I think so. Ethereum falls at any opportunity and now reacts to any negative news. as it becomes clear, buterin's death is a negative news that will definitely have a significant impact on the market
This might be the reason why Satoshi Nakamoto prefers to be unknown person as he anticipate this kind of negative news and he will be pressure by the community. Nowadays it's so easy to create fake news around crypto as the people will ride due to market situation.