Otto Warmbier Death: Family Declines Post-Mortem Examination

Otto Warmbier’s family has declined a post-mortem examination, according to the Hamilton County coroner.

The 22-year-old student died on June 19, shortly after being freed from North Korea.

Otto Warmbier was detained in North Korea for more than 15 months.

The coroner said only an external exam was performed on Otto Warmbier, who arrived home in a coma.

North Korea claims Otto Warmbier’s coma was due to botulism and a sleeping pill, but his family and doctors disagree.

Otto Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in March 2016 after being tried for attempting to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel.

The coroner’s office in Cincinnati, Ohio, said in a statement: “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.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Mr. Warmbier at this time of their tragic loss.”

Doctors at the Cincinnati Medical Center, where Otto Warmbier was treated following his return to the US on June 13, determined he suffered from “unresponsive wakefulness”, also known as persistent vegetative state, due to “severe neurological injury”.

However, it remains unclear exactly what happened to the student while in North Korea detention. His family and doctors dispute North Korea’s version of events.

A funeral is to take place on June 21 at a high school in Wyoming, Ohio, that Otto Warmbier attended before enrolling at the University of Virginia.

“All those that wish to join his family in celebrating his life are cordially invited,” the announcement states.

President Donald Trump said on June 19 that a “lot of bad things happened” to Otto Warmbier at the hands of the “brutal regime”.

On June 20, the president tweeted that the US once again condemned North Korea “as we mourn its latest victim”.