Age, Biography, and Wiki
Otto Frederick Warmbier was born on December 12, 1994, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was an American college student studying economics at the University of Virginia and a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. Warmbier gained international attention after he was imprisoned in North Korea in early 2016 during a guided tour. He was arrested on January 2, 2016, at Pyongyang International Airport, accused of attempting to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel. North Korean authorities sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor for subversion.
Months after his sentencing in March 2016, Warmbier suffered a severe neurological injury of unknown cause and fell into a coma. North Korea initially claimed he fell into a coma due to botulism and a sleeping pill overdose. He was released in June 2017, arriving back in the U.S. in a vegetative state and passing away six days later on June 19, 2017. A coroner's report cited an unknown brain injury causing oxygen deprivation as the cause of death. In 2018, a U.S. federal court held the North Korean government liable for Warmbier’s death in a default judgment.
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| Date of Birth | 12 December 1994 |
| Age | 30 Years |
| Birth Place | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 19 June, 2017 |
| Died Place | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is no publicly available detailed information about Otto Warmbier’s height, weight, or body measurements in the sources found.
"No words were spoken. Two guards just came over and simply tapped Otto on the shoulder and led him away. I just said kind of quite nervously, 'Well, that's the last we'll see of you'. There's a great irony in those words. That was it. That was the last physical time I saw Otto, ever. Otto didn't resist. He didn't look scared. He sort of half-smiled."
North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) initially announced that Warmbier had been detained for "a hostile act against the state", without specifying further details. North Korea refused to elaborate on the precise nature of his wrongdoing for six weeks, although a Young Pioneer spokeswoman advised Reuters there had been an "incident" at the Yanggakdo Hotel. In a press conference on February 29, 2016, Warmbier, reading from a prepared statement, confessed that he had attempted to steal a propaganda poster from a restricted staff-only-area of the second floor of the Yanggakdo Hotel to take home. The poster said (in Korean), "Let's arm ourselves strongly with Kim Jong Il's patriotism!". Damaging or stealing such items with the name or image of a North Korean leader is considered a serious crime by the North Korean government.
During his release, the North Koreans provided a disk containing two magnetic resonance imaging brain scans, dated April and July 2016, showing damage to the brain. According to his medical team, brain-scans revealed Warmbier had suffered extensive loss of tissue throughout his brain, consistent with a cardiopulmonary event that caused the brain to be deprived of oxygen. Doctors said they did not know what may have caused a cardiac arrest, if one had occurred, but that it could have been triggered by a respiratory arrest, while a neurointensive care specialist at the hospital stated that there was no evidence of botulism. His doctors found no evidence of physical abuse or torture; scans of Warmbier's neck and head were normal outside of the brain injury. They added that they didn't see any signs of healing or previously healed fractures, believing that "for somebody who had been bedridden for more than a year, that his body was in excellent condition, that his skin was in excellent condition".
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Dating & Relationship Status
Publicly available sources do not provide information about Otto Warmbier’s dating life or relationship status.
Otto Frederick Warmbier (December 12, 1994 – June 19, 2017) was an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016 on a charge of subversion. In June 2017, he was released by North Korea in a vegetative state and died soon after his parents requested his feeding tube be removed.
Warmbier never regained consciousness and died on June 19, 2017, six days after his return to the United States when his parents requested his feeding tube be removed. A coroner's report stated that he died from an unknown injury causing lack of oxygen to the brain. Non-invasive internal scans did not find any signs of fractures to his skull.
In 2018, a U.S. federal court found the North Korean government liable for Warmbier's alleged torture and death, in a default judgment in favor of Warmbier's parents after North Korea did not contest the case.
The eldest of Cynthia ("Cindy", née Garber) and Fred Warmbier's three children, he was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Warmbier's mother was Jewish and he identified as Jewish. He attended Wyoming High School, where he was considered popular and studious, and graduated in 2013 as salutatorian. After that, he enrolled at the University of Virginia, where he was pursuing a double major degree in commerce and economics, and did a foreign exchange at the London School of Economics. His minor was in global sustainability. Warmbier was active in Hillel on his college campus. He was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. Being interested in other cultures, he had visited Israel (on a Birthright trip), Europe, Cuba, and Ecuador.
Warmbier was scheduled to undertake a study-abroad program in Hong Kong in early 2016, and decided to visit North Korea en route over the New Year period. He booked a tour of North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours, a budget tour operator based in China founded by two Westerners, whose slogan was "Destinations your mother would rather you stayed away from." Warmbier's father, Fred, said that Young Pioneer advertised the trip as safe for U.S. citizens and that Otto was "curious about their culture [...] he wanted to meet the people of North Korea."
Fred and Cindy Warmbier met with numerous Obama administration officials, including then Secretary of State John Kerry, and with the Swedish ambassador, Torkel Stiernlöf, who served as an interlocutor between the U.S. and North Korea. In May 2017, Fred Warmbier said the Obama administration had encouraged them to keep a low profile about their son's situation, but that he and his wife wanted their son to be part of any negotiations between the United States and North Korea.
Warmbier's father held a press conference on June 15, but declined to answer a reporter's question as to whether or not the neurological injury was caused by an assault, saying he would let the doctors make that determination. He stated that his family did not believe anything the North Koreans told them. He expressed anger at the North Koreans for his son's condition, saying, "there is no excuse for any civilized nation to have kept his condition secret, and denied him top-notch medical care for so long".
After his parents requested his feeding tube be removed, Warmbier died in the hospital at 2:20 p.m. on June 19, 2017, at the age of 22. His family issued a statement expressing their sadness, thanking the hospital staff for their actions. President Trump issued a statement regarding Warmbier's death: "There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto's family and friends, and all who loved him." He added: "The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim."
In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 19, 2017, President Donald Trump mentioned Warmbier while lambasting North Korea as a rogue state. One week later, Trump posted on Twitter that Warmbier was "tortured beyond belief" by North Korea. His post followed a televised interview given by Warmbier's parents, in which they spoke of their son's death and expressed their wish for North Korea to be relisted as a state-sponsor of terrorism.
The following day, responding to the parents' interview, the Ohio coroner who had examined Warmbier denied that there were signs of torture, and said, "They're grieving parents. I can't really make comments on their perceptions". The coroner said that Warmbier had died due to brain damage following an interruption of blood flow. The coroner also said his skin condition was excellent, and his muscle volume was reasonably good given the circumstances.
In June 2018, Warmbier's parents praised President Trump for his comments about the family and stated that they hoped something positive would come from the first North Korea–United States summit, which was held that month.
In February 2019, at the conclusion of the second North Korea–United States summit, Trump announced that he had discussed Warmbier's treatment with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and said, "He [Kim] tells me he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word". President Trump also argued that it would not have been to Kim's advantage to allow Warmbier to be treated poorly. Following President Trump's comments, Warmbier's parents released a statement, saying, "We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuse or lavish praise can change that". Trump later said his remarks had been "misinterpreted" and added, "Of course I hold North Korea responsible for Otto's mistreatment and death", without mentioning Kim specifically.
In April 2018, Warmbier's parents sued the North Korean government in the United States federal district court in Washington, D.C., accusing North Korea of torture and murder. Although private citizens are not usually able to sue foreign nations and their governments, damages may be paid to the victims of nations designated as state-sponsors of terrorism, like North Korea, from a special fund established by the United States Congress.
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Net Worth
No reliable information or publicly documented estimates of Otto Warmbier’s net worth are available.
On December 24, 2018, Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell handed down a default judgment ordering North Korea to pay $501 million in damages. A copy of the judgment was couriered by the court to North Korea's foreign ministry in Pyongyang; however, it was returned to the US court that sent it. VOA News remarked that "it is unlikely North Korea will pay the judgment since there is no mechanism to force it to do so", but that the Warmbier family "may nonetheless be able to recoup damages through a Justice-Department-administered fund for victims of state-sponsored acts of terrorism, and may look to seize other assets held by the country outside of North Korea".
Social Network
No records indicate Otto Warmbier maintained a prominent social media presence or public social network profiles.
"I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country, I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you, the people and government of the DPRK, for your forgiveness. Please! I made the worst mistake of my life!"
Public reactions to Warmbier's death were strong. U.S. senators John McCain and Marco Rubio called it "murder", as did representative Adam Schiff. Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, "Countless innocent men and women have died at the hands of the North Korean criminals, but the singular case of Otto Warmbier touches the American heart like no other". South Korean president Moon Jae-in conveyed his condolences to Warmbier's family, and said "We cannot know for sure that North Korea killed Mr. Warmbier. But I believe it is quite clear that they have a heavy responsibility in the process that led to Mr. Warmbier's death".
Michael Kirby, chairman of the United Nations commission of inquiry on human rights in North Korea, wrote: "A young American's fate becomes a metaphor, a kind of symbol, of a big story about thousands of nameless statistics locked up and oppressed in North Korea. They are voiceless. But Otto Warmbier speaks of their suffering from his grave. He reminds the world of the human rights wrongs in North Korea. He joins the voices of the many witnesses who gave testimony to the UN commission."
In April 2019, The Washington Post reported previously undisclosed news that at the time of Warmbier's medical evacuation, North Korean officials had presented the U.S. delegation that repatriated him with a bill for US$2 million for his medical treatment while in Pyongyang. President Trump denied that the U.S. government had paid the bill.
Although the coroner's post-mortem examination had found that Warmbier's teeth were "natural and in good repair", two of Warmbier's private dentists testified that his post-mortem dental x-rays indicated that some of his lower teeth were bent backward when compared to his earlier dental records, consistent with "some sort of impact". A scar on Warmbier's foot, previously described by the coroner as "inexplicable", was held up by some expert witnesses as evidence that Warmbier may have been subjected to torture (such as electric shock) by his North Korean jailers.
Education
Otto Warmbier graduated as class salutatorian from Wyoming High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2013. He earned a scholarship to the University of Virginia, where he was pursuing a degree in economics. Warmbier also had plans to study abroad in Hong Kong during his college years and traveled to North Korea as part of an adventurous guided tour before beginning a conventional career path.
Shortly after his sentencing in March 2016, Warmbier suffered a severe neurological injury from an unknown cause and fell into a coma, which lasted until his death. North Korean authorities did not disclose his medical condition until June 2017, when they announced he had fallen into a coma as a result of botulism and a sleeping pill. He was freed later that month, still in a comatose state after 17 months in captivity. He was sent back to the United States and arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 13, 2017. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for immediate evaluation and treatment.
Warmbier's confession also stated that he had plotted to steal the poster at the behest of a Methodist church in his hometown and the Z-Society, a secret society at the University of Virginia that he wished to join, both of which he said were allied with the Central Intelligence Agency. These claims, which Time magazine called "fanciful" and "implausible," were disputed by both the church and the Z-Society. The New York Times remarked that "the unlikely nature of the details suggested the script had been written by Mr. Warmbier's North Korean interrogators". U.S. negotiator Mickey Bergman later stated that Warmbier's family were advised to maintain silence about his Jewish heritage while he was under arrest, as negotiators believed that publicly repudiating Warmbier's purported affiliation with a Methodist church would antagonize the North Korean regime.
After 17 months in detention, Warmbier, still in a comatose state, was medically evacuated from the Pyongyang Friendship Hospital to Cincinnati, arriving on the evening of June 13. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where doctors tried to determine what caused his coma and if there were signs of recovery.
Warmbier's physicians at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center stated that he was in "a state of unresponsive wakefulness", commonly known as persistent vegetative state. He was able to breathe on his own and blink his eyes, but otherwise showed no signs of awareness of his environment, such as understanding language, nor did he initiate any purposeful movements. Michael Flueckiger, a medical director who was part of the team which took Warmbier back to the U.S., stated that Warmbier had received good medical care at the hospital in Pyongyang. Medical records from North Korea showed that Warmbier had been in this state since April 2016, one month after his conviction.
At the request of Warmbier's family, an autopsy was not performed, and only a postmortem external examination was conducted. Doctors speculated that the cause of death could have been a blood clot, pneumonia, sepsis, or kidney failure. Sleeping pills could have caused Warmbier to stop breathing if he had botulism and was paralyzed from it. The University of Cincinnati doctors found no evidence of botulism, but several neurologists said that botulism could not be ruled out, given the length of time before Warmbier's return to the U.S. GQ journalist Doug Bock Clark suggested that Warmbier might have attempted suicide some time after his sentencing. The U.S. coroner who examined Warmbier's body after his death said that Warmbier's body showed no obvious signs of torture.
A funeral for Warmbier was held on June 22, 2017, at Wyoming High School; more than 2,500 mourners attended. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Glendale, Ohio, and students tied ribbons on every tree and pole along the 3 mi route taken by the funeral procession from the high school to the cemetery.
