Otto Warmbier's Cause of Death Still Unknown But North Korea Denies Torture
Otto Warmbier's cause of death will remain a mystery for now after his family objected to an autopsy.
According to CNN, the Warmbiers' objection to a postmortem of the college student's body was honored by Hamilton County Coroner's Office in Ohio.
Warmbier died almost a week after his return to the United States following his incarceration in North Korea. He was held in Pyongyang for 17 months. Based on the report, the coroner was only able to perform an external examination of the 22-year-old. Medical records from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center were also reviewed, but they still could not point out why Warmbier died.
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"No conclusions about the cause and manner of Mr. Warmbier's death have been drawn at this time as there are additional medical records and imaging to review and people to interview," the statement said.
Warmbier was arrested at the end of 2016 by North Korean officials after he allegedly stole a political sign while on a tour. He was given a prison term of 15 years with hard labor. The Trump administration recently succeeded in securing his return to the United States. However, Warmbier was in a "vegetative state" by that time and the doctors revealed that he had extensive brain damage. North Korea claimed that he contracted botulism in prison and went into a coma after ingesting a sleeping pill. The U.S. physicians, though, could not find evidence of the said illness.
According to The Washington Post, an autopsy would help in discovering why Warmbier died, but there is a limitation. Since the student had been in a coma for more than a year, the pathologists may not be able to ascertain what truly happened to him. What the examination could reveal is the general nature of brain damage Warmbier had. Other possible causes may also be ruled out, including trauma and infection. If he was tortured, there may still be signs left on the body, but there is a huge chance they have already faded away.
Meanwhile, North Korea denied that they had tortured Warmbier. According to the KCNA state news agency, a spokesman said: "The fact that Warmbier died suddenly less than a week after his return to the US in his normal state of health ... is a mystery to us as well."
