Johnsons father, however, admitted that he had no hard evidence to back up any of these claims and the Johnsons had to drop the suit. He writes, in part: "his internal organs were destroyed through natural process and henceforth were discarded before the body was sent back to Valdosta.". Kendricks body found in a gym mat, alongside a pair of shoes [Image: Millennial PR]Lowndes County police said they believed Kendrick crawled into the mat to retrieve his shoes, became stuck, and continued to burrow into the mat until he became completely trapped and died. 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. An inquest would present the evidence in Johnson's death in a public hearing, much like a trial. 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. Months later, the pair admitted to mutilating and killing Till in a magazine interview they were paid $3,000 for. Kendrick Johnson was last seen 1:30pm Thursday 1/10. I think it was just a look into it just to quiet down the family, quiet down some of the media, Credle told CrimeOnline. 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. The episode, entitled "Dare," sees a young girl tragically dying in a gymnasium. 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. 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. 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. Kendricks photos drew wide comparisons to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy from Chicago who was murdered in 1955 in Money, Mississippi, after a 21-year-old white woman named Carolyn Bryant accused him of making ugly remarks and whistling at her. The family, together with the NAACP and other civil rights activists, then held a rally at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. The crowd of city residents and out-of-town supporters, including several youth activists from #ItsBiggerThanYou, came to demand justice for Kendrick Johnson. [39] In January 2022, the second investigation was closed with no charges filed. In November 2013, 290 hours of surveillance tape from 35 cameras that covered the gym area were released to CNN following a court request. "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. 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. Watson said he reviewed the second autopsy report on Johnson, but found it vague and lacking the specifics of the GBI's findings. 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. 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. Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found dead and rolled up inside a high school gym mat back in 2013. . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, "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. 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. An all-white jury acquitted Bryants husband and brother-in-law within an hour. 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. 1. 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. 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. Students had also told police that it was common for them to leave their belongings in the mats when they didnt want to pay for a locker. Kendrick Johnsons parents released a photo to the media of their sons face as he lay in the funeral home. The county medical examiner concluded Johnson died of positional asphyxia and deemed his death accidental. Police said a bloody tissue was found in the girls bathroom near the gym was also tested and did not match the blood discovered near Kendricks body, according to Valdosta Today. Investigators did not take the hoodie and orange and black gym shoes into evidence. "This can happen to any of our kids," said Kenneth Johnson, the teenager's father. SAVANNAH, Ga. The parents of a Georgia teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat at school said Thursday that they have a new reason to suspect signs of foul play were covered by investigators -- their son was buried without his internal organs. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said Thursday that the agency's policy is to return all organs to bodies after autopsies. U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. [14] The governor's office released a statement indicating that they would await the report of the U.S. 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. I Googled stuff, he said. Johnson's family said Anderson also revealed that most of his internal organs were missing and the body cavity was filled with newspaper. His mother posted on her Facebook: No mother or father should ever have to bury their child under these circumstances. 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. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. He was stuck upside down in the middle of a wrestling mat that had been rolled up and propped upright behind bleachers. A shoe found on top of a pool of blood near Kendricks body [Image: Lowndes Regional Crime Laboratory]Finding Kendrick Johnson presents police documents that state that Kendrick is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and his shoulders measured 19 inches. On January 11, 2013, the body of Kendrick Johnson (October 10, 1995 - January 10, 2013) was discovered inside a vertical rolled-up mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, United States, where he was a student. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in South Georgia. Thats another red flag.. October 11, 2013 / 11:31 AM READ More: Five decades later, Emmett Till accuser recants claims. Finding Kendrick Johnson presents police documents that state that Kendrick is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and his shoulders measured 19 inches. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. [12] The funeral home owner stated that it is standard practice to fill a void in this fashion, and that cotton or sawdust may also be employed for this purpose. Listen to the latest episode: Join Nancy Grace for her new online video series designed to help you protect what you love most your children. [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. [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. "[11] Johnson's family questioned this hypothesis. 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. The parents asserted that the sons of the FBI agent killed Johnson and used their connections to cover up the investigation. I really dont. In comparison, the mat he was found in is 6 feet long and the opening was 14 inches. 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. UNDATED: Kendrick Johnson,17, was found dead inside his high school's gym. Johnson's organs appeared to be missing from his body, according to an autopsy. Kendricks arm was nestled over his head, suggesting officials did not bother to lay his arms straight, the father said. [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. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in South Georgia. But investigators quickly closed their case on the theory that Johnson had simply fallen into the mat while reaching for one of his sneakers. Meet The Damselfly, Your New Favorite Insect, Man Who Had Part Of His Brain Removed To Cure Him Of Seizures Says He No Longer Feels Fear, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. 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. Despite this, the Department of Justice closed the investigation in June 2016, citing insufficient evidence. "But I don't think raising all this Cain down here is going to bring closure to them. U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. And his family had no idea. A spokeswoman for the state told CNN after its autopsy, "the organs were placed in Johnson's body, the body was closed, then the body was released to the funeral home." 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. During the film, Jacquelyn becomes so overwhelmed seeing the footage that she has to excuse herself, as Kenneth wipes tears from his eyes. Austin said Brian pulled Kendricks locs and held his head down, prompting the fight. "I feel outraged about them stuffing my son's body with newspaper," Jaquelyn Johnson said. The lawsuit alleged that the FBI agent ordered his two sons and a classmate to attack Johnson, that his death was a murder, and that the respondents engaged in a conspiracy to cover up the homicide. NY Daily News/Valdosta/Lowndes Regional Crime Labratory via CNNKendrick Johnsons body rolled up inside the gym mat with his shoes behind his knees. 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. In May of 1918, a Black farmworker named Sidney Johnson, tired of mistreatment, killed his white boss. They were all absent.". Inside Biden's new mortgage fee rules. This page was last edited on 8 March 2023, at 20:00. The photo, in which Kendrick Johnsons face is extremely swollen, almost does not look human. Kendrick Johnson's family was not able to perform a legitimate autopsy until June 2013. Ill never let them forget, Jacquelyn told filmmakers. The tongue is a mobile, muscular organ that lies within the mouth and partly extends into the upper throat. When doctors are not sure how someone died, they tell us, Detective, find me something that can help me lead towards a direction. Investigators tested the blood which revealed that it did not belong to Kendrick Johnson. [29], In November 2015, the Department of Justice filed a motion in the civil case to intervene and stay the case. [6] That lawsuit was subsequently withdrawn. "It would've been during or immediately after the autopsy," he said. In an autopsy, organs are removed and examined before being returned to the body for burial. [33], On June 20, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that they would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death, stating, "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 Johnson's civil rights or committed any other prosecutable federal crime. "Is newspaper necessarily more indicting that sawdust or cotton?" "This can happen to any of our kids," said Kenneth Johnson, the teenager's father. 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. In 2007, Bryant allegedly revealed to. 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. [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. And they admit, they're struggling. As Kendrick lay dead in the gym, the basketball and color guard teams held their night practices. Despite this, the, Department of Justice closed the investigation. Pollock told CrimeOnline that the lungs of someone who asphyxiates are heavier because the lungs fill with fluid, causing death. [25], In January 2015, Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of DeKalb County against 38 individuals. In June 2018, Kendrick Johnsons body was exhumed for a second time and a third autopsy was performed. [14] On October 31, 2013, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. ", Complete coverage of Kendrick Johnson on Crimesider, First published on October 11, 2013 / 11:31 AM. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. This article will explain the details of tongue anatomy and how each part contributes to its movements and to functions such as eating, taste . Kendrick missed his fourth-period class and did not come home from school, prompting his family to file a missing persons report that night.