Autopsy shows Ahmaud Arbery was shot twice in the chest

An autopsy found that Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year old black man who was killed earlier this year, was shot twice in the chest, according to a copy of the autopsy obtained by The Hill Tuesday. 

The autopsy released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) forensics division found that the gun shot wounds were in Arbery’s upper and lower chest.

The autopsy also found a third bullet grazed Arbery’s right wrist and that there were no signs of alcohol or drugs in Arbery’s system, WSB-TV, a CNN-affiliate, reported.

The Hill has reached out to the bureau for a copy of the report. 

The GBI said Tuesday they will investigate the case after a request from state Attorney General Chris Carr (R). 

“The Attorney General is concerned that the actions of these offices in possibly misrepresenting or failing to disclose information during the process of appointing a conflict prosecutor to investigate the death of Ahmaud Arbery may have constituted unprofessional conduct,” the bureau said in a statement. 

Arbery was shot and killed in Glynn County, Ga., on Feb. 23 while jogging. A white father and son, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, were arrested last week in association with the fatal shooting. The two claim that they believed Arbery to be a burglar. 

The arrests were almost three months after Arbery’s death after Lee Merritt, an attorney representing his family, released footage that appears to show Arbery being chased and struggling with one of the men outside a truck shortly before his death. 

Four days later, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson requested the appointment of another prosecutor due to a conflict of interest — Gregory McMichael was a former investigator with her office, according to the GBI.  

Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill agreed to accept the case, but not long after Barnhill’s appointment, he and Johnson learned Barnhill’s son, an assistant district attorney in Johnson’s office, had worked with McMichael on a prosecution involving Arbery. 

Barnhill, however, held onto the case for several more weeks after making the discovery, notifying the attorney general on April 7 of the conflict of interest and requesting the appointment of another prosecutor, according to the GBI. 

After receiving Barnhill’s notification of a conflict of interest, the attorney general appointed Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden to the case on April 13, and Durden requested the GBI investigate Arbery’s death on May 5.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday it is reviewing evidence in the fatal shooting and considering whether federal charges are warranted. 

Carr had requested the Justice Department launch an investigation.