Otto Warmbier

Alumnus Otto Warmbier
Born	Otto Frederick Warmbier (1994-12-12)December 12, 1994 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	June 19, 2017(2017-06-19) (aged 22) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Wyoming High School (2013)
Alma mater	University of Virginia
Known for	Arrest and detainment in North Korea, death after detainment in North Korea
Parents	Fred Warmbier (father) Cindy Warmbier (mother)

Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student. He was imprisoned in North Korea from March 2016 to June 2017 after being convicted of "hostile acts" against the country.

Imprisonment

Warmbier, then 21 years old, confessed to stealing a political propaganda poster from a hotel and was sentenced to 15 years' hard labor. The United States made diplomatic efforts to seek Warmbier's release. A U.S. State Department spokesman said Warmbier's harsh sentence was a response to U.S. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear activities. According to his father, Warmbier's confession was forced and he was abducted by the North Korean government for political purposes.

Release

Warmbier fell into a coma in North Korea and was released in June 2017, after nearly 18 months in North Korea. According to North Korean authorities, Warmbier's coma was a result of botulism and a sleeping pill, but U.S. physicians cast doubt on that claim. Warmbier arrived in Cincinnati on June 13 and was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for immediate evaluation and treatment. He was diagnosed with "severe neurological injury."

His father believes that he was "terrorized and brutalized".

Death

Warmbier died on June 19, 2017, in Cincinnati, six days after his return to the United States from complications of cardiopulmonary arrest caused by botulism and sepsis. He was also suffering from pneumonia and kidney failure.