The parents of a south Georgia teenager who died 10 years ago after his body was found wrapped in a wrestling gym mat at his high school are suing the state investigation bureau and their county sheriff’s office to fight back at the long-held claim that their son’s death was a “freak accident.”
The suit was specifically filed against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office to dispute the conclusions about the death of Kendrick Johnson.
Johnson was found dead in January 2013 at Lowndes High School in Valdosta by his classmates. His body was discovered facing downward in an upright, rolled-up gym mat in the back of the school’s gym.
A state investigation into Johnson’s death initially revealed that he died from asphyxia. After three autopsies were performed, findings showed that he died from non-accidental blunt force trauma. Investigators maintain that his death was accidental and believe that he suffocated after he reached into the upright mat to retrieve a pair of shoes that fell inside and got trapped.
However, Johnson’s parents never bought the story.
Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson maintain the belief that someone killed their son and got away with murder while law enforcement covered up the crime. They say evidence from the third autopsy report is inconsistent with findings from the investigation. Johnson suffered bruises to his face and upper torso as well as lacerations on his ear, lip, knuckles, and arm, according to the suit. They don’t believe a gym mat could have caused such bruising.
They said photos taken of Johnson’s body show injuries that might have been caused by something like a Taser or stun gun.
“They killed the wrong child, but they got the right parents because we are going to continue to fight for Kendrick,” Jackie Johnson told Atlanta’s Fox 5.
The federal suit they filed alleges that the GBI and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deprived…
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