THE wife of a man whose body was pulled from a river after he went missing has slammed the investigation into his death.
Karissa Bowley filed a motion on Friday reaffirming that she is Dau Mabil’s next of kin after she was not given notice about an April 18 hearing brought about by his brother, Bul.
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Dau went missing after heading out for a walk on a trail in Jackson, Mississippi on March 25.
He texted Bowley his intended whereabouts and left his phone at home.
When Dau did not soon return home, Bowley launched a desperate search alongside his brother.
“She has fought tirelessly to find him; and to pressure the police to help her find him – including by organizing neighborhood canvassing; camera footage-gathering, and actions at the Capitol Police offices,” Bowley’s lawyers said.
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Dozens of volunteers worked to find Dau until a body was pulled from the Pearl River last week, about 60 miles south of where Dau was last seen.
Police identified the body as Dau on Thursday. An initial autopsy did not reveal foul play.
Bul Mabil requested that a full autopsy be done before Dau could be buried or cremated.
Bowley said she supported Bul’s motion and pled with the court to loop her into future proceedings as Dau’s living legal representative, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate WAPT.
“She would have attended [the hearing] had she known. She would have testified that she embraces the court’s granted relief to the extent described below,” her lawyers said.
Bowley’s representatives also added clarifications to the motion, including requiring that the autopsy be performed within one month after the police finish their investigation.
Attorneys also included a copy of Bowley and Dau’s marriage certificate with the filing.
LAST SEEN ALIVE
The details surrounding Dau’s disappearance are murky.
He told his wife he was going for a walk on a trail near their home in Jackson around noon.
“I’ll be walking a square in the usual area!!” Dau texted Bowley referring to the route leading to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, according to a Facebook post.
“If anybody has put their hand on my brother, these people will have to be held accountable. And that’s why I’m here to get to the bottom of it.
Bul Mabil
Surveillance camera footage caught Dau near the trail shortly before police believe he died.
Those are the last images of Dau alive.
Later in the day, several people can be seen near the same trail carrying a heavy bag to a truck, lawyer Lisa Ross said on behalf of Bul.
TOO MANY QUESTIONS
Both Bowley and Bul have said that the police’s investigation into his death has been botched from the beginning.
“I had to find out that a body was recovered from a friend who saw it on Facebook,” Bul told NBC News.
Several different police agencies — including the Capitol Police, Jackson Police, and Lawrence County Police — have been working together to investigate the case.
“The only way I hear from them is when I call them,” Bul said.
TIMELINE OF DAU’S DISAPPEARANCE
Family and community members in Jackson searched for Dau for weeks before his body was discovered in the river:
- March 25: Dau disappears after taking a walk in Jackson, Mississippi
- April 13: A body is pulled from Pearl River, 60 miles south of Jackson where Dau was last seen
- April 18: Police announce that the body has been identified as Dau and foul play is not suspected after an initial autopsy
- April 18: Lawyers for Bul file a motion to prevent burial until another autopsy can be performed
- April 19: Attorneys for Bowley file a motion reaffirming her status as Dau’s next of kin and supporting Bul’s motion
Police took days to announce the identity of the body and said they were unsure of how long it had been in the water.
“There’s a lot of different things that could have happened. He could have had a heart attack and fallen into the river, for all we know. I mean, nobody knows right now,” Lawrence County Sheriff Ryan Everett told local CBS affiliate WJTV.
Bul and Bowley said that they had no indication that Dau was ill or would want to harm himself, and evidence they have seen points to a criminal culprit.
Now they are urging anyone in the public with information about Dau’s death to step forward.
“We want to know what happened to Dau,” Bul said on Thursday.
“And if anybody has put their hand on my brother, these people will have to be held accountable. And that’s why I’m here to get to the bottom of it.”
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‘WHAT AMERICA WANTS IMMIGRANTS TO BE’
Dau emigrated to Mississippi as a child refugee escaping the civil war in Sudan along with his brother.
“I can’t believe this would happen to someone who came here from a war-torn country. I was expecting much better government in this country. But this is the way the United States operates. It is so appalling,” Bul said.
He was eventually adopted by a Jackson woman named Vallena Greer and was able to reunite with his brother Bul.
After graduating from high school and excelling at soccer, Dau took up a job as a manager at a restaurant where he was working when he died.
“He did well for what America wants immigrants to be,” Bul said of his brother.
“We called Mississippi our second home. We didn’t know something like this would happen to one of us.”
Lawyers for Bul did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
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