[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 May of 1918, a Black farmworker named Sidney Johnson, tired of mistreatment, killed his white boss. "I'd never heard of that before, never. They were all absent.". Over the years, the Johnsons have publicly implicated brothers Brian and Branden Bell in Kendricks death. 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. Kenneth also said lacerations and bruising to his sons face made him think Kendrick was in some sort of fight. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. . A medical examiner backed up that claim . 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.. After this sad look at the case and death of Kendrick Johnson, read up on another mysterious disappearance, that of Elisa Lam. The fact that a filmmaker, whos basically an artist college dropouthad to do the work that no one did in Georgia for eight years. Kendrick Johnsons parents released a photo to the media of their sons face as he lay in the funeral home. "This can happen to any of our kids," said Kenneth Johnson, the teenager's father. [14] The governor's office released a statement indicating that they would await the report of the U.S. NY Daily News/Valdosta/Lowndes Regional Crime Labratory via CNN. Im feeling hopeful.. 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. 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.". School officials found Johnson's body in the gym after his parents reported him missing the night before. Austin said Brian pulled Kendricks locs and held his head down, prompting the fight. But his parents would later maintain that his size versus the size of the mat alone was enough to debunk the investigators case. But Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson said many of Johnson's organs were deemed too badly decomposed to be preserved and had to be disposed of before the body was sent to the funeral home. Kendrick Johnson, was a 17-year-old high school sophomore, found dead, inside of a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School gymnasium on January 11, 2013. As Kendrick lay dead in the gym, the basketball and color guard teams held their night practices. 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. Attorney. [38] The sheriff also stated he does not consider the case to be a homicide. Horrified by what those photos depicted, they decided to post them on social media. I dont think theyre going to do anything. His mother posted on her Facebook: No mother or father should ever have to bury their child under these circumstances. 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 tongue is a mobile, muscular organ that lies within the mouth and partly extends into the upper throat. As he was upside down, blood would have rushed to Johnsons head and he eventually would have begun to bleed from his facial orifices. 9 Mysterious Details About Kendrick Johnson's Death 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. Legal Statement. Kendrick Johnson's organs missing - YouTube 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. Till was found in the river with a cotton gin fan tied to his neck with barbed wire. However, when Dr. Bill Anderson, the independent pathologist who performed Johnson's second autopsy,. READ: CrimeOnlines continuing coverage of the Kendrick Johnson case. I Googled stuff, he said. But what Doctor Anderson did not find shocked them. The county medical examiner concluded Johnson died of positional asphyxia and deemed his death accidental. The brothers father, As Pollock explained to CrimeOnline, the bombshell evidence did not come from an anonymous source or undercover sleuthing it was plainly stated in the FBIs 2014 analysis report. That's what happened in Johnson's case, she said. 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. The swift determination drew skepticism from many, including Johnsons family, Credle, and Pollock. This article will explain the details of tongue anatomy and how each part contributes to its movements and to functions such as eating, taste . U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. The private pathologist presented a four-page report of his findings Aug. 15 saying he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. As a result of this new evidence, Matthew Moore, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced a formal review of the case. Legal Statement. Ill never let them forget, Jacquelyn told filmmakers. [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. While presenting the case to the public in October 2014, Lieutenant Stride Jones explained why they could not test every student. 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. Kendrick Johnson video analysis: part 1 The family didn't even know the late teen's brain, heart, lungs, liver and other viscera were missing until the middle of last year, when an autopsy. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Kendrick Johnson's organs missing - YouTube 0:00 / 5:25 Kendrick Johnson's organs missing CNN 14.9M subscribers Subscribe 27K 3.2M views 9 years ago The body of Kendrick Johnson came back. One of the coroners reports on Kendrick Johnsons autopsy. Kendrick Johnson case: What happened to him and when did he die? [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. 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. [2], Authorities hypothesized that Johnson had fallen into the mat while looking for a shoe and died after being unable to get out. lungs of someone who asphyxiates are heavier. "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. Almost a full day had passed until Johnson had been discovered. 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. Kendrick Johnson was last seen 1:30pm Thursday 1/10. "When we got the body for the second autopsy, the organs - the heart, lungs, liver etc. They said they later tested the blood and it was not a match for Kendrick, but it remains unclear who it belongs to. Johnson's family discovered him to be missing his organs although the South Georgia Lowndes County Sheriff's investigation ruled Johnson's death a freak accident. 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. 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. 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. The article used as a source an anonymous email to the sheriff's office. [11] A student at the school said that he shared a pair of Adidas shoes with Johnson, and that after gym class Johnson would always "go to the mats, jump up and toss the shoes inside the middle of the hole. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Its been eight long years, said Kendrick Johnsons mother, Jacquelyn. All Rights Reserved. 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. CrimeOnlines continuing coverage of the Kendrick Johnson case, blood splatter located 40 feet from Kendricks body, blunt force trauma, right neck, involving right mandible, Kendricks organs were returned to his body following the autopsy, Five decades later, Emmett Till accuser recants claims, Rick Bell, was an FBI special agent who ultimately resigned, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. He was just in his socks. The mat in which Johnson was found was around six feet tall. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student. What made me think that everything was a cover-upwas that first meeting with the medical examiner, Mitch Credle said. Investigators claim that in the findings of the initial autopsy, Johnson's cause of death was ruled by accidental asphyxiation when he got stuck in the mat while trying to retrieve a shoe. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. in June 2016, citing insufficient evidence. The clothing he was wearing when he was found also was missing. N on Twitter: "It states that Rick Bell, former FBI special agent [39] In January 2022, the second investigation was closed with no charges filed. He was a three-sport athlete and dreamed of playing professional football. 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. organ, in music, a keyboard instrument, operated by the player's hands and feet, in which pressurized air produces notes through a series of pipes organized in scalelike rows. He also said standard embalming practice is to fill empty space in body cavities with material such as sawdust or cotton. [17], Johnson's family requested that his body be exhumed for a second time and was granted permission by Valdosta city officials. Wrongful death, Kendrick Johnson's family vs. Lowndes County Board of Education and school officials. Pollock told CrimeOnline that the lungs of someone who asphyxiates are heavier because the lungs fill with fluid, causing death. Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled Johnson's body, referred calls to attorney Roy Copeland. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. More from CNN at http://www.cnn.comTo lice. Despite this, the Department of Justice closed the investigation in June 2016, citing insufficient evidence. He said Johnson's organs were missing when the body arrived at Harrington. Pollock said, Its up to the national pressure. Meanwhile, Pollock, who called for a federal probe, said he does not believe justice will find Kendricks case in Georgia. 1. Moore did not immediately return a phone message Thursday. Medical examiners commonly remove internal organs during forensic autopsies. Kendrick Johnsons shoe laying in the pool of blood. So what exactly did the Harrington Funeral Home do with Kendrick's organs and why was he stuffed with old newspaper? 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. The Johnsons were also sure that their sons body had been moved, which was corroborated by Lowndes County Coroner, Bill Watson. Months later, the pair admitted to mutilating and killing Till in a magazine interview they were paid $3,000 for. In the face of this racist mob violence, some 500 . 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. Respondents include three of Johnson's classmates (two or three respondents are unnamed) and local, state, and federal officials: the school superintendent of Lowndes County, the Valdosta-Lowndes crime lab, the police chief of Valdosta, many sheriff's deputies, the city of Valdosta, the state medical examiner, the GBI and five of its agents, and one FBI agent. CNNKendrick Johnsons shoe laying in the pool of blood. A private pathologist was hired to carry out a second autopsy. 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. Despite these resignations, the Department of Justice investigation continued. The crowd of city residents and out-of-town supporters, including several youth activists from #ItsBiggerThanYou, came to demand justice for Kendrick Johnson. Missing organs fuel outcry over Georgia teen's gym mat death Kendrick Johnsons casket was unearthed for a second time for a third autopsy. 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. In comparison, the mat he was found in is 6 feet long and the opening was 14 inches. "Those organs were in the body when we sent it back to the funeral home," an agency spokesperson said. Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident, falling headfirst into an upright mat and becoming trapped. 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. 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. But investigators quickly closed their case on the theory that Johnson had simply fallen into the mat while reaching for one of his sneakers. 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 writes, in part: "his internal organs were destroyed through natural process and henceforth were discarded before the body was sent back to Valdosta.". [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." Copeland said. I really dont. Local newspaper Valdosta Today reported that those children claimed, when questioned by police, that theynever saw or heard Kendrick in the gym. His body was exhumed twice for a third autopsy, Kendrick Johnson the R.I.P Kendrick Johnson Facebook PageKendrick Johnsons casket was unearthed for a second time for a third autopsy. 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. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said Thursday that the agency's policy is to return all organs to bodies after autopsies. [Featured image: Nikkolas Smith/Millennial PR], North Carolina Cop, Wife Found Shot Dead in Fayetteville Home, We Have Zero Leads: $80,000 Reward Offered for Information Leading to Man Who Gunned Down Texas Family, Missing: 18-Year-Old Mom Takes Toddler Son From Dads During Supervised Visit. [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. 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. State and local officials ruled that Kendrick suffocated after purportedly reaching for a pair of sneakers inside the mat and getting stuck. [24] The magazine used pseudonyms but was otherwise accurate in descriptions of the boys, including the fact that their father was an FBI agent. Investigators did not take the hoodie and orange and black gym shoes into evidence. 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. READ More: Five decades later, Emmett Till accuser recants claims. Crump said the Johnson family's legal team plans to focus on getting the official manner of death in the case changed from accidental to homicide. All rights reserved. "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who told me they've used old newspapers," Fountain said. Now, the sheriffs have enough evidence in hand to perhaps allow them to solve this mystery once and for all. However, Pollock said Kendricks lungs post mortem were a normal weight for a boy his age and size. "This is a real-life murder mystery where these parents sent their child to school with a book bag and he was returned to them in a body bag," Crump said in a phone interview. "We just can't allow this to happen again and again and again.". Kendrick reportedly confided in his father about Branden telling classmates that the issue was not over., According to the father, Kendrick said, You know Rick Bell, Brians daddyhe came up to me at school and told me the fight on the bus wasnt a fair fight and I should come to his house and re-fight Brian.. State and local law enforcement officials ruled the death an accidental. The county medical examiner concluded Johnson died of positional asphyxia and deemed his death accidental. 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. He concluded the teenager died from blunt force trauma near his carotid artery and that the fatal blow appeared to be non-accidental. Kendrick Johnson's Death And The Chilling Story Behind It Copeland said. But the Justice Department found insufficient evidence to support an investigation. 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. 'Finding Kendrick Johnson' Documentary Shows Facts, Not - People Johnson's family asked the Justice Department to get involved, arguing that authorities failed to investigate Johnson's death thoroughly because he's black. An inquest would present the evidence in Johnson's death in a public hearing, much like a trial. 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. But it's just not something that's within what I would consider acceptable standards.". Investigation into Georgia teen found dead in gym mat is closed without When authorities ruled Kendrick's death accidental, theorizing he had fallen into the opening at the center of the mat and suffocated, the Johnsons conducted an independent autopsy of their own,.