- Independent forensic review challenges official account of how toddler was fatally shot by police.
- Family argues shooting trajectory and officers’ use of force raise questions about the incident.
- Pursuit of justice aims to ensure Kohen’s life is not reduced to just another headline.
The fight for answers in the heartbreaking death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley is far from over, and his family is making it clear they aren’t accepting official accounts without thorough scrutiny.
Ubiquitous civil rights attorney Ben Crump recently revealed the findings of an independent forensic review into Kohen’s death conducted by Board-Certified Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell after the toddler was fatally shot during a police response to an alleged shoplifting incident in Senatobia, Mississippi. According to WREG, Crump and the Wiley family believe an outside examination is necessary to provide transparency and determine exactly what happened during the chaotic encounter that claimed the little boy’s life.
As BOSSIP previously reported, Kohen was inside a vehicle sitting in his mother Vellesiya Wiley‘s lap when police confronted her friends who was allegedly connected to the reported theft. Gunfire erupted during the encounter, and one of the bullets struck the child. The tragedy immediately sparked outrage, with many questioning how an alleged property crime escalated into the death of a one-year-old.
The family’s legal team hopes the forensic review will answer lingering questions surrounding the trajectory of the bullet, the officers’ use of force, and whether proper tactics were followed before shots were fired. Crump has repeatedly argued that the public deserves a complete accounting of the events, especially when an innocent child loses his life. The forensic examination paints a much clearer picture of that accounting…
“You look at what Dr. Mitchell said, the shot was from the side, right side, and it want through his body, and it exited the left side,” said Crump. “So, I think when baby Kohen was shot. If the police is shooting from the side, you can’t get that shot from the front. So why would you shoot into a vehicle from the side, when you’re clearly not in harm’s way?”
The announcement comes as state investigators continue examining the shooting, while the officer who fired the fatal shot remains at the center of the investigation. Although authorities have pledged a thorough review, Kohen’s loved ones say they refuse to rely solely on official findings and want every piece of available evidence independently evaluated.
For the Wiley family, this is about far more than assigning blame, it’s about making sure Kohen’s short life is not reduced to another headline that fades from public memory. They say they want accountability, transparency, and meaningful answers about the decisions that led to a toddler never making it home.
BOSSIP will continue to monitor this case until justice is achieved.
