Independent autopsy is next step in investigation into Jackson man’s death

With the state autopsy of Belhaven Heights resident Dau Mabil completed and a determination of death by drowning from an unknown cause, his brother can now move forward with conducting a second independent autopsy that he fought for.

Bailey Martin, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said in an email that the autopsy could be conducted without delay, interference or disruption because the Capitol Police investigation is now complete.

“The family is awaiting the results of an independent autopsy and will move forward from there,” said Lisa Ross, a Jackson-based attorney who represents Mabil’s brother, Bul.

She said the goal was to complete the autopsy so Mabil could receive a proper burial.

A court order in May set the conditions for a second autopsy, including that Dau Mabil’s body be kept at the State Medical Examiner’s Office until the investigation is complete.

Ross named two forensic pathologists were communicated to Dau Mabil’s widow, Karissa Bowley. In court, she demanded safeguards for an independent autopsy, including a requirement that the examiner be qualified.

Bowley was not immediately available for comment Friday.

Dau Mabil came to Jackson in 2000 with his brother as one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” These boys had fled war and genocide in their country. Bul Mabil said his brother was born in 1990, but the autopsy report gives his age as 37.

Dau Mabil was last seen in the Belhaven area on March 25, according to his wife, after walking without his phone. Video footage showed him near Jefferson Street and Fortification and High Streets, and Bowley said he went to check on the corn he had grown near the Museum Trail.

Bowley and community members began the search. Bul Mabil traveled from out of state and attended a press conference with Bowley and others in early April to demand answers about Dau’s whereabouts.

Three weeks later, a fisherman reported a body floating in the Pearl River near Lawrence County. A preliminary autopsy determined it was Mabil’s. The Lawrence County Sheriff said there was no evidence of foul play.

Bul Mabil and other family members have questioned whether that is true. The day his brother’s body was found, he filed a temporary restraining order against Bowley, Capitol Police and the state crime lab to preserve Dau’s body for a state and independent autopsy.

A few weeks later, in May, Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Dewayne Thomas excluded Bul Mabil from the case, but Bowley stated in court and in her briefs that she would allow a second autopsy. In his order, Thomas specified that a second autopsy would be performed at Bul Mabil’s “direction and expense.”

Last week, Bowley released the state’s five-page autopsy report, which listed Mabil’s cause of death as drowning and the manner of death as undetermined. The report notes that there were no internal or external signs of trauma or injury that could explain his death.

Toxicological analysis of liver tissue and decomposition fluid after death revealed the presence of ethanol.

An accompanying toxicology report found that ethanol – also known as ethyl alcohol or drinking alcohol – can be a central nervous system depressant that can lead to impaired judgment, reduced attention and coordination. Ethanol can also be a decomposition product, the report said.

A week before the autopsy results were released, the Bowley and Mabil families and supporters spoke at separate press conferences.

The Bowleys denied allegations and insinuations that his widow or family had anything to do with Mabil’s disappearance, something Ross implied when questioning Karissa Bowley at a restraining order hearing in April.

Bul Mabil was accompanied by his and Dau’s mother, who traveled from Africa, as well as Sudanese family, friends and community members. Bul Mabil still believes someone killed his brother, and he criticized Capitol Police for the way they handled his case, local media reported.