Who would want Kendrick dead? "Is newspaper necessarily more indicting that sawdust or cotton?" Kendricks father, Kenneth Johnson, worked as a truck driver and was on the road when the teen vanished and was found dead. 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. In 2007, Bryant allegedly revealed to The Blood of Emmett Till author Timothy Tyson that she lied about the sexual harassment that prompted Tills murder. 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. School officials found Johnson's body in the gym after his parents reported him missing the night before. CNNKendrick Johnsons shoe laying in the pool of blood. He was never shown within or leaving the gym and indeed, he never did show up for his following classes. FacebookKendrick Johnson with his mother. According to Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk, If theres questions and theyre legitimate I need to know the answers myself. After autopsies, those organs are typically sealed in a plastic bag and placed back in the body, said Vernie Fountain, who runs an embalming school in Springfield, Mo. In the face of this racist mob violence, some 500 . Why The Accidental Death Of Kendrick Johnson Remains Suspicious To This Day. Kendricks first exhumation was met with controversy; when it was revealed that every organ from his pelvis to his skull, including his brain, heart, lungs, and liver, was gone and replaced with newspaper. 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. Students who did not want to pay for a locker reportedly used the mats to stow their personal items. 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. The funeral home said that it received the body without organs which it replaced with paper or sawdust as is common practice while embalming. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student. 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[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. [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. Through interviews, police documents, and forensic evidence, Finding Kendrick Johnson illustrates how a 17-year-old boys disappearance and death sparked years worth of investigations, controversies, and a possible cover-up. Johnson's organs appeared to be missing from his body, according to an autopsy. [26] Jim Elliott, the Lowndes County Attorney, stated that the allegations were "unfounded" and "baseless" and that any response would be made in court. A hoodie and a pair of orange and black gym shoes were also found lying on the floor of the gym, as well as traces of blood on the wall nearby. [11] Some of the apparent lapses in coverage were found to result from camera systems that were not synchronized with one another. [20] A forensic analyst enlisted by CNN found that tapes from two cameras are missing an hour and five minutes of footage, while another set was missing two hours and ten minutes of footage. In 2007, Bryant allegedly revealed to. In June 2016, the Department of Justice announced no charges would be filed against anyone in relation to Kendrick Johnsons death, considering there was insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges.. 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. [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. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. [31] They were subsequently sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees[32] and $1,000,000 in defamation damages. "I'm terribly sorry for the family," Watson said. Nonetheless, the investigation cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing. After this sad look at the case and death of Kendrick Johnson, read up on another mysterious disappearance, that of Elisa Lam. READ More: Five decades later, Emmett Till accuser recants claims. 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. Updated: 12:46 AM EST March 10, 2021 JACKSONVILLE, Fla The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that it has reopened the investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson, whose. 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. 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. I don't know. He concluded the teenager died from blunt force trauma near his carotid artery and that the fatal blow appeared to be nonaccidental. State and local officials ruled that Kendrick suffocated after purportedly reaching for a pair of sneakers inside the mat and getting stuck. An inquest would present the evidence in Johnson's death in a public hearing, much like a trial. But it's just not something that's within what I would consider acceptable standards.". 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. 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. [2][13], After the opinion of the private pathologist was released, Johnson's family stated that they believed Johnson had been murdered. Credle along with Kendricks parents, relatives, and friends recounted their experiences for Finding Kendrick Johnson, a new documentary that is available on various streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Google Play. But Johnsons parents would still not give up. While the FBI concluded in 2016 that the Bells were in different areas of the school when Kendrick entered the gym, Pollock claimed the agencys own 2014 analysis report cites surveillance stills that show Brian in the hallway with Kendrick before he died. Adding to the confusion is the fact that in October 2013, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told CBS that Kendricks organs were returned to his body following the autopsy, as per protocol. Kendrick Johnson 's body was found in a wrestling mat Jan. 11, 2013, in the Lowndes High School gym in Valdosta, Georgia. Despite these resignations, the Department of Justice investigation continued. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia, and Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident - falling headfirst into an upright. 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[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." An inquest would present the evidence in Johnson's death in a public hearing, much like a trial. Im feeling hopeful.. 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The Johnsons hired Doctor Bill Anderson to conduct an independent second autopsy. Sometimes cotton is used with powder. School officials found Johnson's body in the gym after his parents reported him missing the night before. All rights reserved. And they admit, they're struggling. Kendrick Johnson, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound multi-talented athlete, attended classes on the morning of January 10, 2012. The only thing that wakes you up in the morning is to just keep pushing," said Jacquelyn Johnson. 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. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia. Notably, the shoe located on top of the blood is spotless suggesting, in the view of the family and film producers, that the item was planted. "Stuffing that newspaper in like he was a garbage can inside his body," Kendrick father said. Kendrick missed his fourth-period class and did not come home from school, prompting his family to file a missing persons report that night. That's what happened in Johnson's case, she said. 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. Johnson's family asked the Justice Department to get involved, arguing that authorities failed to investigate Johnson's death thoroughly because he's black. "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who told me they've used old newspapers," Fountain said. Russ Bynum/AP. An all-white jury acquitted Bryants husband and brother-in-law within an hour. The parents asserted that the sons of the FBI agent killed Johnson and used their connections to cover up the investigation. Time stamps between some separate camera systems differed by as much as twenty minutes for the same time period, giving the impression of a gap for portions of the footage where no gap existed. "The brain. Dr. William R. Anderson wrote in his June 2013 report that Kendrick suffered blunt force trauma, right neck, involving right mandible, and soft tissues, including the area of the carotid body, consistent with inflicted injury. The second independent autopsy, that Dr. Anderson also performed, yielded the same findings with the report explicitly stating that their findings were not consistent with positional asphyxia, which was Georgia officials final determination. Both independent autopsy reports determined the 17-year-old died of non-accidental blunt force trauma inconsistent with the positional asphyxia determination made by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Kendricks arm was nestled over his head, suggesting officials did not bother to lay his arms straight, the father said. ", Neither had the founder of a national embalming academy, who said it's "not consistent with the standards of care" in the industry. However, the coroner said these organs were not sent to the funeral home because they were too decomposed and were instead disposed of beforehand. 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. 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. 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. I dont think theyre going to do anything. A medical examiner backed up that claim . He said Johnson's organs were missing when the body arrived at Harrington. Meanwhile, Pollock, who called for a federal probe, said he does not believe justice will find Kendricks case in Georgia. After autopsies, those organs are typically sealed in a plastic bag and placed back in the body, said Vernie Fountain, who runs an embalming school in Springfield, Mo. While Brian told the media that he considered Kendrick a friend, Austin, another one of Johnsons friends, alleged that a year before his death, Brian and Kendrick had an altercation on the bus as they headed to a football game that was being played out of town. As Kendrick lay dead in the gym, the basketball and color guard teams held their night practices. 1. The three teens were classmates. Moore did not immediately return a phone message Thursday. For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. When organs are missing, such as in cases involving organ donors, space inside the body cavity often is filled with an absorbent, preservative powder, Fountain said. NY Daily News/Valdosta/Lowndes Regional Crime Labratory via CNNKendrick Johnsons body rolled up inside the gym mat with his shoes behind his knees. In their lawsuit, the parents of the accused boys assert that their sons were not involved in the death, are not considered suspects, and have been harassed as a result of the publication. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. "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. CNN's Victor Blackwell investigates what happened to Kendrick Johnson's missing organs after his mysterious death. And his family had no idea. He said it was too soon to be more specific. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent and violated Johnson's constitutional right to equal protection based on race. Almost a full day had passed until Johnson had been discovered. This 2018 autopsy concludes that the cause of death was "apparent non . Kendrick Johnsons parents released a photo to the media of their sons face as he lay in the funeral home. U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. He was stuck upside down in the middle of a wrestling mat that had been rolled up and propped upright behind bleachers. They were sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees and more than one million in defamation charges. 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. Watson said he reviewed the second autopsy report on Johnson, but found it vague and lacking the specifics of the GBI's findings. Then, in 2014, Kendrick Johnsons parents filed a wrongful death suit against the schools officials, alleging that Johnson had been harassed by a white student which went neglected by the school, perhaps due to his race. The three teens were classmates. READ: CrimeOnlines continuing coverage of the Kendrick Johnson case. Despite his death being ruled accidental, Lowndes County police initially said they did not immediately test some blood splatter located 40 feet from Kendricks body. He said Johnson's parents came to him seeking help. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. Credle, a veteran homicide detective from Washington, D.C., is referring to his work investigating the death of Kendrick Johnson, a 17-year-old boy who was found dead in a rolled-up wrestling mat at his Valdosta, Georgia, high school on January 11, 2013. "I'm not sure at this point who did not return the organs to the body, but I know when we got the body, the organs were not there," Anderson said. 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. An investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia teenager found dead in a rolled-up gym mat eight years ago, has been reopened, according to Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk.. When the pathologist opened the teen's remains, "the brain, heart, lungs, liver and other viscera were missing. The mat in which Johnson was found was around six feet tall. [12] The family retained the services of attorney Benjamin Crump. This finding further increased the confidence of doubters that this death was an accident. Kendrick Johnsons casket was unearthed for a second time for a third autopsy. [23] It alleged that Johnson was attacked on a bus trip 14 months prior to his death. Kendricks parents had his body exhumed in June 2013 and June 2018 for further examination. Pollock told CrimeOnline that the lungs of someone who asphyxiates are heavier because the lungs fill with fluid, causing death. In an autopsy, organs are removed and examined before being returned to the body for burial. [26], Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore said in a statement that a federal investigation was still open and that "the investigation has proven more complicated and taken longer than originally anticipated. From May 17 to 24, a white mob of 700 lynched at least 13 African Americans, including pregnant 21-year-old Mary Turner. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said the agency stands by its original findings. 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. [15], Johnson's family filed a legal action to open a coroner's inquest into his death. Medical examiners commonly remove internal organs during forensic autopsies. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Johnsons parents finally believed that their sons death was not being taken seriously because of his race. 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. But investigators quickly closed their case on the theory that Johnson had simply fallen into the mat while reaching for one of his sneakers. ", Complete coverage of Kendrick Johnson on Crimesider, First published on October 11, 2013 / 11:31 AM. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Sometimes cotton is used with powder. As far as the feds were concerned, the case was officially and finally closed. "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. However, Pollock said Kendricks lungs post mortem were a normal weight for a boy his age and size. [30] After the Justice Department's motion was denied, Johnson's parents dismissed their own wrongful death lawsuit, saying that they hoped to refile it after the conclusion of the federal investigation. Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who helped focus national attention on the 2012 shooting death of Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, said the discovery raises questions about why Johnson's organs went missing and couldn't be examined in the follow-up autopsy the family requested. In January of 2013, Kenneth Johnson got a call no parent ever wants to get. Found in a rolled-up gym mat, officials at Lowndes County High School in south Georgia concluded the athlete had been reaching for his sneaker when he fell headfirst into the mats. This article will explain the details of tongue anatomy and how each part contributes to its movements and to functions such as eating, taste . Indeed, when the mat was first unrolled, Johnson did have one arm stretched above his head and the other down around his waist as though struggling for his shoe. Indeed, in 2013, racism in Valdosta, Georgia, was still very much alive. The swift determination drew skepticism from many, including Johnsons family, Credle, and Pollock. [12][16] The funeral home that processed the body following the FBI's autopsy stated that they never received Johnson's internal organs from the coroner; the organs were said to have been "destroyed through natural process" and "discarded by the prosector before the body was sent back to Valdosta," according to the funeral home owner. Justice for Kendrick Johnson! "I'm terribly sorry for the family," Watson said. "Is newspaper necessarily more indicting that sawdust or cotton?" More from CNN at http://www.cnn.comTo lice. A private pathologist was hired to carry out a second autopsy. 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.?! Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Credle was called in after several local authorities recused themselves from the case which many believe was due to the primary persons of interest being the sons of an FBI agent. The episode, entitled "Dare," sees a young girl tragically dying in a gymnasium. Kendrick missed his fourth-period class and did not come home from school, prompting his family to file a missing persons report that night. 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. The mysterious death of Kendrick Johnson was initially ruled an accident by law enforcement, but his family was not convinced. in June 2016, citing insufficient evidence. They were ultimately ordered by a judge to pay close to $300,000 worth of lawyers fees to those they had accused with no evidence. Furthermore, a whole hour of footage from the gym was missing, right at the time which would have shed light on what happened that day. [22], Johnson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lowndes County Board of Education, its superintendent and the principal of Lowndes High School. Kendrick Johnson lived with his family in Valdosta, Georgia and attended Lowndes High School. 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. The only way Im going to know is to look at the evidence myself.. Just after 1pm, he entered the gym, never to come out alive. lungs of someone who asphyxiates are heavier. "The question is, why didn't he tell us?" 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. Horrified by what those photos depicted, they decided to post them on social media. But the Justice Department found insufficient evidence to support an investigation. He was a three-sport athlete and dreamed of playing professional football. 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.". "[18] The Johnson family subsequently filed a civil lawsuit against the funeral home, seeking monetary damages. The first time Jacquelyn Johnson cried next to her son Kendrick's grave, he was being lowered into the ground. Police said the latest probe would include reinterviews of witnesses and consultations with other law enforcement agencies to ensure nothing was missed or incorrectly reported during the initial probe. Now, the sheriffs have enough evidence in hand to perhaps allow them to solve this mystery once and for all. - were not with the body," Anderson said. Two entities had custody of Kendrick's body and access to his organs the first time he was buried: the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the first autopsy in January, and Harrington Funeral Home, which the Johnsons chose to embalm and prepare Kendrick's body for burial, days later. "Those organs were in the body when we sent it back to the funeral home," an agency spokesperson said. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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.