Body of Minnesota Man Released to Family Without Autopsy

DULUTH (AP) - An autopsy will not be conducted on the body of a Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe member who died over the weekend following a car accident near Cromwell.

The St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office released the body of 65-year-old Mushkoob Aubid to family members Monday morning after a court order was signed by Carlton County Judge Robert Macaulay. Band and family members said autopsies are against their culture beliefs, and Macaulay agreed, ruling an autopsy would violate their religious freedoms.

Aubid died at a Cloquet hospital several hours after he was involved in a single-vehicle crash Saturday evening. Carlton County authorities said he didn't die as a result of the crash and ordered an autopsy.

The court order stated Aubid had heart disease so there was no need for an autopsy.