[12] The family retained the services of attorney Benjamin Crump. But the Justice Department found insufficient evidence to support an investigation. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student. "[11] Johnson's family questioned this hypothesis. Kenneth also said lacerations and bruising to his sons face made him think Kendrick was in some sort of fight. "But I don't think raising all this Cain down here is going to bring closure to them. The article used as a source an anonymous email to the sheriff's office. Johnsons shoulders measured 19 across and he was five feet, ten inches tall. Kendrick Johnson lived with his family in Valdosta, Georgia and attended Lowndes High School. "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who told me they've used old newspapers," Fountain said. Anderson's report said he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. Every organ from the pelvis to the skull was gone." cnn.com Gym mat death shocker: Body stuffed with newspaper | CNN He was stuck upside down in the middle of a wrestling mat that had been rolled up and propped upright behind bleachers. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded that the youth died from positional asphyxia, his body stuck in a position in which he couldn't breathe. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia. He said Kendrick Johnson's brain, heart and tongue were among the missing organs. Now, the sheriffs have enough evidence in hand to perhaps allow them to solve this mystery once and for all. "But I don't think raising all this Cain down here is going to bring closure to them. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Attorney. Kendricks father was shocked by his sons disfigured body. [2], Authorities hypothesized that Johnson had fallen into the mat while looking for a shoe and died after being unable to get out. 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. He said Johnson's parents came to him seeking help. Despite this, the Department of Justice closed the investigation in June 2016, citing insufficient evidence. [24] The magazine used pseudonyms but was otherwise accurate in descriptions of the boys, including the fact that their father was an FBI agent. His son, 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson, was dead. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. But Johnsons parents would still not give up. . An all-white jury acquitted Bryants husband and brother-in-law within an hour. Finding Kendrick Johnson is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Google Play. [11] However, analysis of the camera systems by the Valdosta Daily Times purported to explain the anomalies, casting doubt on the theory of a cover-up. Copeland said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) claimed that when the body was sent to the funeral home after the first autopsy, Johnsons organs had been put back inside the body. The 17-year-old was a well-liked honor roll student, an athlete, and his parents said he always helped out at home. Kenneth said within an hour and a half of that conference authorities called him and said he could see Kendricks body at the local Crime Lab. It is kept moist by the products of the major and minor salivary glands, which aids the organ as it facilitates deglutition, speech, and gustatory perception.While there is significant variability in the length of the tongue among individuals, on average, the organ is roughly 10 cm . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Johnson's family said Anderson also revealed that most of his internal organs were missing and the body cavity was filled with newspaper. Georgia Judge Richard Porter ordered the Johnsons and their attorney to pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the defendants, accusing them of fabricating evidence to support their claims. One of Kendricks close friends and classmates, Malik Austin, explained in the documentary that the students did not lean into the mat to retrieve their shoes; they tilted the mat to release the shoes. Medical examiners commonly remove internal organs during forensic autopsies. [39] In January 2022, the second investigation was closed with no charges filed. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. [28] Shortly after receiving the case, Dettlebach also resigned. Watson said he reviewed the second autopsy report on Johnson, but found it vague and lacking the specifics of the GBI's findings. The family, together with the NAACP and other civil rights activists, then held a rally at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. In a letter to the Johnsons' attorney, Harrington Funeral Home owner Antonio Harrington denies he received Kendrick's organs. In that autopsy, Anderson told the Johnsons he'd found evidence that Kendrick died as the result of a blow to the neck, and not accidental asphyxia after slipping into a rolled gym mat at school as investigators in Georgia had said. But Johnson's family believes he was killed and has been pressuring authorities into taking a second look at the case. Sometimes cotton is used with powder. Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found dead and rolled up inside a high school gym mat back 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. "We have been let down again, and when we buried Kendrick, we thought we were burying Kendrick, not half of Kendrick," father Kenneth Johnson said. [12] Three students at Lowndes High School told investigators that it was common for some students to store their shoes behind or under the rolled up mats, Johnson was not wearing shoes when he was found. When the judge in that case delayed a decision, pending the outcome of the U.S. Attorney's review, the family demanded that the governor of Georgia immediately authorize the inquiry instead. Over the years, the Johnsons have publicly implicated brothers Brian and Branden Bell in Kendricks death. School officials found Johnson's body in the gym after his parents reported him missing the night before. The findings of the second autopsy, that Johnsons death was not accidental and caused by blunt force trauma likely due to being struck in the neck with a 45lb dumbbell, were confirmed. Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident, falling headfirst into an upright mat and becoming trapped. Russ Bynum/AP. [31] They were subsequently sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees[32] and $1,000,000 in defamation damages. Over the years, the Johnsons have publicly implicated brothers Brian and Branden Bell in Kendricks death. Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled Johnson's body, referred calls to attorney Roy Copeland. State and local officials ruled that Kendrick suffocated after purportedly reaching for a pair of sneakers inside the mat and getting stuck. The term organ encompasses reed organs and electronic organs but, unless otherwise specified, is usually understood to refer to pipe organs. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia. - were not with the body," Anderson said. CBS affiliate WCTV reports the family's lawyer is also calling on authorities to release surveillance video that they say could have captured what happened in the gym the day Johnson died. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in South Georgia. Ive never seen a doctor rule on a theory without being able to present facts to me, Credle told CrimeOnline, claiming the medical examiner kicked him out of her office when he questioned her about her findings. Best known as the lawyer who helped focus national attention on the February 2012 shooting death of Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, Crump has pursued several civil rights cases against law enforcement agencies. The brothers father, Rick Bell, was an FBI special agent who ultimately resigned after his home was raided and searched for evidence, according to NBC. 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. More from CNN at http://www.cnn.comTo lice. "This can happen to any of our kids," said Kenneth Johnson, the teenager's father. This finding further increased the confidence of doubters that this death was an accident. A private pathologist was hired to carry out a second autopsy. In comparison, the mat he was found in is 6 feet long and the opening was 14 inches. But a judge agreed in May to exhume the body, and Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson hired Dr. William R. Anderson to provide a second opinion. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded that he died from positional asphyxia, his body stuck in a position in which he couldn't breathe. However, Pollock said Kendricks lungs post mortem were a normal weight for a boy his age and size. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Meanwhile, Johnson's parents are preparing to file a lawsuit asking a judge to order a coroner's inquest in their son's death, said Chevene King, an attorney working with the family. "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. Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found dead and rolled up inside a high school gym mat back in 2013. 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. Im feeling hopeful.. Under normal circumstances, the tongue is a pink, muscular organ located within the oral cavity proper. Market data provided by Factset. The parents asserted that the sons of the FBI agent killed Johnson and used their connections to cover up the investigation. It's another disappointing answer for parents determined to know what happened to their son before and now after his death. I think it was just a look into it just to quiet down the family, quiet down some of the media, Credle told CrimeOnline. Although it is one of the most complex of all musical instruments, the organ . 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. But when he did return, he and his wife held a press conference begging authorities to not take their sons body out of Lowndes County before they saw it. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. The suit alleged that Johnson "was violently assaulted, severely injured, suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, and subjected to insult and loss of life" on January 10, 2013.
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