"Those organs were in the body when we sent it back to the funeral home," said Lang, who added that the GBI stands by the conclusions of its autopsy that found no foul play involved. "There may not be any law that prohibits it. All rights reserved. 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. Kendrick Johnson In Savannah, Georgia 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson's body was uncovered January 11, 2013, inside of a rolled up wrestling mat . 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 second shoe was discovered on the floor in front of one of the mats in the gym, according to the local news outlet. 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. The Johnsons hoped for a coroners inquest, which would begin the process ofreclassifying the cause of Kendrick Johnsons death as non-accidental and reopening the investigation. In June 2018, Kendrick Johnsons body was exhumed for a second time and a third autopsy was performed. READ More: Five decades later, Emmett Till accuser recants claims. FacebookKendrick Johnson with his mother. The private pathologist performed his own autopsy in June and presented a four-page report of his findings Aug. 15. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, I Googled stuff, he said. In an autopsy, organs are removed and examined before being returned to the body for burial. Its up to us to move the needle for KJ, because they are never going to do it down there.. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. Kendricks father was shocked by his sons disfigured body. 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. Through interviews, police documents, and forensic evidence, Finding Kendrick Johnson illustrates how a 17-year-olds disappearance and death sparked years worth of investigations, controversies, and a possible cover-up. Watson said he reviewed the second autopsy report on Johnson, but found it vague and lacking the specifics of the GBI's findings. 1. (CBS/AP) SAVANNAH, Ga. - The parents of a Georgia teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat at school said Thursday the fact that their son was recently found to be buried without his internal organs is a new reason to suspect signs of foul play were covered by investigators. Months later, the pair admitted to mutilating and killing Till in a magazine interview they were paid $3,000 for. Almost a full day had passed until Johnson had been discovered. More from CNN at http://www.cnn.comTo lice. The family was given photos of the scene and Kendricks 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. [12][16] Johnson's family filed a complaint with a regulatory body against the funeral home operator. Johnson's parents hope the outcome would be to change the manner of death listed on his death certificate from accidental to homicide -- paving the way to reopen a criminal investigation. October 11, 2013 / 11:31 AM He was never shown within or leaving the gym and indeed, he never did show up for his following classes. 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. U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. Similar to Kendricks mother, Tills mother, Mamie Till Mobley, wanted to call attention to what happened to her son, so she held an open-casket funeral and allowed Jet magazine to publish photographs of her childs disfigured and bloated corpse. "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. [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. Now the family has enlisted the help of Tallahassee, Fla.-based attorney Benjamin Crump. On top of this, the second autopsy revealed that some of Johnsons organs were missing and in their place, his body had been stuffed with newspaper. 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. Johnson's family said Anderson also revealed that most of his internal organs were missing and the body cavity was filled with newspaper. The initial autopsy revealed that Johnson died due to positional asphyxia or that he suffocated as a result of being stuck upside-down in an enclosed space for an extended period of time. Sometimes cotton is used with powder. Asked how he planned to do that, Crump said, "We're going to have to look at getting the courts involved." Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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 2007, Bryant allegedly revealed to. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. 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. But it's just not something that's within what I would consider acceptable standards.". "[11] Johnson's family questioned this hypothesis. Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled Johnson's body, referred calls to attorney Roy Copeland. Johnson's family asked the Justice Department to get involved, arguing that authorities failed to investigate Johnson's death thoroughly because he's black. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Anderson claimed that his findings indicated traces of blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues, and suggested the death was not accidental. UNDATED: Kendrick Johnson,17, was found dead inside his high school's gym. During the film, Jacquelyn becomes so overwhelmed seeing the footage that she has to excuse herself, as Kenneth wipes tears from his eyes. Investigators tested the blood which revealed that it did not belong to Kendrick Johnson. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. "I'm terribly sorry for the family," Watson said. The public was horrified by the photo and began to rally around the Johnsons in their quest for the truth. 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. What made me think that everything was a cover-upwas that first meeting with the medical examiner, Mitch Credle said. 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. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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.". Then without parent consent, a surgeon at the hospital harvested her organs . "Stuffing that newspaper in like he was a garbage can inside his body," Kendrick father said. 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. All rights reserved. The tongue is a mobile, muscular organ that lies within the mouth and partly extends into the upper throat. "[23], In August 2014, a $5 million lawsuit against Ebony magazine was filed, after the magazine published a series of articles naming two students as possible suspects in Johnson's death. Johnsons parents were suspicious of the investigation from the beginning. [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. Kendrick Johnsons parents released a photo to the media of their sons face as he lay in the funeral home. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said Thursday that the agency's policy is to return all organs to bodies after autopsies. Brian had told local media in numerous interviews that he had not seen Kendrick on the day he vanished. The funeral home said that it received the body without organs which it replaced with paper or sawdust as is common practice while embalming. An inquest would present the evidence in Johnson's death in a public hearing, much like a trial. 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. Images from the scene show Johnson lying in a pool of blood. The episode, entitled "Dare," sees a young girl tragically dying in a gymnasium. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang told CNN that after the autopsy, "the organs were placed in Johnson's . Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. It wasnt like I did anything nefarious to find it. Local newspaper Valdosta Today reported that those children claimed, when questioned by police, that they. 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. Johnson's family said Anderson also revealed that most of his internal organs were missing and the body cavity was filled with newspaper. His sneakers were shoved behind his knees. But the Justice Department found insufficient evidence to support an investigation. Johnsons parents finally believed that their sons death was not being taken seriously because of his race. Every organ from the top of Kendrick's head to his pelvis was gone. But his parents would later maintain that his size versus the size of the mat alone was enough to debunk the investigators case. However, when Dr. Bill Anderson, the independent pathologist who performed Johnson's second autopsy,. Seventeen-year-old Kendrick Johnsons body was inexplicably found upside-down in a rolled-up gym mat in 2013. [25], In January 2015, Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of DeKalb County against 38 individuals. 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? [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. Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled Johnson's body, referred calls to attorney Roy Copeland. 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.. 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. On June 20, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that it would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death. 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 cameras which faced the mats were unfocussed and skipped around. [15], Johnson's family filed a legal action to open a coroner's inquest into his death. R.I.P Kendrick Johnson FacebookOne of the coroners reports on Kendrick Johnsons autopsy. 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. 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. His mother posted on her Facebook: No mother or father should ever have to bury their child under these circumstances. [14] On October 31, 2013, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. He said Johnson's organs were missing when the body arrived at Harrington. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student. The teen's father, Kenneth Johnson, spoke about the missing organs during the rally. 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 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. Kendrick missed his fourth-period class and did not come home from school, prompting his family to file a missing persons report that night. As far as the feds were concerned, the case was officially and finally closed. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in South Georgia. The swift determination drew skepticism from many, including Johnsons family, Credle, and Pollock. "The brain. 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. GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said Thursday that the agency's policy is to return all organs to bodies after autopsies. In comparison, the mat he was found in is 6 feet long and the opening was 14 inches. "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who told me they've used old newspapers," Fountain said. Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found dead and rolled up inside a high school gym mat back in 2013. This finding further increased the confidence of doubters that this death was an accident. 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. He was stuck upside down in the middle of a wrestling mat that had been rolled up and propped upright behind bleachers. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. CNNKendrick Johnsons shoe laying in the pool of blood. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit told a story about a tragic death and unapproved organ harvesting on Wednesday night, and we think we found the real life story that inspired the case. [14] The governor's office released a statement indicating that they would await the report of the U.S. 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. Inside Biden's new mortgage fee rules. Anderson's report said he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. Moore did not immediately return a phone message Thursday. "Is newspaper necessarily more indicting that sawdust or cotton?" 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 mat and becoming trapped. 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. [17], Johnson's family requested that his body be exhumed for a second time and was granted permission by Valdosta city officials. 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. 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. 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. 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. [22], Johnson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lowndes County Board of Education, its superintendent and the principal of Lowndes High School. "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, the coroner said these organs were not sent to the funeral home because they were too decomposed and were instead disposed of beforehand. Meanwhile, Pollock, who called for a federal probe, said he does not believe justice will find Kendricks case in Georgia. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. "They brought me in to make sure this is not able to be swept under the rug in small-town Georgia and they never get justice for their child.". 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. 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. They were sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees and more than one million in defamation charges. 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. in June 2016, citing insufficient evidence. Kendrick Johnson lived with his family in Valdosta, Georgia and attended Lowndes High School. The family of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson complained after the high school student's corpse was exhumed in June 2013 and investigators discovered newsprint in place of several vital organs . 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. (AP). The clothing he was wearing when he was found also was missing. Johnson's family asked the Justice Department to get involved, arguing that authorities failed to investigate Johnson's death thoroughly because he's black. [11] An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Johnson had died from positional asphyxia,[12] and the case was ruled an accidental death by the Lowndes County investigators. Pollock believed the evidence was so crucial that he flew to Georgia to show Kendricks parents. Nonetheless, the investigation cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing. [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. Some even drew comparisons to the death of Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia high school athlete whose suspicious 2013 death was ruled an accident, despite his family's demand for further investigation. Kendricks father, Kenneth Johnson, worked as a truck driver and was on the road when the teen vanished and was found dead. 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. A Georgia sheriff's office is reopening an investigation into the 2013 death of Kendrick Johnson, a Black teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up gym mat in his high school . 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. It does appear, however, that their quest for answers has only led to more questions. I think it was just a look into it just to quiet down the family, quiet down some of the media, Credle told CrimeOnline. This 2018 autopsy concludes that the cause of death was "apparent non . 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.