New Autopsy Challenges Police Account in Fatal Mississippi Shooting of One-Year-Old

A second autopsy commissioned by the family of one-year-old Kohen Wiley has intensified public outrage over the fatal police shooting in Senatobia, Mississippi, with new findings casting doubt on the official version of events provided by law enforcement.

The independent preliminary autopsy, presented by prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump during a press conference on Wednesday, concluded that the child was struck by a bullet entering from the side of the vehicle rather than the front. According to the family’s legal team, this finding contradicts the initial police claim that officers opened fire because the vehicle was driving toward them, placing their lives in immediate danger.

The shooting occurred on June 14 after officers responded to reports of a suspected shoplifting incident involving diapers at a Walmart in Senatobia. Police said they attempted to stop a vehicle carrying two women and the child. Authorities alleged that the driver accelerated toward officers, prompting one officer to fire into the vehicle before it fled the scene.

However, Kohen’s mother, who was holding the child in the passenger seat, disputes that account. She insists the vehicle was driving away from officers when the shots were fired and has maintained that she believed the diapers had been paid for before they left the store. No shoplifting charges have been announced.

During the press conference, Crump displayed photographs of the damaged vehicle, pointing to the shattered passenger-side window and what appeared to be a bullet hole through the windshield on the passenger side. He argued that these details, together with the autopsy findings showing the bullet entered through the child’s right side and exited the left, support the family’s version of events.

Crump emphasized that the independent pathologist’s findings are preliminary because investigators have not yet released crucial evidence, including police body-camera footage, dash-camera recordings and Walmart surveillance video. The family says those recordings are essential to establishing exactly what occurred during the encounter.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the inquiry, has declined to comment on the new allegations, citing the ongoing investigation. Officials also confirmed that the official autopsy report has not yet been completed.

The incident has sparked widespread protests across Senatobia, where demonstrators have gathered under the slogan “Justice for Baby Kohen,” demanding transparency and accountability from law enforcement. Community leaders and civil rights advocates have called for the immediate release of all available video evidence, arguing that public confidence in the investigation depends on a full and independent review of the facts.

Legal experts caution that while the autopsy raises important questions, investigators will still need to examine the vehicle’s trajectory, bullet paths, physical evidence and witness accounts before reaching definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, the new medical findings have intensified scrutiny of the police response and renewed calls for justice in a case that has attracted national attention.

As the investigation continues, the family says it will not relent in its pursuit of answers, insisting that only complete transparency can determine whether the fatal shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley was justified or preventable.