Kendrick Johnson was a 17-year-old student at Lowndes County High School. FacebookKendrick Johnson with his mother. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Kendrick Johnsons case closed after authorities say no crime found, Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Kellyanne Conway, George Conway To Divorce After Decadeslong Marriage: Report, School punished teen girl for working out in sports bra in 100-degree Texas heat, ACLU says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, 'Extremely dangerous': Spike in illegal crossings at Canada-Vermont border has feds sounding alarm, SoCal in for cool start to weekend, butlight showers make brief return, Scam alert: arrest warrant calls are fake, sheriff's office says, Heidi Klum's husband thinks the couple's dogs might have been poisoned. In 2013, the 17-year-olds body was found upside down inside a rolled-up gym mat at a Georgia high school; he'd suffocated to death. But Johnsons parents would still not give up. Have you subscribed to the Grio podcasts Dear Culture or Acting Up? Download our newest episodes now!TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. 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. Kendrick Johnson was a Georgia teen, who was found dead inside a rolled up wrestling mat. According to CNN, funeral director Antonio Harrington claimed the 17-year-olds organs were destroyed through [the] natural process due to the position of his body when he died. Regardless, the organs were lost and could not be tested during the second autopsy, which further aroused suspicions in Johnsons parents that this was a cover-up. of foul play, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This is how you roll in Valdosta. She and her family maintain that young Kendrick was murdered. When Johnson was exhumed for the first independent autopsy in June 2013, it was discovered that every organ from his pelvis to his skull, including his brain, heart, lungs, and liver, was gone and replaced with newspaper. 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? This is a very unusual accident. Authorities say they are working to verify an audio recording of someone admitting to Kendrick Johnson's death. [29], In November 2015, the Department of Justice filed a motion in the civil case to intervene and stay the case. The next day, a teacher found his body inside one of the rolled-up wrestling mats. The states attorney has said that anyone who objectively looks at the case details can only come to one conclusion: this was an accidental death. [21] The area where Johnson's body was discovered, where the gym mats were stored, was outside the range of all of the surveillance cameras. In 2018, an. But Johnsons parents felt that his death was not being taken seriously, in part because of his race, or because a larger cover-up was at play. [21] Other missing footage was the result of the camera's motion-activated function not being triggered. I wont deem it credible until I can look at the source, find out where [he] got it from.. For a brilliantly done docuseries on Kendrick Johnson, watch Ashes to Ashs vlogcast! Investigators concluded he died in a freak accident. Kendrick Johnsons body inside an upright mat. Were actively hunting for the person that provided it, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk told Oxygen.com. First, no one heard him? Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson stand next to a banner on their SUV showing their late son, Kendrick Johnson, on Dec. 13, 2013, in Valdosta, Ga. On that tape, you very clearly hear what appears to be a caucasian young male admitting very tearful, very fearful and stating twice that he knows that hes going to get caught,, , a spokesperson for the Johnson family, told, . We provide you with a list of the top 15 best true crime documentaries that every true crime fan will thoroughly enjoy. After extensive investigation into this tragic event, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone or some group of people willfully violated Kendrick Johnsons civil rights or committed any other prosecutable federal crime, it said in a statement. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Do not believe anything that this sheriffs department tells you, Kenneth Johnson said. The Lowndes County Sheriff's. This finding further increased the confidence of doubters that this death was an accident. Given the slender opening in the gym mat, this is certainly plausible, even though Kendrick was exceptionally physically fit. the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. All things mysterious, murderous, and macabre. County authorities are currently combing through a trove of boxes of evidence, including computer hard drives, documents, and other files relevant to the investigation. I am quite sure that there will still be a contingent that will believe there was foul play, he wrote. Looking for interesting and mysterious true crime documentaries? Investigators will now comb through 17 boxes of evidence, which were previously sealed. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent and violated Johnson's constitutional right to equal protection based on race. A recordingthat reportedly contains an emotional confession of an individual who may have been involved in the suspicious 2013 death of teenagerKendrick Johnsonin Georgiais now being vetted by authorities, police said this week. Justice denied. [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." In the latest report, Paulk dispelled rumors that Johnson and the Bell brothers had any contact on the day Johnson died. Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk told WSB-TV his office reviewed the FBIs findings, as well as 17 boxes of evidence, and reached that decision. Abducted in Plain Sight In it, Paulk wrote, I am quite sure that there will still be a contingent that will believe there was foul play. If it is somebody just doing an extortion racket or a terrible hoax its very, very cruel, and of course, if it is a hoax, well deal with it very sternly, Paulk said. Finally, in March 2021, authorities reopened their investigation into Kendrick Johnsons death. [12] The family retained the services of attorney Benjamin Crump. . 2023 FOX Television Stations, Kendrick Johnson with his mother and father, Kenneth and Jackie Johnson. We already knew what team you were on. This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 04:38. [5] Crump's application to practice law in Georgia representing Johnson's parents was not ruled on, and he withdrew from representing the family and is no longer participating in the case. He also stated thefuneral home never had Johnsons organs, saying they were discarded by the prosecutor before the body was sent back to Valdosta for burial. Camera systems were motion-activated, using a change in light pixels to turn recordings on and off. The video was streamed by Morant to his Instagram page, and it was not archived once he stopped the stream. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation previously determined Johnsons death was accidental despite two independent autopsies finding the teen died of non-accidental blunt force trauma. Authorities say it appears he was trying to reach for a shoe he had left inside the mat before winter break, got stuck and died. This is how you roll in Valdosta, the dead teens mother, Jaqueline Johnson, said of the Lowndes County Sheriffs new findings. Crime Junkie did the same thing. Investigators concluded he died in a freak accident. You're in for a treat! Paulk also claimed a camera in the gymnasium which apparently shows Johnson before his death was realigned 13 months earlier. Eventually, after a November 2020 visit by the Johnson family with federal investigators, that request was granted and the Justice Department turned over its investigative material to the sheriffs office. ", Kendrick Johnsons body has been exhumed twice in recent years. The mat was vertical. Kendrick Johnson's family and several friends gathered and held a balloon . I made a promise to the people Id go through every piece of [evidence].. On June 20, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that it would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death. The father of the kid who had a motive is allegedly an FBI Agent, with enough pull to supposedly save his son. But inconsistencies in official reports on the condition of Kendricks body and other discrepancies led the family and community to question the official cause of his death. Pure evil. [39] In January 2022, the second investigation was closed with no charges filed. The suit also alleged that school officials failed to "properly monitor the activities of students throughout all areas" of the campus and to "maintain a properly functioning video surveillance system. Adding to the confusion is the fact that in October 2013, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told CBS thatJohnsons organs were returned to his body following the autopsy, as per protocol. [12], The independent autopsy found that some time after Johnson's body was recovered from the mat and had passed through a funeral home, it had been stuffed with newspapers. LeBron James is still in the closet, but he will join Green and Perkins as an "America First" hoopster when Bronny James is toiling in a faraway foreign league.MAGA NBA players are annoyed that foreigners are taking over a . In 2013, Johnsons body was found rolled up in a mat inside a Valdosta-area high school gymnasium. indicated signs of foul play in the teen's death, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. They believed that the Sheriffs Department wastoo quick to rule out foul play as a cause for Johnsons death, considering that within 24 hours of finding Kendrick Johnsons body, they concluded that it was an accident. Lowndes County is in southern Georgia. Attorney. We aint cheering, but we know this is the only path that we can get for justice for Kendrick Johnson, Marcus Coleman said this week. Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson stand next to a banner on their SUV showing their late son, Kendrick Johnson, on Dec. 13, 2013, in Valdosta, Ga. However, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk announced the re-opening of the case on Tuesday. All Rights Reserved. Seventeen-year-old Kendrick Johnsons body was inexplicably found upside-down in a rolled-up gym mat in 2013. Paulk and his team were able to secure a wealth of evidence from federal authorities, in part thanks to an appeal from Johnsons family in November 2020. S3 Ep 26 "Results" The Kendrick Johnson Investigation - Investigative True Crime Series In this episode Ash and her team head to North Carolina. We have buried kj 3 times and it felt like 3 funerals and i lost him 3 times.. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta facebook feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta twitter feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta instagram feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta youtube feed(Opens a new window), Lowndes County Sheriff's findings on death of Kendrick Johnson, Missing Pennsylvania woman found alive after more than 30 years, Reality star Honey Boo Boo was inside speeding Dodge Charger involved in chase with Ga. deputies, Former Atlanta Hawk, Ga. Tech star charged with choking, kidnapping N.C. woman, Surveillance video shows moments leading up to deadly UGA crash, A 17-year-old Gwinnett County girl thought she was taking Percocet; now shes dead. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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.?! A recently-completed investigation found no evidence of a coverup in the 2013 death of Kendrick Johnson, who was found in a rolled-up mat at his Georgia high school. State medical examiners concluded that. [6] That lawsuit was subsequently withdrawn. The amended report stated his cause and manner of death were undetermined. Paulk called the teenagers death a weird accident, telling CNN, there is nothing to substantiate a homicide.. The parents asserted that the sons of the FBI agent killed Johnson and used their connections to cover up the investigation. The Grizzlies played in Denver on Friday night and are scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on Saturday . Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against 38 individuals, stating that his death was a murder and that the respondents were participants in a conspiracy to cover up the homicide, which they claimed involved two sons of an FBI agent. [Featured image: Kendrick Johnson/Contributed], Life Without Parole: Convicted Kidnappers of Slain Toddler Kamille McKinney Sentenced, Squatter Charged With Murder of Missing Teen Farmer Dylan Rounds, Teen Who Rapped About Shooting Rival Gang Member in Back Charged with Murder. Take a look at the list below for all the gory details! Though Paulk said the investigation may take up to six months, both he and the Johnson family are optimistic that justice will finally be served. It seemed possible that if Kendrick was trying to squeeze into the center of the mat, he could have scrunched his shoulders together to make himself narrower. Law enforcement has ruled Kendrick's death an . [37] However, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk stated that he would not be claiming there was something wrong with the original investigation or that the original investigation's conclusion of an accidental death was wrong. Paulk, who was not part of the sheriffs office at the time of Johnsons death, requested the evidence gathered during the federal probe in April 2019 as part of his re-examination of the case, but federal investigators initially declined his request. The description of these brothers closely resembled that of Brian and Brandon Bell, who the magazine claimed had killed Kendrick because of a fight they had had over a year earlier which had escalated. The sheriff at the center of the Kendrick Johnson death case says his department has gone through the evidence extensively and found no crime. He wrote that the FBI reviewed footage from 62 cameras on campus, and Johnson never crossed paths with the brothers. Verifying the tapes authenticity is indispensable, he added. But it is what it is.. Essential, you asphyxiate (either by suffocation or lack of oxygen) due to the position of your bodya position in which you cant get yourself out. The recording hasnt yet been made public. 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. Johnsons family has long-suspected the teen was killed by classmates and theorized that their parents conspired with school and law enforcement officials to cover up hisdeath. Tweet. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The body was discovered by fellow students who had climbed up to the top of a cluster of mats, each of which stood nearly 6 feet (1.8m) tall and 3 feet (0.91m) wide. Furthermore, a second autopsy showed non-accidental blunt force trauma to the back of the neck. Attorneys for the Johnson family expressed fears that the camera footage was edited as part of a cover-up.
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