A man escaped Sudan's bloody civil war. His mysterious death in Missisippi has sparked suspicion

JACKSON, Miss. -- As a child, Dau Mabil escaped war-torn Sudan and built a caller beingness successful Mississippi. This month, fishermen recovered the assemblage of the 33-year-old Mabil floating successful a river, prompting calls for a national probe into his disappearance and death.

Mabil, who lived successful Jackson with his wife, went missing successful wide daylight connected March 25 aft going for a locomotion connected a way connecting the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum with different metropolis landmarks. His brother, Bul Mabil, formed uncertainty connected archetypal autopsy results published Thursday, which a sheriff said did not uncover signs of foul play.

Bul Mabil said helium is dissatisfied with the mode authorities person handled the case.

“I can't judge this would hap to idiosyncratic who came present from a war-torn country,” helium said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press. ”I was expecting overmuch amended authorities successful this country. But this is the mode the United States operates. It is truthful appalling.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, whose territory includes Jackson, sent a missive to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting a Justice Department investigation. Thompson said civilian rights organizations had contacted his bureau astir the case, and his missive described Mabil arsenic an “African male, who is joined to Mrs. Karissa Bowley, a achromatic female.”

Family members and acrophobic citizens spent weeks searching for Dau Mabil, who was captured by a surveillance camera walking adjacent the trail. In an interview, Bul Mabil said helium raced to Jackson from his location successful Houston connected March 26 aft proceeding of his brother’s decease from a household friend. He said helium began looking into the lawsuit connected his own, alongside the Capitol Police, a authorities instrumentality enforcement bureau that operates successful portion of Jackson.

At the aforesaid time, Bowley led rallies and accusation campaigns connected behalf of her missing husband, asking for the public's assistance to find him. She did not respond to a substance oregon telephone telephone seeking comment.

Fishermen spotted a assemblage connected April 13 successful the Pearl River successful Lawrence County, astir 60 miles (97 kilometers) southbound of Jackson. Days later, officials confirmed the remains were those of Dau Mabil.

Bul Mabil said his brother's decease has been devastating for him and his mother, who inactive lives successful a exile camp.

The brothers were among the thousands of young refugees brought to the U.S. during their country’s bloody civilian war. After they arrived, Julie Hines Mabus, the ex-wife of erstwhile Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, started a instauration that helped the children settee successful Jackson. She described Dau Mabil arsenic “soft-spoken, a grin connected his face, a small twinkle successful his eye.”

“To get present was miraculous and past for Bul to get his member present was adjacent much miraculous,” Hines Mabus told the AP. “It was benignant of similar a homecoming. And present for Bul to look this with his brother, it’s conscionable heartbreaking.”

Bul Mabil filed exigency ineligible papers to guarantee his brother's assemblage wouldn't beryllium released to Bowley and her household until an autopsy was performed by some the authorities transgression laboratory and an autarkic aesculapian examiner. On Thursday, Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas granted the request, pausing merchandise of the assemblage and ordering a 2nd autopsy.

In a consequent tribunal filing, Bowley's lawyer said her lawsuit “embraces” the judge's bid for an further autopsy, with the information it beryllium conducted lone aft each instrumentality enforcement entities decorativeness investigating.

Bul Mabil formed uncertainty connected a connection from Lawrence County Sheriff Ryan Everett, who archetypal reported the results of the archetypal autopsy Thursday. Everett said the autopsy did not uncover foul play, but an authoritative determination whitethorn beryllium made later, pending further testing.

Bailey Martin, a spokesperson for the authorities Department of Public Safety, said the authorities transgression laboratory performed the autopsy. The section expects to person DNA confirmation adjacent week.

Bul Mabil's attorneys said they anticipation an autarkic autopsy tin beryllium done wrong the adjacent week.

Capitol Police conducted an “insufficient” investigation, Bul Mabil said. One of this attorneys, Carlos Tanner, said his lawsuit was “being near successful the acheronian astir the suspicious circumstances” astir his brother's disappearance and death.

Vallena Greer, a Jackson pistillate who took successful and raised Dau Mabil, said helium thrived successful America. He received a schoolhouse grant for his improved English speaking skills and was a talented shot player.

At the clip of his disappearance, Dau Mabil worked arsenic a manager astatine a Jackson edifice and planned connected returning to schoolhouse to gain a machine subject degree.

“He did good for what America wants immigrants to be," Bul Mabil said. “We called Mississippi our 2nd home. We didn’t cognize thing similar this would hap to 1 of us.”

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Michael Goldberg is simply a corps subordinate for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues. Follow him astatine @mikergoldberg.