became nervous after she went days without hearing from him.
She told KTLA: ‘I went on Facebook, and I was going to DM him to see what was up.
‘Then, the first thing that came up was news of his passing posted on his agency’s website in New York. I was beyond shocked. I’m still kind of shocked.’
Producer and anchor at CNN Ika Ferrer Gotić posted on X that they had been met in 2019 and spent time unpacking the war crimes in Sarajevo and Bijeljina.
She said: ‘We lost more than a photographer when Paul Lowe passed away. We lost a witness to our history, a storyteller who showed the world the truths that many wished to ignore.’
‘His lens captured more than the horrors of war; it captured the resilience, the survival, the humanity of Sarajevo at its darkest moment.’
During his life, Lowe had documented several global events including the end of the Cold War.
However his his most powerful image is said to have been taken during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992.
The photo – which was his most famous – was a black and white picture of a child with a ball while in Sarajevo, and was taken during a late afternoon winter stroll.
‘I just happened upon the scene, capturing the ball being thrown up in the air as if this was any street in the world,’ he told The Guardian in a 2022 interview.
‘It’s such an ordinary thing for a kid to do, but it’s happening against the backdrop of the tank trap, a hint of the ever-present danger.’
‘The siege of Sarajevo was very hard on children, who obviously didn’t want to be stuck indoors. They would risk their lives for a little pleasure,’ he added.
The VII Foundation, which was founded in 2001 by independent photojournalists, shared a photo to Instagram taken by Lowe’s wife, Amra.
‘It is with deep sorrow that we share the news of the passing of our dear friend and colleague Paul Lowe, whose brilliant life was cut short in Los Angeles, California on Saturday,’ the caption read.
‘Paul was a courageous and beloved comrade, and a deeply devoted father and husband.’
Lowe taught at an academy through the VII Foundation, which trains emerging visual journalists from communities underrepresented in the media.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement: ‘Our thoughts are with Mr. Christian Lowe’s loved ones during this tragic time.
‘We will pursue justice for the victim and ensure that the offender is held accountable for his actions.’