Adrianna Younge’s US Autopsy: Drowning not confirmed, Criminal Probe urged

Guyana: The Chief Medical Examiner at the Gwinnett County, Dr Carol Terry, from Georgia, USA who conducted an autopsy on Adrianna Younge’s body has stated that a thorough investigation is required to rule out drowning as the cause of her death while stating that she is very reluctant to draw that conclusion.  

The autopsy was conducted on the 11-year-old on Thursday morning at around 1:00 pm and lasted a few hours. Dr Terry, who performed the autopsy raised serious concerns related to the same, emphasizing that while she didn’t find any evidence of foul play or trauma, she couldn't conclude that Adrianna died by drowning.  

“At this point of time, I would not come to that conclusion. I think that there's a lot of information that needs to be gained, a lot of investigation that needs to be done. Drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion and by that it means that you have to exclude other potential causes of death and often times 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,” she said.  

Dr Terry emphasized that a thorough criminal investigation is required to reach a final conclusion in Adrianna Younge’s case. The doctor also stressed that the first autopsy performed over Adrianna Younge’s body was not thoroughly conducted emphasizing that a few parts of her body including the neck were not fully dissected which left important areas insufficiently examined. 

She also highlighted that most of the forensic value of the body was lost due to embalming, decomposition and artifacts introduced during the first autopsy. She continued adding that a comprehensive analysis is required to rule out any decision. While supporting these claims she called for a thorough review of surveillance footage, forensic testing including toxicology.  

Preliminary Report yet to be released 

While the autopsy has been performed, a preliminary report from the medical professionals is pending which could disclose several outcomes of the autopsy and help find the cause of Adrianna Younge’s death. A preliminary report usually takes 2-3 days to be released depending on the lab testing results.  

Amika Lewis speaks during Adrianna Younge’s US autopsy 

While Dr Terry in her interview following the autopsy highlighted several different findings, the outspoken relative and aunt of Adrianna Younge who was present at the Gwinnett County for the autopsy also appeared in an interview where she stated that the family believes that Adrianna Younge was ‘murdered’. 

She also stressed on all the questions that the family has and wants an answer for the same from the autopsy. These include the time of death, the liquid found in her nostrils was the same as that of the swimming pool, bruises on her body and more.