The late Dau Mabil's widow won another round in the fight over an independent autopsy of his remains.
Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas denied a motion to enforce the judgment filed by Dau's brother, Bul, today. Bul Mabil, Dau's brother, wants to commission forensic pathologist Dr. Matthias Okoye to perform an independent autopsy of Dau's remains. Karissa Bowley, Dau's wife, contested the selection, stating Dr. Okoye has a "clear history of incompetence."Judge Thomas had enough of the squabbling and ruled:
Specifically contained therein, this Court found "that Karissa llowley, as the surviving spouse of Dau Mabil, has willingly consented to an independent autopsy ofthe bodily remains of Dau Mabil to be conducted at the direction and expense of Bul Garang Mabil." The Temporary Order further contained certain minimum qualifications of the forensic pathologist to be chosen to conduct the independent autopsy. On June 21, 2024, Bul Garang Mabil selected Dr. Matthias Okoye to conduct the independent autopsy. Karissa Bowley objected to Dr. Okoye; she provided alternative pathologists for consideration. Bul Garang Mabil declined those alternatives and proffered two (2) other alternatives. Karissa Bowley agreed to these two (2) alternatives. After much communication, counsel seemingly agreed to Dr. Daniel Schultz, President of Final Diagnosis, Inc.; however, shortly thereafter, Counsel for Bui Garang Mabil indicated that he had chosen Dr. Okoye and only agreed to Dr. Schultz if Dr. Okoye was unavailable. This Court makes no determination regarding the allegations of incompetency and partiality of Dr. Okoye. However, the Court does note that Karissa Bowley willingly consented to an independent autopsy to be conducted at the direction and expense of Bul Mabil. Absent such willing consent, this Court would have been precluded from allowing the same. Although the independent autopsy is to be conducted at the direction and expense of Bul Garang Mabil, this Court did not exclude Karissa Bowley from the process. As the surviving spouse of Dau Mabil, Karissa Bowley has a legal right to be included in all matters concerning this process. Furthermore, Bul Garang Mabil has agreed to Dr. Daniel Schultz if Dr. Okoye is unavailable. Likewise, this Court finds that Dr. Daniel Schultz meets all requirements set forth in this Court's Temporary Order of the Court [MEC #35]. Should Bul Garang Mabil desire to have an independent autopsy performed at his expense, Dr. Schultz may perform the same. Based upon the foregoing, Petitioner Bul Garang Mabil's Plaintiff's [sic] Emergency Motion to Enforce The Judgment Against Karissa Bowley is hereby denied.Mabil disappeared on March 25 when he went for a walk in Belhaven. He was the subject of a massive search by law enforcement and numerous volunteers. The 34 year-old African immigrant was a favorite at Sal & Mookies where he was a manager. He was married to Karissa Bowley. Lawrence County deputies recovered Dau Mabil's body in the Pearl River on April 13. The body was transferred to the Capitol Police. The State Medical Examiner said Mabil died of drowning but the manner of death could not be determined due to the advanced decomposition of his body.
Dau's brother, Bul, skirmished with Dau's wife, Karissa Bowley, in Hinds County Chancery Court over whether he could commission an independent autopsy. Earlier post. Chancellor Dewayne Thomas ruled only Ms. Bowley had the power to authorize an independent autopsy. She said she would allow Bul to order the second autopsy per the Court's conditions. Judge Thomas spelled out the qualifications for the independent autopsy:
The independent autopsy shall be conducted only by a pathologist who is at least as qualified as is generally required of pathologists conducting autopsies for the State of Mississippi; the pathologist must be an M.D. or D.O. who is certified in anatomic pathology by the American Board of Pathology and must be competent to meet the qualifications as set forth in Mississippi Code Annotated §41-61-65. All costs of the independent autopsy shall be born by Bul Garang Mabil.
A dispute arose between the Dau's widow and brother over who would conduct the independent autopsy. Bul commissioned Dr. Matthias Okaye for the task. However, Ms. Bowley objected, sending the case right back to court. Earlier Post
Bul filed the emergency motion to enforce the court's order on July 1.
10 comments:
There goes the lynching allegation
This ruling is bull shit. It hinges entirely on the 'unavailability' of the specialist chosen by Bul. Who's to say he is unavailable?
The judge approved the alternate based on nothing more than his magical supposition that the chosen medical examiner 'might' be unavailable.
Good job for the Judge. This crap has to end. Every single autopsy has shown this man died from drowning.
"Dr. Daniel Schultz is founder, President, and Chief Pathologist for Final Diagnosis, Inc., and has personally performed over 7000 autopsies. Dr. Schultz is a board certified anatomic, clinical and forensic pathologist and is licensed to practice medicine in Florida (home), California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia."
So. Where are they shipping this poor dead man's body this time? Or is this Dr coming to Mississippi?
I'm trying to understand why this is newsworthy?
Atty Ross -- please don't let the door hit you on the way out of Chancery Court.
PS - we still want to see the evidence supporting your lynching claim. Otherwise, we want to see a public reprimand from the MS Bar
Somebody needs to keep Emmitt Till's name out they mouf.
His family and many others should be pissed these charlatans would dare throw his name around like that. But crickets...
This case has been totally mismanaged. I know because I used to watch “Perry Mason”, so I know!!!!
to 3;31....i agree with you, but this race hustle warrants much more that a public reprimand from the bar. may i suggest a five year suspension and a large chancery court money sanction for sending this chancellor on a wild goose chase.
thats the only thing that will put a stop to these kind of stunts by miz race hustle ross .
How do they know this Schultz guy is going to give them the murder finding they want? They could end up paying him for nothing, and that ain't right. At least with their guy they know what he'll say. When you pay for an expert, he becomes YOUR expert. Right? Right?
The Judge's ruling was absolutly correct. He had no authority to change Mississippi law and give the brother rights superceding the rights of a widow to her husband's body. He simply set out minimum professional standards for the selection of a pathologist to conduct the autopsy which the widow agreed to. She still had her right to object. I suppose they thought they could holler racism or evoke Mr. Till and change everything.
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