Analysis | What an autopsy could reveal about Otto Warmbier's death

Otto Warmbier’s death and the events in North Korea that led up to it remain a mystery.

North Korean officials said that during his 17 months in detention for “hostile acts against the state,” Warmbier had contracted botulism, was given a sleeping pill and never woke up.

Last week, after nearly a year and a half in captivity, the University of Virginia student was brought home to Ohio in a coma. Doctors there said Warmbier had extensive loss of brain tissue and had suffered a severe neurological injury. Warmbier died Monday, six days after being flown back to the United States.

So what led to Warmbier’s death?

The Ohio coroner’s office said on Tuesday that it had not been able to determine the cause after carrying out an external examination. His parents have asked doctors not to conduct an autopsy.

There was no immediate word from the family about why relatives declined an autopsy, which may have shed more light on the cause of the neurological injuries that left him in a coma.