Merrit Kennedy, The Two-Way, June 19, 2017<\/p>\n
Otto Warmbier, a U.S. citizen who was freed last week after more than a year in North Korean detention, has died. Doctors who examined him after his return to said he had “extensive loss of tissue” in all parts of his brain.<\/p>\n
Warmbier, 22, had been in a coma since coming home to the United States last week.<\/p>\n
His parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, said in a statement that their son died on Monday afternoon. “Unfortunately, the awful torturous mistreatment our son received at the hands of the North Koreans ensured that no other outcome was possible beyond the sad one we experienced today,” they said.<\/p>\n
“When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13th<\/sup> he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands. He looked very uncomfortable \u2013 almost anguished,” the family said. “Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed \u2013 he was at peace.”<\/p>\n They added: “He was home and we believe he could sense that.”<\/p>\n On Thursday, as The Two-Way reported<\/a>, Daniel Kanter from the University of Cincinnati Health told reporters that Warmbier was suspended in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness.” Here’s more:<\/p>\n “Kanter and his colleagues say they’ve found no evidence that Warmbier, who has demonstrated no awareness of his surroundings, suffered from the effects of botulism \u2014 a finding that appears to contradict the explanation offered by his North Korean captors. Authorities there have said Warmbier fell into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n