LUMBERTON, Texas — The mother of a Lumberton man, whose 2018 death was ruled a drowning, is now saying forensic investigators are currently investigating a possible bullet wound on his body.
Kolby Kulhanek's mother, Susan Kulhanek and other family members watched Tuesday morning at Old Hardin Cemetery near Kountze as his body was exhumed.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The above video first aired on November 1, 2022.)
Forensic investigators have now said they are not confirming death by drowning but are doing a "forensic evaluation to evaluate a bullet wound," his mother Susan Kulhanek posted on Facebook Wednesday afternoon.
The process of the evaluation could take some time she said in the post the day after his body was exhumed.
She also noted that the tests will be done at a specialized anthropology lab at the University of North Texas.
The university, in Denton, is home to the Center for Human Identification which provides anthropological examinations of skeletal remains to determine sex, ancestry, age, stature and possible signs of trauma according to the UNT website.
His body was found was found in the 9400 block of Cooks Lake Road in Lumberton in October 2018, a week after he had last been seen.
Jefferson County deputies in a helicopter spotted the 25-year-old's naked body in a shallow ditch.
A medical examiner initially ruled his death an accidental drowning, even though no fluids were found in his lungs.
"We've never believed that it was a drowning,” Kulhanek family attorney Jeth Jones said. “We don't believe he drowned where his body was found.
Jones hired an outside medical examiner to review Kolby Kulhanek's original autopsy. 12News obtained an exclusive copy of the new report which said in part, "in no way should this case have been certified as an accidental drowning."
The original autopsy found fluids in his sinuses but not in his lungs. In addition to this, an outside medical examiner believes something else was overlooked.
A medical examiner found a, “very prominently visible… almost perfectly round defect in the bone having the classic appearance of a gunshot defect." This means Kolby Kulhanek could have suffered a gunshot wound to the face.
A judge later signed off on an order that permitted his body could be exhumed.
From the cemetery, Kolby Kulhanek's body was to be taken to Broussard's Mortuary. Afterward, it was to be taken to the forensic examiner's officer in Beaumont for a new autopsy
Once the autopsy is complete, he'll be brought back to the Old Hardin Cemetery and laid to rest again.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.