Before anyone knows how Dau Mabil died, he has become a specter in court. His remains are physically stuck in a morgue and, effectively, in a legal blast zone. His private texts near the end of his life are now part of the public record.
Mabil, 33, disappeared on March 25, 2024, during a walk along what is known as the museum trail near downtown Jackson, Mississippi. Three weeks later, his body was found by fisherman about 60 miles away in the Pearl River in Lawrence County.
Mabil had come to Jackson in 2000 among a group of about 50 “lost boys” from Sudan who were orphaned or displaced by that country’s civil war and had wandered for long periods of time (in some cases, for many years) while facing threats from warlords, lions and starvation. About 20,000 lost boys reportedly fled under similar circumstances.
In the years since, Mabil had created a new life in Jackson. He had fathered a child, married a local woman, Karissa Bowley, and, at the time of his death, was working at a Jackson restaurant. To date, no one has provided evidence of a crime related to his death, nor has anyone claimed that he may have committed suicide. His cause of death is a mystery playing out in court.
Mabil’s brother, Bul Mabil, who was likewise a lost boy, launched a legal dispute when he filed suit to prevent the release of Dau Mabil’s remains pending an independent autopsy. In response, Karissa Bowley claimed that she was listed as a defendant in the lawsuit before even being informed that she was a widow.
Bul Mabil also sued state law enforcement agencies including the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Capitol Police, the State Crime Lab and two undescribed “John Doe” entities. One of his attorneys summoned the ghost of Emmett Till, suggesting that his brother was the victim of a hate crime, though an initial autopsy concluded there was no evidence of foul play. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson called for a federal investigation and the NAACP claimed Dau Mabil’s body showed “signs of immense physical trauma.” Bul Mabil seeks an independent autopsy, which is the stated reason for his lawsuit.
Bowley and the Department of Public Safety have sought legal remedies of their own, including by requesting amendments to an initial court order related to Bul Mabil’s lawsuit. After lawyering up, Bowley responded that she supports another autopsy but claimed she was not informed of the effort before Hinds County Judge Dewayne Thomas ruled in Bul Mabil’s favor. She also asked that the order be amended to include her as her husband’s next of kin. Bowley attached one caveat to her support: that a second autopsy be performed by someone at least as qualified as the state medical examiner.
In its response to the lawsuit, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety asked Thomas to rescind the restraining order blocking the release of Dau’s remains, saying, in part, that the order was not legal. DPS attorney Claire Barker argued that Thomas lacked jurisdiction and that as a result the order was “void.” She wrote: “Relief cannot be granted to the plaintiff as a matter of law because he [Bul Mabil] is not the next of kin, and lacks the capacity to bring this claim.”
Barker added that the order “is improper if it seeks to interfere, impede or direct the manner in which the Mississippi State Medical Examiner conducts its investigation of a death affecting the public interest.” She wrote that DPS was likewise not notified of the April 18 hearing when the injunction was granted.
On April 30, following what the news outlet Mississippi Today described as “a contentious hearing,” Thomas said he would keep the injunction in place until the state can complete another autopsy.
After Dau Mabil’s disappearance, Bowley, who reported him missing, undertook a campaign to find him, which included compiling surveillance video and posting flyers. Bul Mabil’s attorney claimed that he was left out of that search effort.
According to WLBT TV, court records reveal more details about the relationship between Bowley and her late husband, including that she was concerned about his drinking and alleged verbal and physical abuse.
“Dau is having a hard time, and he’s not ‘behaving’ for lack of a better term,” she reportedly wrote in one text introduced into court records. “He’s drinking a lot and just doesn’t treat me and our now-former housemate well... Oh yeah, I meant to say I’m staying with my mom and dad, near him, and I’m still in contact with him, just not staying in the house with him.” In another text she asked friends to talk with Mabil about his behavior, writing that, “He doesn’t need judgement but he does need help.”
Dau Mabil, meanwhile, reportedly texted Pamela Griffin, elsewhere identified as the mother of his only child, that he was considering leaving Bowley, three days before his disappearance. “‘Hey, I think I’m done with Karissa. She does not know how to control her emotions… It probably will be for the best,’” he reportedly wrote, while dismissing claims that he had a drinking problem.
Bul Mabil’s attorneys argued that Bowley was not the next of kin due to the state of their relationship.
WJTV TV reported on April 30 that Thomas told attorneys that Mabil’s remains would be preserved at the state crime lab while investigators try to determine what happened to him.
In an apparently unrelated development, WLBT reported on April 30 that another body, described only as a male, had been found in the Pearl River in Jackson, also by a fisherman. Though there was no known connection, it seems notable that two bodies have been found in the river within a matter of weeks. This report the following day said Jackson police found “no indication of foul play” regarding that body, though it has not been identified nor has a cause of death been established (or, at least, publicly revealed).
Initial reports did not link the previous discovery of a body in the Pearl River in Lawrence County to Mabil, though it was later determined to be him.
WLBT also reported on April 15 that an apparently unrelated Jackson man, Jay Lee Barber III, 42, was listed as missing, though his disappearance received little media attention. Barber was reportedly last seen on Jackson’s Jennings Street on April 5, 2024. Little other information was available about him and there has been no media coverage since.
Update: On May 2, WLBT reported that Judge Thomas granted Bowley plaintiff (rather than defendant) status in the ongoing case and ordered an independent autopsy of Dau Mabil’s remains.
Second update: On May 3, the same station reported that Jackson police had identified the second body as Barber.
Image: Text from Dau Mabil included in court records, via Scribd.
Glad to see you giving these deaths the attention they deserve. Thank you
Thanks for the update, Alan. Hope they are able to sort out what actually happened. Look forward to more updates as you have them.