Kendrick Johnson's Family's Quest For Answers Moves To Georgia Capitol", "National Civil Rights Attorney No Longer Involved In Kendrick Johnson Case | Valdosta Today", "Kendrick Johnson family holds rally after filing complaint about missing organs", "Parents of Georgia teen found dead in gym mat sue funeral home", "No Wrongdoing Detected in Kendrick Johnson Funeral Home Probe", "Kendrick Johnson footage released; expert finds it 'highly suspicious', "Rose, Touchton believe no coverup in Johnson case", "Georgia school officials sued in Kendrick Johnson's gym death", "Local, federal investigations into gym mat death continue", "FBI agent, wife file $5 million defamation suit against Ebony.com and crime writer for KJ stories", "Parents File $100 Million Suit in Gym-Mat Death of Georgia Teen Kendrick Johnson", "Second U.S. Attorney in charge of KJ case resigns", "Kendrick Johnson probe: Attorney exits mark shift", "KJ Family Drops $100 Million Wrongful Death Suit | Valdosta Today", "US Justice Department: No criminal charges in gym mat death", "Judge: Parents owe $292,000 for suit in son's gym mat death", "Investigation into death of Georgia teen found in a rolled-up gym mat 8 years ago will be reopened", "Georgia sheriff vows to personally, thoroughly investigate re-opened case of teen found dead in gym mat", "Sheriff reopens Kendrick Johnson case in Valdosta", "A second local investigation into the death of a Georgia teen found in a rolled-up gym mat has closed with no charges filed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_of_Kendrick_Johnson&oldid=1143606101. For the American professional basketball player, see, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, "Lowdes County Incident Report K. Johnson", "Gym mat death: Attorneys call for surveillance video", "Kendrick Johnson Lowndes County High School gym mat death: Lawyers ask for surveillance video", "Gym Mat Death Shocker: Body Stuffed With Newspaper", "Federal prosecutor will look into Kendrick Johnson case", "FBI agent, sons countersue parents of Ga. teen found dead in gym mat", "Defendants Seek Attorney Fees in Dismissed Kendrick Johnson Case", "Kendrick Johnson suit: Feds want to stop evidence collection", "Third autopsy claims foul play in Valdosta gym mat death case", "Kendrick Johnson's parents still searching for answers to their son's death", "Parents of Georgia teen found dead in gym mat rally for inquiry", "Kendrick Johnson investigation: Feds will not file charges", "Who Killed K.J.?! Kendrick Johnsons parents released a photo to the media of their sons face as he lay in the funeral home. Credle also said that a new, thorough investigation would require Lowndes County police to contact everyone involved in the initial probe, and he has not heard from anyone. Over the years, the Johnsons have publicly implicated brothers Brian and Branden Bell in Kendricks death. Market data provided by Factset. But it's just not something that's within what I would consider acceptable standards.". Some even drew comparisons to the death of Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia high school athlete whose suspicious 2013 death was ruled an accident, despite his family's demand for further investigation. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said Thursday that the agency's policy is to return all organs to bodies after autopsies. Its been eight long years, said Kendrick Johnsons mother, Jacquelyn. "Stuffing that newspaper in like he was a garbage can inside his body," Kendrick father said. On January 11, 2013, the body of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found in the most unusual of circumstances: upside-down and rolled up in a school gym mat. He also said standard embalming practice is to fill empty space in body cavities with material such as sawdust or cotton. Attorney. The photo, in which Kendrick Johnsons face is extremely swollen, almost does not look human. [22], Johnson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lowndes County Board of Education, its superintendent and the principal of Lowndes High School. The request, however, was denied, even though the coroner Bill Watson had originally expressed a lack of confidence in the Sheriff Departments handling of the case. The initial autopsy revealed that Johnson died due to positional asphyxia or that he suffocated as a result of being stuck upside-down in an enclosed space for an extended period of time. or redistributed. Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident, falling headfirst into an upright mat. Adding to the confusion is the fact that in October 2013, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told CBS that Kendrick's organs were returned to his body following the autopsy, as per protocol. He was discovered rolled up in a gym mat on Friday 1/11. Now the family has enlisted the help of Tallahassee, Fla.-based attorney Benjamin Crump. "When we got the body for the second autopsy, the organs - the heart, lungs, liver etc. The town of Valdosta, Ga., witnessed, on Jan. 10, the kind of militant protest march that characterizes the "Black Lives Matter" movement across the country. Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson sit beside another in Finding Kendrick Johnson [Image: Millennial PR]In March, the Lowndes County Sheriffs Office announced they were reopening Kendricks case to ensure the initial investigation was conducted properly. Pollock believed the evidence was so crucial that he flew to Georgia to show Kendricks parents. While Jacquelyn may have been kept from her son to secure the scene and possible evidence, Pollock told CrimeOnline that Lowndes High School was not placed on lockdown the morning the teens body was found on campus. Kendrick Johnsons casket was unearthed for a second time for a third autopsy. In addition to the photos in the FBI report, the document also included a ledger that specifically said Kendrick and Brian were standing next to each other in the hallway the morning Kendrick died. Anderson claimed that his findings indicated traces of blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues, and suggested the death was not accidental. But this is one of the most baffling mysteries of this case: the black and white gym shoe that lay on the ground below Kendrick Johnson, the one he was presumed to be reaching for, was lying on top of a pool of blood, but there was no blood on the shoe itself. In comparison, the mat he was found in is 6 feet long and the opening was 14 inches. "I'd never heard of that before, never. Kendricks mother, Jacquelyn Johnson, told filmmakers that she was on campus when her son was found, and police would not let her or Kendricks aunt see his body. . Every organ from the pelvis to the skull was gone." cnn.com Gym mat death shocker: Body stuffed with newspaper | CNN The teenager's family announced Thursday that the Florida lawyer who helped push for a criminal prosecution in the shooting of Trayvon Martin has joined efforts to reopen an investigation into Johnson's death. I Googled stuff, he said. [12], A subsequent investigation by the Georgia Secretary of State's office found that the funeral home did not follow "best practice" and that other material was "more acceptable than newspaper." He was located in the left corner of the gym, in a rolled-up mat that was lying against a wall. Medical examiners commonly remove internal organs during forensic autopsies. "It's unbearable, just about. "But I don't think raising all this Cain down here is going to bring closure to them. ", Neither had the founder of a national embalming academy, who said it's "not consistent with the standards of care" in the industry. The county medical examiner concluded Johnson died of positional asphyxia and deemed his death accidental. His sneakers were shoved behind his knees. [17], Johnson's family requested that his body be exhumed for a second time and was granted permission by Valdosta city officials. But Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson said many of Johnson's organs were deemed too badly decomposed to be preserved and had to be disposed of before the body was sent to the funeral home. The county medical examiner concluded Johnson died of positional asphyxia and deemed his death accidental. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in South Georgia. Almost a full day had passed until Johnson had been discovered. Austin said Brian pulled Kendricks locs and held his head down, prompting the fight. "Those organs were in the body when we sent it back to the funeral home," an agency spokesperson said. Kendricks father was shocked by his sons disfigured body. "There may not be any law that prohibits it. The tongue is a mobile, muscular organ that lies within the mouth and partly extends into the upper throat. Im feeling hopeful.. He said Johnson's parents came to him seeking help. Credle, who was on the case for eight months, alleged that almost every person they interviewed mentioned Rick approaching them at some point about Kendricks case. CrimeOnlines continuing coverage of the Kendrick Johnson case, blood splatter located 40 feet from Kendricks body, blunt force trauma, right neck, involving right mandible, Kendricks organs were returned to his body following the autopsy, Five decades later, Emmett Till accuser recants claims, Rick Bell, was an FBI special agent who ultimately resigned, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. Though surveillance cameras were located all over campus, the last footage of Kendrick shows him walking into the gym behind other students before going out of frame. As Kendrick lay dead in the gym, the basketball and color guard teams held their night practices. Similar to Kendricks mother, Tills mother, Mamie Till Mobley, wanted to call attention to what happened to her son, so she held an open-casket funeral and allowed Jet magazine to publish photographs of her childs disfigured and bloated corpse. I don't know. The first time Jacquelyn Johnson cried next to her son Kendrick's grave, he was being lowered into the ground. [2], Authorities hypothesized that Johnson had fallen into the mat while looking for a shoe and died after being unable to get out. CNN gained access to the schools security footage on the day that Kendrick Johnson was killed, but upon viewing it, realized that it offered little insight into what happened that day. Horrified by what those photos depicted, they decided to post them on social media. [21] The president of the Valdosta-Lowndes County chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the former lead investigator for that chapter have stated that they believe the attorneys for the Johnsons have "not been entirely truthful in their statements" and that there was no cover-up in this case. Emmitt Till alongside his mother, Mamie Till Mobley [Image: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis]An all-white jury acquitted Bryants husband and brother-in-law within an hour. His mother posted on her Facebook: No mother or father should ever have to bury their child under these circumstances. The episode, entitled "Dare," sees a young girl tragically dying in a gymnasium. Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident, falling headfirst into an upright mat. [2] That left a void, which the funeral home filled. Indeed, in 2013, racism in Valdosta, Georgia, was still very much alive. In May of 1918, a Black farmworker named Sidney Johnson, tired of mistreatment, killed his white boss. R.I.P Kendrick Johnson FacebookOne of the coroners reports on Kendrick Johnsons autopsy. The private pathologist performed his own autopsy in June and presented a four-page report of his findings Aug. 15. [26] All local Superior Court judges recused themselves from presiding over the case, preventing the lawsuit from being filed and heard in Lowndes County, citing their close proximity to the accused. As Kendrick lay dead in the gym, the basketball and color guard teams held their night practices. In November 2013, 290 hours of surveillance tape from 35 cameras that covered the gym area were released to CNN following a court request. Johnson's family asked the Justice Department to get involved, arguing that authorities failed to investigate Johnson's death thoroughly because he's black. READ: CrimeOnlines continuing coverage of the Kendrick Johnson case. CrimeOnline has chosen not to publish the most graphic of those images. "This can happen to any of our kids," said Kenneth Johnson, the teenager's father. Johnsons parents were suspicious of the investigation from the beginning. The U.S. Attorney said allowing evidence discovery in the civil suit to continue would have a "chilling effect" on the federal investigation, which had expanded into investigating possible obstruction and grand jury witness tampering. . Every organ from the top of Kendrick's head to his pelvis was gone. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang told CNN that after the autopsy, "the organs were placed in Johnson's . An inquest would present the evidence in Johnson's death in a public hearing, much like a trial. Sheriff Chris Prine has said he suspected Johnson became trapped trying to retrieve a shoe that fell into the center of the large, rolled mat. The teenager's family announced Thursday that the Florida lawyer who helped push for a criminal prosecution in the shooting of Trayvon Martin has joined efforts to reopen an investigation into Johnson's death. While the lawsuit did not name the person or persons allegedly involved in the January 10 event, nor identify the race of alleged perpetrators, it implied a race-based dimension to the hypothetical assault. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent and violated Johnson's constitutional right to equal protection based on race. Kendrick Johnson, was a 17-year-old high school sophomore, found dead, inside of a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School gymnasium on January 11, 2013. "The question is, why didn't he tell us?" Then, read about the horrifying murder of Emmett Till. "We have an excellent team of medical examiners, and we stand by them 100 percent," Lang said. For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. R.I.P Kendrick Johnson Facebook PageKendrick Johnsons casket was unearthed for a second time for a third autopsy. His parents also revealed that when Johnson's body was exhumed over the summer for a second autopsy, the private pathologist discovered his organs were missing and newspaper had been used to fill the body cavity. The lawsuit further alleged that another student, Brian Bell, "had a history of provoking and attacking" Johnson at school, stating that the provocations took place "in the presence of the coaching staff and employees" after his mother complained about previous attacks. This finding further increased the confidence of doubters that this death was an accident. Camera systems were motion-activated, using a change in light pixels to turn recordings on and off. He said it was too soon to be more specific. But Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson said many of Johnson's organs were deemed too badly decomposed to be preserved and had to be disposed of before the body was sent to the funeral home. He also said standard embalming practice is to fill empty space in body cavities with material such as sawdust or cotton. [12][16] Johnson's family filed a complaint with a regulatory body against the funeral home operator. [31] They were subsequently sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees[32] and $1,000,000 in defamation damages. State and local officials ruled that Kendrick suffocated after purportedly reaching for a pair of sneakers inside the mat and getting stuck. Finding Kendrick Johnson is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play. That's what happened in Johnson's case, she said. The Johnsons did try to sue the funeral home for mishandling their sons body, and perhaps having done so in order to cover up his true cause of death, but this case was dropped. Furthermore, Johnsons parents argued, if this was an accident, how could no one have heard Kendrick call for help in a high school of over 3,000 students? Johnsons shoulders measured 19 across and he was five feet, ten inches tall. Trayvon family lawyer joins outcry over Ga. death. In place of the organs were crumpled pieces of newspaper. "When you think about it logically, it seems to be some kind of conspiracy to conceal the truth about what happened to Kendrick and who did it to him," Crump said. According to Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk, If theres questions and theyre legitimate I need to know the answers myself. UNDATED: Kendrick Johnson,17, was found dead inside his high school's gym. His parents also revealed that when Johnson's body was exhumed over the summer for a second autopsy, the private pathologist discovered his organs were missing and newspaper had been used to fill the body cavity. Local newspaper Valdosta Today reported that those children claimed, when questioned by police, that they. The only way Im going to know is to look at the evidence myself.. Kendrick missed his fourth-period class and did not come home from school, prompting his family to file a missing persons report that night. Two entities had custody of Kendrick Johnson's body after his death -- the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the first autopsy in January; and the Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled the teen's embalming and burial. Copeland said. As Pollock explained to CrimeOnline, the bombshell evidence did not come from an anonymous source or undercover sleuthing it was plainly stated in the FBIs 2014 analysis report. Kenneth also said lacerations and bruising to his sons face made him think Kendrick was in some sort of fight. Doctor Anderson has pictures of Kendrick's body he'd taken during the second autopsy, which show Black Friday ads and JC Penny circulars. [1][2][3][4] After a preliminary investigation and autopsy concluded that Johnson's death was accidental, his family had a private pathologist conduct a second autopsy which concluded that he died from blunt force trauma. "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who told me they've used old newspapers," Fountain said. The pathologist concluded the teenager had died from blunt force trauma near his carotid artery and that the fatal blow appeared to be "non-accidental.". "Those organs were in the body when we sent it back to the funeral home," said Lang, who added that the GBI stands by the conclusions of its autopsy that found no foul play involved. Moore did not immediately return a phone message Thursday. [14] On October 31, 2013, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. But what Doctor Anderson did not find shocked them. The Georgia secretary of state's office, which regulates funeral homes in the states, is investigating how Johnson's body was handled, spokesman Jared Thomas said. But Johnson's family believes he was killed and has been pressuring authorities into taking a second look at the case. The article used as a source an anonymous email to the sheriff's office. The parents asserted that the sons of the FBI agent killed Johnson and used their connections to cover up the investigation. They saw that report in 2014, they saw that photograph of the boys standing next to each other and they let the Bells go television and say they hadnt seen KJ, Pollock told CrimeOnline. [7][8][9][10], On January 11, 2013, the body of Kendrick Johnson was discovered in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, found headfirst in the center of a vertical rolled-up wrestling mat. "The brain. NY Daily News/Valdosta/Lowndes Regional Crime Labratory via CNNKendrick Johnsons body rolled up inside the gym mat with his shoes behind his knees. CNNKendrick Johnsons shoe laying in the pool of blood. His mother posted on her Facebook: No mother or father should ever have to bury their child under these circumstances. Pollock said, Its up to the national pressure. Finally, it confirms that Kendrick Johnson's organs were removed and replaced with newspaper for the purpose of concealing time of death and revealing further, fatal injuries. The Sheriffs Department asserted that Johnson must have accidentally fallen into the center of the mat while reaching for a sneaker, which he had stored there so as not to have to pay for a locker. An all-white jury acquitted Bryants husband and brother-in-law within an hour.
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