The pathologist concluded his death was not an accident. The brothers father,Rick Bell, was an FBI special agent who ultimately resignedafter his home was raided and searched for evidence, according to NBC. The case was. Months after his death, Lowndes County Sheriffs Office investigators ruled it was an accident and closed the case. Paulk wrote that he reviewed 17 boxes of files from the FBI, Department of Justice, and local authorities while revisiting this case. However, the coroner said these organs were not sent to the funeral home because they were too decomposed and were instead disposed of beforehand. When rolled up, the mat left a 14-inch hole in diameter in the center. Unsatisfied with the result of the investigation, they hired an independent autopsy conducted by William R. Anderson with Forensic Dimensions in Heathrow, Florida, on June 15, 2013. In 2015, the Johnsons filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against 38 people, including three of their sons classmates, the school, the local crime lab, state and federal officials, five agents of the GBI, an FBI agent, and more. 2023 Cox Media Group. Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson stand next to a banner on their SUV showing their late son Kendrick, in Valdosta, Ga., in December 2013. But still an accident? Thomas wondered. "This week we are trying Kendrick Johnson as the shooter, the organizer and the planner of Delindsey Mack's murder," she told . Johnson's family didn't accept the. A Warner Bros. The YSL Case Is Stretching Fulton County's Justice System to Its Breaking Point. 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. . 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. Itll be a lot of work, he explained. Kendrick Johnson's death made national news, not on the day his body was discovered, but in weeks . CNN A second local investigation into the 2013 death of Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia teenager who was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat, has been closed with no charges filed, according to. 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? Thats the craziest lie you could have told. The Grizzlies played in Denver on Friday night and are scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on Saturday . "[34] On August 10, 2017, Georgia Judge Richard Porter ruled that Johnson's family and their attorney had to pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the dozens of respondents in their civil suit, writing "testimony shows that they had no evidence to support their claims that the [brothers] killed Johnson or that any of the other defendants engaged in a conspiracy to conceal the cause or manner of Johnson's death. 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. [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. 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. We provide you with a list of the top 15 best true crime documentaries that every true crime fan will thoroughly enjoy. "Im treating it like its a brand new case," Paulk said, according to the newspaper. After this sad look at the case and death of Kendrick Johnson, read up on another mysterious disappearance, that of Elisa Lam. We dont know whether its credible or not, hesaid. For the sake of his family, I hope that the case of Kendrick Johnson can be closed in a way that provides closure. Policeand eventually the states attorneysaid he went headfirst into the mat to get a sneaker at the bottom, and that he died from positional asphyxia when he couldnt get out. [21] Other missing footage was the result of the camera's motion-activated function not being triggered. The post Kendrick Johnsons case closed after authorities say no crime found appeared first on TheGrio. Georgia state law dictates that the coroner be contacted immediately on the discovery of a body, but Watson claimed that he was not notified until six hours later. The emotions are reflective of one someone who has a burden like hell on their shoulders.. Video shows Johnson walking into and then through the gym on January 10, 2013. All things mysterious, murderous, and macabre. [39] He further stated that two brothers, named in previous legal actions by the Johnsons, are not suspects. Though it was quickly ruled an accidental death, Kendrick's family thought something was wrong. Now, the sheriffs have enough evidence in hand to perhaps allow them to solve this mystery once and for all. An autopsy conducted by a pathologist who was hired by Johnsons family determined that the cause of death was unexplained, apparent non-accidental, blunt-force trauma to the neck. Kendrick Johnsons shoe laying in the pool of blood. 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. Kendrick Johnsons body has been exhumed twice in recent years. A number of community activists have also spoken out in favor of the forthcoming probe into the Georgia teens death. Nonetheless, the investigation cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing. 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, Marcus Coleman, a spokesperson for the Johnson family, told Oxygen.com. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! On October 31, 2013, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. The sheriff said investigators are working to verify the recording and how the individual received the information in order to "follow the chain of custody. [6] That lawsuit was subsequently withdrawn. R.I.P Kendrick Johnson FacebookOne of the coroners reports on Kendrick Johnsons autopsy. Body Parts Are Missing: Newly-Released Footage of Kendrick Johnsons Last Moments, the Latest in Troubling Death Investigation, Rick Bell, was an FBI special agent who ultimately resigned, Johnsons organs were returned to his body following the autopsy, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. The familys attorney, Chevene King, expressed thatif Kendrick had been white, the case would have been handled differently. Over the years, the Johnsons have publicly implicated brothers Brian and Branden Bell in Kendricks death. 2. [24] The magazine used pseudonyms but was otherwise accurate in descriptions of the boys, including the fact that their father was an FBI agent. 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. Thing is, he wasnt just found dead. Upon releasing a 16-page synopsis report, sheriff Ashley Paulk told WCTV that he is 100 percent sure there was no foul play based on the federal case documents he reviewed and interviews police conducted with people involved in the initial investigation. The photo, in which Kendrick Johnsons face is extremely swollen, almost does not look human. The three teens were classmates. Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a gym mat at Lowndes High School in January 2013. Now, positional asphyxia is a legitimate cause of death. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Theyre not going to uncover something that they covered up., Kendrick Johnson investigation: Feds will not file charges, I am quite sure that there will still be a contingent that will believe there was foul play, the sheriff wrote in the report. CNN has not independently inspected all the evidence that the sheriff reviewed. The Johnsons have filed several lawsuits since their son's death, winning none of them. 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. I do not, he replied. 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. We know that.. August 17, 2021. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. Kendrick didnt deserve this., Following public outcry, the Justice Department also investigated Kendricks death in 2013 and closed its case in 2016, finding insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges., The report from the Lowndes County Sheriffs Office was published by the Valdosta Daily Times newspaper on Wednesday. There are no suspects because we havent made a determination as to whether or not this was murder, Paulk added. However, Johnsons parents say classmates killed their son and law enforcement and school officials covered up the crime. The Johnsons also accused the brothers father, an FBI agent at the time, of covering up the murder by manipulating the school and authorities involved in investigating Johnsons death. [5], 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. [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. However, these things really happen in the world. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student. Its an active case so the contents of the recording or anything else, were not going to divulge right now, Paulk said. We already knew that nothing was going to be done on your watch, she contended. Looking for interesting and mysterious true crime documentaries? The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Georgia was recused from the investigation many years ago.. Paulk estimated it might take six months to process everything. He was found rolled up in a gym mat at Lowndes High School the next day. "Theres still a lot of questions people want answered.". Im feeling hopeful.. After Johnson's body was found in the upright, rolled up wrestling mat at Valdosta High School in January, state medical examiners ruled his death accidental. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2:24 PM EST, Thu January 27, 2022, Justice Dept.