Cincinnati coroner: No conclusion yet in Warmbier case

The Cincinnati coroner’s office has examined Otto Warmbier’s body but hasn’t come to any conclusion about what caused his death. An office spokesman said Tuesday the corner only performed an external examination because Warmbier’s family objected to an autopsy. Warmbier, 22, returned last week from North Korea in a coma and died Monday. Doctors who examined him after he arrived back in the United States said Warmbier suffered severe trauma to his brain but they could find no explanation for it. Early Tuesday, the Hamilton County coroner said he would open his own investigation. Warmbier spent about 18 months in a North Korean prison after officials accused him of trying to steal a propaganda banner from a Pyongyang hotel. Warmbier’s family plans to hold a public funeral service at Wyoming High School in Ohio, where he graduated as salutatorian in 2013. Meanwhile, Warmbier’s case has sparked debate on Capitol Hill about whether the U.S. government should more strongly discourage Americans from traveling to North Korea. The Chinese travel company that organized Warmbier’s trip announced it would no longer take Americans into the country. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., suggested U.S. citizens should sign a waiver exempting the U.S. government from responsibility if they get arrested.

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