Release autopsy: Release of Atlas Fraley's autopsy is long overdue

The state medical examiner has dragged his feet for long enough.

It's high time for the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to release Atlas Fraley's autopsy.

Fraley a Chapel Hill High School student died Aug. 12 after football practice.

Autopsies usually take 60 to 90 days to complete experts agree. By this standard Fraley's autopsy is two to three months overdue.

Autopsies are public record in North Carolina but only when they are deemed complete. Toxicology scans and a histology already have been performed on Fraley's body with no explanation from the medical examiner about what information his office still lacks to complete and release the autopsy.

As is the case in any death the family of the deceased and the public at large deserve to know the medical examiner's assessment of the cause of death.

But in this case the timely release of the autopsy is particularly important because of the peculiarities surrounding Fraley's death.

According to coaches Fraley had complained of headaches and cramps in a football scrimmage on the morning of Aug. 12. Later that afternoon he called 911 from his home and told dispatchers he was experiencing full-body pain and dehydration.

We know Orange County Emergency Management Services went to his house. We don't know what they did there. We only know that when his parents returned home from work 17-year-old Fraley was dead.

Three different investigations into the events of that day are waiting on the results of the autopsy before they can be completed.

The N.C. Office of Emergency Medical Services Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Orange County are all conducting investigations into Fraley's death.

These investigations could have potentially life-changing ramifications for how similar situations are handled in the future.

The medical examiner needs to release the autopsy as soon as possible.