Some news about the Michael White death near Daegu — police have concluded the 14-year-old drowned in a pool at the sauna:
Police have concluded that the cause of death of a 14-year-old American boy, Michael White, who was found head down in a pool at a sauna in Gyeongsan on May 10, North Gyeongsang Province, was through drowning.
Police Tuesday said they found no evidence negligence on the part of sauna employees or poor emergency treatment of medical staff. Gyeongsan Police Station said it received an autopsy report from Busan National University’s Medical Jurisprudence Lab stating “his bronchus, stomach and duodenum were full of water, which means he drowned.”
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According to the report, Michael’s heart was apparently larger than that of a normal adult. The weight of his heart was 460 grams, much heavier than that of a normal adult ranging between 300 and 350 grams.“Michael’s heart was apparently at risk of cardiac arrhythmia. We suggest a sudden irregular heartbeat occurred while he was in the bathtub which paralyzed his heart,” said Lee Geun-woo, chief investigator of Gyeongsan Police.
The report contradicted his mother Stephannie White’s allegations that the negligence of sauna workers and paramedics’ poor performance were behind the death of her son.
The odd thing is, according to Ms. White, the police released the autopsy results to the media before they gave them to her. From her email:
I just received a call from a reporter from **** Times. They wanted my opinion of Mike’s autopsy report. Apparently it was released to the press before it was given to me, (mother) or embassy.
I told the reporter no comment, as I had not seen the report and could not comment about something I haven’t seen yet.
Also by Ms. White on a Daves ESL forum (sorry, don’t know the link):
Apparently if I want a copy I have to go file a claim for it… but it’s given freely to the Korean Press. A case number wasn’t even assigned to Mike’s case until 23 days after his mysterious death. A case number is needed to request the files. It was only after the embassy requested a case number, that the police assigned one to the case.
I have no idea what’s going on. I just relay what I’ve read.
Michael’s funeral will be held on June 28. More details when plans are finalized.
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Did we ever find out anything about the ESL teacher who died after being taken into police custody a few years ago?
Again, my sympathies to his friends and family.
Call me a cynic, but I think I would have an independent autopsy done in the States to confirm the findings, but as I understand, they don’t release the organs so perhaps it would not be useful to do so.
The Dave’s link is here: http://forums.eslcafe.com/kore.....p?t=125277
My best wishes for the mother in all of this. It just gets crueler.
Is the US embassy going to make themselves useful and get a real autopsy done in the USA?
I know they won’t, but good grief, this case just screams for intervention by the Feds.
The odd thing is, according to Ms. White, the police released the autopsy results to the media before they gave them to her.
Media are an important player in whatever whitewash the authorities may have in mind.
Not informing the family but the media first is a sign of disrespect if not their attitude regarding their job.
Shame on the police!
I don’t want to defend the Korean police here, and I feel
terrible for Ms. White, but I thought the reactions of portions
of the foreign community verged on unreasonable hysteria on this
one. I understand that people want justice, they want an answer
and they don’t want to die in front of a bunch of Koreans who
don’t try to help them because they’re a foreigner. But in the
process of attempting to get answers people were starting to
suggest that a room full of Koreans in Daegu murdered this poor
kid. It’s the flip side to all this anti-Korean, “justice”-seeking
anger that a lot of the foreign community totes around.
One wonders whether he was killed by some drunken adjushi who was frustrated at something else and just decided to drown the nearest miguk?
Or was he a fat kid whose heart stopped when he entered water that was too hot or too cold?
I don’t think we’ll ever really know…
Everyone who knew him said he had a big heart. This autopsy proves nothing new! Shame on the police.
The people in the sauna said he had everything from big hands, big feet, to a big nose, depending on whichever urban myth they choose to believe in. But this information was not included in the police report or the autopsy.
Justice in this country is a joke.
I too smell a cover up.
Again, sympathies to the family.
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