Urbana, IL – New details have emerged in the investigation into the death of University of Illinois student Akul Dhawan. The Champaign County Coroner, Stephen Thuney, announced on Tuesday that an autopsy performed on Monday revealed signs of hypothermia in the 18-year-old electrical engineering freshman.
According to the coroner’s office, while there was no significant trauma found on Dhawan’s body, the autopsy indicated skin changes consistent with hypothermia. Dhawan had been reported missing by his roommate at 1:23 a.m. on Sunday when temperatures were a frigid 1° Fahrenheit, worsening to a windchill between -20° and -14° overnight. He was found deceased at 11:08 a.m., with the temperature having risen only marginally to 8° Fahrenheit.
Investigators are still awaiting results of a toxicology report while an investigation into the death remains ongoing.
