Wouldn’t there be water in the lungs to confirm the drowning?
Do we know anything about his friends finding and trying to revive him?
It seems I’ve heard zero about him being found or any other circumstances.
This independent ME was unusual (to me) because reading about it the examiner was saying most of the organs including the brain and stomach had been removed in the official autopsy and more info would have to come from those test results.
Also that the body had decomposed. So it seemed this ME had very limited value.
The usual practice is that there is professional cooperation between official and private medical examiners as to tissue samples and test results. In any court case, the autopsy findings will matter even if they are less than definitive as to the cause and manner of of death.
For example, a private autopsy might find evidence of trauma that the official autopsy missed. If so, the issue might become whether the trauma was due to injuries from an accident or fight. That in turn might establish a case for negligence or intentional wrong doing -- and then a payday for Crump.