Second autopsy done on Adriana, examiner says first autopsy appears to have been thorough

A second autopsy was conducted on the body of 11-year-old Adriana Younge yesterday at the Gwinett County Examiner’s Office and Morgue in Georgia in the United States and the examiner said that the first autopsy appeared to have been conducted thoroughly.

That autopsy ruled that Adriana died by drowning. Neither the family of Adriana nor their attorney commented on the outcome of the second autopsy yesterday.

Chief Medical Examiner of Gwinnett County, Georgia, Doctor Carol Terry conducted the autopsy on Younge’s body. In an  interview with Guyanese journalist Travis Chase, Dr. Terry explained that the second autopsy was done for quality control-type purposes. When questioned on what was observed when the body was opened, Dr. Terry added that the first autopsy, which was already conducted was the best opportunity see the pathology, injuries or disease in its original state. She added that the first examination appeared to have been conducted thoroughly, despite minor differences in techniques of dissection.

The examiner said she aimed to firstly identify any trauma to the body that may have been overlooked during the first examination. In addition to carefully reviewing previously dissected organs for signs of trauma or underlying disease processes, specimens were collected to facilitate any necessary further testing.  Dr. Terry stated that no evidence of trauma was found.

When questioned about whether she could definitively conclude that Younge died from drowning, Dr. Terry responded that she could not reach that conclusion at this time. She emphasized that significant additional information must be gathered and further investigations conducted. According to Dr. Terry, “Drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion and by that it means that you have to exclude other potential causes of death and oftentimes when a body is found in water, the assumption is that the person has drowned. There is nothing at autopsy that is diagnostic of drowning.”

According to the examiner, based on what was explained to her, the circumstances are suspicious and a thorough investigation should be conducted. Dr. Terry further stated that she would be reluctant to say that Younge had drowned, based on the circumstances that were reported to her.

 While it may not be accurate to say that the neck structures were entirely unexamined, a closer inspection was deemed necessary. The hyoid bone, a U-shaped bone located at the base of the tongue, and the thyroid cartilage, part of the larynx or voice box, still retained a significant amount of surrounding soft tissue and muscle. Although these structures could be palpated and appeared intact, the examiner chose to expose them more thoroughly to eliminate any doubt regarding potential breakage in this case.

Based on the information provided about the circumstances surrounding Younge’s disappearance and death, as well as the subsequent discovery of the body in a pool that had reportedly been previously searched without finding her, the situation was described as particularly disturbing. Dr. Terry added that it is very problematic, unlike a scenario where a child is seen playing in the water and shortly thereafter found submerged, this case involved the child being seen in the water, disappearing, the pool being searched with no results, and then the body being found later. These details led the examiner to caution against simply concluding that the child drowned.

“That is disturbing because I don’t think you can simply write it off as this child drowned.”

Dr. Terry highlighted that the body lost forensic value and that the examination that she was given the opportunity to conduct was compromised because it is a second autopsy. The body was embalmed while decomposition has taken place.

Dr. Terry clarified that the diagnosis and the investigation surrounding such deaths do not rely solely on the autopsy findings. Rather, they primarily depend on a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the death and any potential crimes connected to the disappearance of the individual.

“But this diagnosis and this investigation doesn’t hinge just on the autopsy. It primarily hinges on the investigation of the death or the investigation of any potential crime that occurred in association with this child’s disappearance”, she said.

Hours after the body of Adriana arrived in the United States for a second autopsy, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Tuesday disclosed that the final post-mortem report here has officially ruled the cause of death as drowning with no signs of foul play.

The body was flown out of Guyana on Monday morning. Adriana’s body was found in the swimming pool of the Double Day Hotel at Tuschen on April 24 after she went missing the day before.

In a statement, the police said that a comprehensive post-mortem examination, including toxicology and DNA testing, was carried out. Key findings include:

● No signs of acute injury or trauma were present.

● Toxicology results showed ethanol levels consistent with postmortem decomposition.

● Sexual assault kit and DNA analysis for potential suspects were negative.

● Skin and airway changes were in line with prolonged submersion and drowning.

● There was no evidence of restraint, struggle, removal, and return of the body (to the pool).

“The Pathologists concluded that Adriana Younge drowned, likely sank to the bottom of the pool, and later surfaced due to natural decomposition processes common in tropical climates”, the release added.

Police say that detectives are currently preparing the investigative case file for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions for her perusal and legal opinion.

The autopsy, which took approximately five hours starting at 12:30 pm on April 28 was completed in the morgue of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation by three international pathologists, Dr Glenn A. Rudner from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, Dr Shubhakar Karra Paul, the government-appointed international pathologist from Barbados, and Dr Gary L. Collins, Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Delaware, who Adriana’s family chose to represent their interests. Adriana’s family subsequently said they did not accept the preliminary verdict and began preparations for a second autopsy.

The release further stated that the findings support an earlier report submitted by retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigator, Leonard McCoshen who concluded that there was “no evidence of foul play by persons named or unnamed during the investigation.”  McCoshen arrived here last week and spoke to the family of the girl. There is no other information on how he conducted his probe and if there were any other findings.

The release said that “Upon learning of the incident, the Guyana Police Force launched a thorough investigation. The child’s family raised several concerns, citing her ability to swim and alleging the possibility of sexual assault, forced drowning elsewhere, and ritualistic activity. These concerns were taken seriously and fully explored in collaboration with forensic experts.”

The second autopsy was conducted as part of the girl’s family’s ongoing efforts for clarity on the circumstances surrounding her death.

Adriana was reported missing on the evening of April 23, during a family outing at the Double Day Hotel. Her disappearance sparked a widespread search effort and intense public concern, with news of her vanishing quickly circulating across social media platforms. The following morning, her lifeless body was discovered in the hotel’s pool, despite previous checks reportedly having been made. The discovery fuelled national outrage, with citizens demanding answers and transparency regarding the timeline of events and the apparent lapses in the initial search.

To date, authorities have not provided a clear explanation as to how the child’s body could have gone unnoticed during initial searches. The lack of clarity has only deepened public concern and the family’s distress.

A five-hour autopsy conducted on April 28 by three international pathologists had determined that Adriana died by drowning, with no evidence of physical or sexual trauma. Despite these findings, the family and sections of the public remained doubtful, citing the initial failed searches of the pool and calling for a more thorough investigation.

The family had appealed for an investigation by the FBI or some similar organization into the circumstances of Adriana’s death, however the government did not acquiesce. It recruited a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigator, McCoshen to conduct a probe.

Adriana’s death and the questions that swirled in the aftermath, fuelled waves of unrest. On April 24 following the discovery of the body, the hotel was set on fire along with the residence of the owner.

The outbreak of violence came on April 28 following the release of the autopsy results. Shops were looted and some were burnt. Motorbike gangs terrorized parts of the city and roads were blocked and burnt. Dozens of arrests followed and terrorism changes have been laid.

The planned funeral of Adriana on May 5 was suddenly called off. Prior to this, Western embassies here had issued appeals for calm.