The Latest: North Korea detainee mourned at Ohio funeral

The Latest: North Korea detainee mourned at Ohio funeral


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WYOMING, Ohio (AP) — The Latest on the death of a U.S. college student who was held by North Korea (all times local):

11:45 a.m.

Mourners have paid their respects to an American college student who was detained in North Korea for over a year and died shortly after being returned home to Ohio in a coma.

About 2,000 people packed into a school for Otto Warmbier's funeral Thursday in Wyoming, near Cincinnati. They heard stories about his life, rap music he listened to and his habit of shopping for sweaters at thrift stores. A bagpiper played as the casket was carried to a hearse, and mourners lined the street.

Warmbier's cause of death hasn't been determined. Relatives say they were told the 22-year-old University of Virginia student had been in a coma since shortly after being sentenced to prison in North Korea last year.

He'd been accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner.

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10 a.m.

Hundreds of mourners are celebrating the life of an American college student who was detained in North Korea for over a year and died shortly after being returned home to Ohio in a coma.

Otto Warmbier's brother, sister and friends were scheduled to speak at the funeral Thursday in his hometown of Wyoming, near Cincinnati. A rabbi was officiating at the public service, which was closed to the news media.

A coroner is trying to determine Warmbier's cause of death. Relatives say they were told the 22-year-old University of Virginia student had been in a coma since shortly after he was sentenced to prison in North Korea in March 2016.

He died Monday.

He'd been accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting North Korea.

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9:35 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman says North Korea must be held accountable for what happened to an American college student who was detained there for over a year and died after being returned home to Ohio in a coma.

Ohio's Republican senator calls Otto Warmbier "an amazing young man" who shouldn't have been detained. Portman spoke Thursday outside Wyoming High School in Warmbier's hometown, where hundreds of people lined up early for a public memorial service. It was closed to the news media.

A coroner is trying to determine Warmbier's cause of death. Relatives say they were told the 22-year-old University of Virginia student had been in a coma since shortly after he was sentenced to prison in March 2016.

He'd been accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner.

___

3 a.m.

The life of a 22-year-old college student who died this week after being detained for nearly a year and a half in North Korea will be celebrated in an Ohio hometown still stunned by his loss.

Wyoming officials say the service for Otto Warmbier in the Wyoming High School auditorium will be open to the public Thursday, but not to news media.

The Hamilton County coroner is still trying to determine the cause of Warmbier's death Monday. The University of Virginia student was accused in January 2015 of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting North Korea.

Steve Thomas, his former soccer coach, says he was a key player who had a deep commitment to reaching out to people. He has "an overwhelming sense of loss" about his passing.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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