When You See This: Remember This:

Arrest and death of Otto Warmbier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Otto Warmbier
Born	Otto Frederick Warmbier December 12, 1994 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	June 19, 2017 (aged 22) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Wyoming High School (2013)
Alma mater	University of Virginia
Known for	Arrest and imprisonment in North Korea
Parent(s)	Fred Warmbier, Cindy Warmbier (née Garber)

Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American university student. In 2016, he was arrested and convicted by North Korean authorities for attempted theft, for which he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. While incarcerated, he fell into a coma and never regained consciousness, dying in June 2017.

Warmbier was an Ohio native and the oldest of three siblings. He was traveling to Hong Kong for a study abroad program when he decided to visit North Korea on a guided tour. While there, he allegedly attempted to steal a propaganda poster, for which he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with hard labor. Approximately one month after his sentencing, Warmbier suffered severe neurological injury from an unknown cause. North Korean authorities did not disclose his medical condition until June 2017, when they announced he had fallen into a coma as a result of botulism and a sleeping pill.

Warmbier was freed in June 2017, still in a comatose state after 17 months in captivity. He was repatriated to the United States, arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 13. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for immediate evaluation and treatment, where his U.S. physicians found no evidence of botulism. Nevertheless, a coroner's report was unable to identify the cause of the injury, finding no evidence of physical torture on Warmbier's body. Warmbier never regained consciousness and died on June 19, 2017, six days after his return to the United States. U.S. officials blamed North Korea for his death.