Adriana’s 2nd autopsy: “I would be very reluctant to say this child drowned” – Gwinnett Medical Examiner
The Chief Medical Examiner of Gwinnett County, Dr. Carol Terry, has cast doubt on the first autopsy conducted on the body of 11-year-old Adriana Young, which ruled out drowning as the cause of death.
During an interview with a local reporter, Dr. Terry revealed that while she found no signs of external trauma to the body, the circumstances surrounding Adriana’s death were far too suspicious to support a definitive conclusion of drowning.
“Drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion,” Dr. Terry explained. “There is nothing in an autopsy that definitively proves drowning. And based on what I’ve been told about how and where Adriana’s body was found, I would be very reluctant to say this child drowned.”
Adriana, who had recently written the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), was reported missing on April 23, 2025, shortly after she arrived at the Double Day Hotel and Bar in Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) with relatives.
The following day, she was discovered dead in the hotel’s pool, which was searched after her disappearance. However, Dr. Terry said this timeline raises critical concerns and demands further investigation.
Dr. Terry noted that the first autopsy appeared to have been competently performed, but highlighted limitations with conducting a second examination after embalming and prior dissection.
Despite these limitations, Dr. Terry said she took extra care to examine the structures of the neck, including the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage, to ensure there were no overlooked signs of strangulation or suffocation.
“Just because there are no visible injuries doesn’t mean a person wasn’t murdered,” she stated. “There are ways to interfere with breathing without leaving marks.”
She also acknowledged that the body had lost some forensic value due to decomposition, embalming, and the first autopsy, but insisted that the true determination of the cause of death hinges more on investigative efforts than on physical evidence alone.
Given the inconsistencies in the timeline and the suspicious nature of the case, Dr. Terry strongly recommended a full-scale criminal investigation. She urged law enforcement to review surveillance footage near the pool area and around the time of Adriana’s disappearance.
She also urged comprehensive toxicology tests from the original autopsy and ensured all sexual assault-related specimens were thoroughly examined.
The first autopsy was conducted by a team of three international pathologists: Dr. Shubhakar Karra Paul of Barbados, Dr. Gary Collins, Chief Medical Examiner of Delaware (U.S.), and Dr. Glenn Rudner of Mount Sinai Hospital (U.S.).
The Police recently stated that the pathologists submitted their final report on Tuesday, ruling Adriana’s death a drowning, with no signs of foul play.
According to the police, the certified autopsy findings confirmed that her death was consistent with drowning and revealed no evidence of trauma, assault, or any other criminal activity. Despite this conclusion, the family is holding out that she was murdered.
Furthermore, an investigation carried out by retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigator Leonard McCoshan found “no evidence of foul play by persons named or unnamed during the investigation.”
