Otto Warmbier dead; former US prisoner of North Korea was 22

[techbeck]

Otto Warmbier, the American student who was detained and held in North Korea before being returned back to the U.S. earlier this month, has died according to his family. He was 22 years old.

 

“It is our sad duty to report that our son, Otto Warmbier, has completed his journey home,” Fred and Cindy Warmbier wrote in a statement. “Surrounded by his loving family, Otto died today at 2:20 pm.”

 

“It would be easy at a moment like this to focus on all that we lost - future time that won't be spent with a warm, engaging, brilliant young man whose curiosity and enthusiasm for life knew no bounds. But we choose to focus on the time we were given to be with this remarkable person.  You can tell from the outpouring of emotion from the communities that he touched - Wyoming, Ohio and the University of Virginia to name just two - that the love for Otto went well beyond his immediate family.”

 

More....

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/06/19/otto-warmbier-dead-former-us-prisoner-north-korea-was-22.html

[PGHammer]

My heart goes out to the Warmbier family - nothing but my everlasting scorn goes out to the regime of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

[DocM]

1 hour ago, PGHammer said:

My heart goes out to the Warmbier family - nothing but my everlasting scorn goes out to the regime of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Nothing less than murder. 

[wakjak]

8 minutes ago, DocM said:

Nothing less than murder. 

That'll happen when you enter a police state, and try to steal government property in a country run by a dictator.

[TechJunkie81]

I don't have much sympathy for him.  I feel sorry for the parents who lost their son.  

 

This isn't rocket science.  DON'T GO TO NORTH KOREA.

[FloatingFatMan]

5 hours ago, TechJunkie81 said:

I don't have much sympathy for him.  I feel sorry for the parents who lost their son.  

 

This isn't rocket science.  DON'T GO TO NORTH KOREA.

Absolutely this. Travel in to that place should be completely banned.

7 hours ago, DocM said:

Nothing less than murder. 

I agree, but then, I was also surprised he wasn't executed for "stealing" that poster...

[Dick Montage]

26 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

<snipped>

 

Quite simply put, your post paints you as a vile human being who has expressed an absolutely abhorrent sentiment.  Your posts err towards drivel at the best of times, including lies, racially motivated nonsense, misogyny and so on, but this is an absolute low not just for you but also for Neowin.  You deserve nothing short of a ban for such despicable posting.

 

On topic: Has it been stated yet what actually happened to him in NK to cause the issues he returned with?  Sorry, I've been on holiday and away from news sources.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Jason S.

[techbeck]

27 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

<snipped>

<snipped>

14 minutes ago, Nefarious Trigger said:

On topic: Has it been stated yet what actually happened to him in NK to cause the issues he returned with?  Sorry, I've been on holiday and away from news sources.

Family declined an autopsy.
 

Quote

 

Two months after his imprisonment, Warmbier suffered a major medical crisis that caused severe neurological injury. North Korean authorities said Warmbier's coma was a result of botulism and a sleeping pill, although U.S. physicians found no evidence of botulism. The United States made diplomatic efforts to seek Warmbier's release, and Warmbier was released in June 2017, after nearly 18 months in captivity.[3] Warmbier arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 13 and was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for immediate evaluation and treatment.

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Warmbier

Edited June 23, 2017 by Jason S.

[shockz]

10 minutes ago, Nefarious Trigger said:

On topic: Has it been stated yet what actually happened to him in NK to cause the issues he returned with?  Sorry, I've been on holiday and away from news sources.

NK says it was food poisoning and an attempted suicide from sleeping pill OD, aside from that docs at his home say he shows no signs of that, but really haven't said anything else.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

Thread Cleaned. Think before you post hate.

[Dick Montage]

2 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

Thread Cleaned. Think before you post hate.

Thank you.  No doubt at some point his family will search his name, and the last thing any sane person would want to see would be such ignorant hatred.

[techbeck]

4 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

Thread Cleaned. Think before you post hate.

 

1 minute ago, Nefarious Trigger said:

Thank you.  No doubt at some point his family will search his name, and the last thing any sane person would want to see would be such ignorant hatred.

[The Evil Overlord]

25 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

Thread Cleaned. Think before you post hate.

<snipped>

 

I find it interesting that as a UK private citizen, UK residents have some* freedom to move around in northern parts of N.Korea, some beautiful scenery, if they'd play ball, they'd get some big bucks just from the tourism industry....

*unsure of exactly how much

[margrave]

There is no reason of any kind for anyone to go to North Korea. Ever.

 

The world just needs to cut them off completely. Murder is murder.

[Dick Montage]

3 minutes ago, margrave said:

There is no reason of any kind for anyone to go to North Korea. Ever.

 

The world just needs to cut them off completely. Murder is murder.

It is a stunningly beautiful country - there's one very valid reason.  But obviously no I'd never step foot there under current regimes.

 

As for murder is murder - that's a very interesting stance and a very difficult one to adhere to 100%...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Guantanamo_Bay_detention_deaths

[FloatingFatMan]

21 hours ago, techbeck said:

Family declined an autopsy.

Curious... You'd think they'd want to know as much as possible how this happened to their son...

[DocM]

3 hours ago, FloatingFatMan said:

Curious... You'd think they'd want to know as much as possible how this happened to their son...

His family is Jewish, and many Othodox Jews have a prohibition against autopsies. There's also a general practice of burial as soon as possible.  Other cultures can present similar issues.

 

In some places these cultural problems can be worked around by performing a non-dissection virtual autopsy (Virtopsy).  High resolution multi-detector or dual energy CT's, MRI scans and high res surface photography can be performed, the data turned into a 3D reconstruction and examined in excruciating detail while allowing the family to meet their obligations.

 

When they have exclusive jurisdiction, the US military has been performing radiographs and CT scans on fatalities since 2004.

[FloatingFatMan]

Oh sure, I know the various religious reasons why not etc, but in this case, I'm just surprised the family didn't want to do more to solve the mystery of what happened to their son.  Clearly, the Norks will never tell the truth of what happened to him... I don't think I could bear not knowing as much as possible.

[DocM]

Over the years I've learned one thing; you never know how families will react. Some are stoic and some self-destruct. Many just want closure ASAP so they can start grieving.

[margrave]

On 6/23/2017 at 10:35 AM, Nefarious Trigger said:

It is a stunningly beautiful country - there's one very valid reason.  But obviously no I'd never step foot there under current regimes.

 

As for murder is murder - that's a very interesting stance and a very difficult one to adhere to 100%...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Guantanamo_Bay_detention_deaths

There are plenty of stunningly beautiful countries in this world that are NOT run like the POS government in that country. That's not a very valid reason.

 

There's no reason to go to that place.

 

Especially since you could go to South Korea instead.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

About a thousand U.S. tourists visit NK every year and return safely home, because they don't try to do stupid ###### like stealing a poster from their hotel's restricted area.

 

 

Quote

 

North Korean officials said their country was the "biggest victim" from his death as a result of a "smear campaign," stating their treatment of him was "humanitarian." A spokesman added,

 

Quote

"Although we had no reason at all to show mercy to such a criminal of the enemy state, we provided him with medical treatments and care with all sincerity on humanitarian basis until his return to the U.S., considering that his health got worse."

 

How come the archaic NK medical system managed to keep this guy in vegetative state for more than a year, but as soon as he arrived back to the U.S., he died?

 

This does not compute.

 

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

 

Quote

Here’s the Idiotic Reason Otto Warmbier May Have Stolen That North Korean Poster

 

...to impress the Z Society, a secret philanthropic society at UVA that has close ties to the CIA (according to Warmbier’s confession).

 

Quote

The United States Administration used me, like many before me...I am a victim of the United States Administration's consistent hostile policies against the DPRK.

 

Now, what are the chances someone's gonna invent a lie such as this one when their own faith is being decided?

[Dick Montage]

12 hours ago, margrave said:

There are plenty of stunningly beautiful countries in this world that are NOT run like the POS government in that country. That's not a very valid reason.

In your opinion. In my opinion it is absolutely beautiful and entirely intriguing.

2 hours ago, Mirumir said:

 

Now, what are the chances someone's gonna invent a lie such as this one when their own faith is being decided?

I'm so glad that there's no propaganda going on here /s

[FloatingFatMan]

5 hours ago, Mirumir said:

How come the archaic NK medical system managed to keep this guy in vegetative state for more than a year, but as soon as he arrived back to the U.S., he died?

 

This does not compute.

 

There is zero evidence he was in this condition for a year. All we have is NK's say so, and their word is hardly trustworthy.

 

 

4 hours ago, Mirumir said:

 

Now, what are the chances someone's gonna invent a lie such as this one when their own faith is being decided?

Nothing in that "confession" or TV appearance is trustworthy.

[DocM]

6 hours ago, Mirumir said:

About a thousand U.S. tourists visit NK every year and return safely home, because they don't try to do stupid ###### like stealing a poster from their hotel's restricted area.

 

 

How come the archaic NK medical system managed to keep this guy in vegetative state for more than a year, but as soon as he arrived back to the U.S., he died?

 

This does not compute.

 

In public health we called it "dumping."

 

In the bad old days some minimally capable hospital A drains every insurance billing it can out of patient X during his demise, then days before he kicks the bucket they ship him off to a different hospital - usually a larger trauma center B. That way the final days and death showed up on B's statistics. 

 

NK tortured and bled this kid dry wrt his political utility, then shipped him off to die elsewhere - using two flanking soldiers to prop him vertical long enough to get a photo (See! He's walking, therefore healthy!!) and get him on the plane.

 

Friggin' animals.