Kendrick Johnson: Accident or Murder?

First post! Exciting. When I made this blog, I started with the idea that I wanted to create a platform that evokes thought and starts discussions- on true crime of course. I wanted to create a space where I could present facts and maybe along the way, educate. In light of current events, I decided to start with the death of Kendrick Johnson. From the moment I read of this case, it stuck with me. There are so many conspiracies and hearsay surrounding the case, that I really wanted to dive in and form an opinion of my own. After days of researching, (reading articles, watching news clips and vlogs, and even looking into the 'Justice for Kendrick' facebook page created by his family) I am still unsure of where I stand. Every story has two sides, and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. In this case- the "middle" seems to be very blurred.

At the time of his death, Kendrick "KJ" Johnson was 17 and attending Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia. His family describes him being a kind hearted and funny teenager. Kendrick was athletic, and had dreams of playing professional football one day.

On January 10th 2013, Kendrick was to finish out the school day, attend a basketball game at the school, and return home. When Kendrick hadn't returned home that evening, his mother started to worry. Around 10 pm, his mom Jacquelyn decided to drive around the school and look for her son, thinking he may have stayed late to hang out with classmates. After looking and no sign of Kendrick, his mother returned home. The next morning, on January 11th, Jacquelyn returned to the school to inquire about her sons disappearance. Staff members helped in the search of the 17 year old boy, and even made flyers to post around the school.

During the time Jacquelyn and LHS staff were making flyers, three students were sitting in the "Old Gym" doing some schoolwork (there was an "Old Gym" and a "New Gym" at the high school- the old gym wasn't as frequently used, and there were wrestling mats stored in back) when they saw a pair of socks sticking out from the top of one of the mats. At first they thought it may be a prank, so they went over to investigate. They looked inside and realized someone was in there, unresponsive and face down. With the help of a teacher, the students flipped the rolled up mat on its side and immediately smelled what they described as blood and vomit. Reportedly, the teacher tried to pull the boy out of the mat, but soon realized the boy was beyond help. He was covered in blood. This boy was Kendrick Johnson.

Police were called, and Mrs. Johnson (who was still at this school) was made aware that Kendrick has been found deceased in the gym. The LHS staff ushered all students into the New Gym while police investigated the death scene. At the start of the investigation, police began filming and taking photos of the scene where Kendrick was found. In this tape that was later released to CNN, the cameraman enters the gym and makes his way back where the mats are stored. He approaches one mat in particular, and when he gets close enough, you can see two feet inside that mat. There is also a pair of sneakers seen next to Kendrick's legs inside of the mat. The camera pans around to see Kendrick laying partially out of the mat, on his side, with one arm above his head. There was a single shoe found under his head. The matching shoe was found near the body, outside of the mat. The police made note of how Kendrick was discovered- upside down in a rolled up gym mat that standing, vertical. Paramedics at the scene made note of what they described as bruising around Kendrick's face and neck, as well as blood and vomit found underneath him.

If you have googled "Kendrick Johnson" even once, I guarantee the photo of him deceased at the scene will pop up. This image flooded the internet starting back in 2013. I will not be posting that photo here, but if you HAVE seen it, you know he was in bad shape. The 17 year olds face was swollen and bloody. He has lots of discoloration around his face, neck, and chest.

After interviewing students and staff, it became clear to investigators that these mats were often used as storage for students personal items (backpacks, gym clothes, school books) so they did not have to pay for a locker. The police also learned that Kendrick and a friend of his were known to keep a pair of athletic shoes they shared in one of these mats.

Some curious items were found during the investigation of the scene- a shoe which looked to have blood on it, a hoodie at the front of the gym with multiple stains, and a blood stained wall.

After concluding the investigation, prior to the autopsy, the Lowndes County Sheriffs department let it be known to the public that they believed Kendricks death to be an accident. They theorized that Kendrick went to the gym to retrieve the shoes he shared with a friend, climbed on the mats, reached inside the mat containing the shoes, and fell inside the mat, getting trapped there.

Kendrick's father Kenneth was out of town at the time of his death, so in his place, KJ's grandfather requested to see the body before it was transported for autopsy. He was denied this request.

Following the autopsy, performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, it was determined by the sheriffs office that Kendrick's death was indeed an accident, as they suspected. They ruled the official cause of death "positional asphyxiation" due to being upside down in the mat for an extended period of time without being able to get out. As for the blood found on the scene and the state of Kendrick, they chalked this up to natural decomposition and the way he was inverted for over 21 hours. Kendrick's father was allowed to view the body after autopsy, where he noted some strange things that didn't feel right to him. First, Kendrick's fingernails had been cut short. This may not seem odd, but Kenneth claimed his son always had his fingernails long. He suspected this was done to destroy any DNA evidence that may have been under his nails. Secondly, Kenneth reported that the bruising and scratches on Kendrick were profound, claiming they were from self defense. How do they explain these supposed wounds?

The pathologist explained these findings as the result of Kendrick being upside down in a confined space for an extended period of time. When you are upside down, your blood supply rushes to your head and upper extremities. What appears to be bruising on Kendrick was explained as lividity, or the settling of blood in the tissues after death. This may also explain the swelling on his face and head.

To support their claim of an accident, the sheriff department claimed to have reviewed surveillance tape provided by the school which showed no evidence as foul play. When this "surveillance" video was released to the public soon after, it has obvious problems. Frames would bounce around and actual lapses of time were missing. In fact, one camera had over an hour and the other two hours missing right around the time of Kendrick's death.

Kendrick Johnsons family was outraged. They contacted Rev. Floyd Rose asking for his help to have KJ's case re-opened. The Johnsons felt strongly that foul play was involved. In April 2013, seven members of the Johnson family were arrested for blocking the entrance of Lowndes County Courthouse by means of protest. Rev. Rose put up his own home for collateral to bail the Johnsons out of jail.

In June 2013, with the help of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Johnson's arranged to have their son exhumed for a second autopsy performed by an independent medical examiner. This medical examiner, Dr. William Anderson, came to his own conclusion that Kendrick's death was not accidental at all. In fact, Dr. Anderson revealed that he believed the cause of death to be non-accidental blunt force trauma to the neck. Shockingly, the doctor also found that none of KJ's organs were buried with him and he was actually stuffed with news paper. After some digging, Kendrick's parents found that the organs were actually discarded by the funeral home that conducted Kendrick's service. This is also where his body was stuffed with news paper. While this is not a common practice, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that the funeral home was not responsible for any wrong doing.

Around this time, the school 'surveillance' video was also released to the media.

In October of 2013, the Department of Justice agreed to re-open and investigate Kendrick's death. After they concluded their investigation, and claimed there was no evidence of foul play, the NAACP and SCLC continued their own investigation, coming to the conclusion that they also believed Kendrick's death to be accidental.

Again, the Johnson family refused to believe that Kendrick's death was accidental. In 2014, the family files a wrongful death lawsuit against school officials of Lowndes High that eventually gets dropped.

In 2015, the Johnsons refile the wrongful death suit against the school board, this time adding 3 of KJ's classmates (another story for another time), the crime lab, the funeral home, and state and federal officials as defendants. Consequently, the Johnsons were countersued for more than 850,000 dollars for attorney fees and defamation of character charges. At their sentencing, the judge ordered them to pay out close to 300,000 dollars.

In June of 2016, the Department of Justice ruled that no charged are to be filed against anyone regarding Kendrick's death.

5 years after his death, the body of Kendrick Johnson was exhumed a second time for a third autopsy. The 3rd autopsy was performed by the same pathologist who performed the second, Dr. William Anderson. Dr. Anderson came to the same conclusion as he did at the end of the second autopsy- that Kendricks death was not accidental.

After reading this, you may have made up your mind as to where you stand regarding how Kendrick died. Whether you believe he was murdered or did in fact die from a tragic accident, I believe we can all agree that his death investigation was not handled correctly. The shoe and the hoodie from the crime scene? Not collected from the scene and not tested for blood evidence. The blood stain on the wall? Sheriff's department claimed it was tested, but did not match Kendrick's DNA. Also- no personnel on scene wore booties on their shoes when walking through the crime scene. WTF? Oh, and heres the icing on the cake- the coroner wasn't called to the scene until 6 HOURS after Kendrick was discovered. None of these things are standard practice, and simply shouldn't have occurred.

If he was murdered, who did it and why? Several theories are out there, including one that suggests 3 of Kendrick's classmates killed him for dating one of their girlfriends. There has been no solid evidence to support this theory and the boys were never formally charged.

The death of Kendrick Johnson is anything but clear cut. Could a 17 year old athlete really get stuck inside of a rolled up mat after falling in? Even if he did, how did no one hear his cries for help? At the end of the day, I can speak for most of us when I say we are not detectives, pathologists, or crime scene detectives. We can do hours of research and still not have all the facts.

One thing is clear- Kendrick Johnsons death was a tragedy and my heart breaks for his family. If any justice can come from his case, I do believe his family is entitled to the truth.

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear thoughts, opinions, and things I may have missed. Comment on my facebook link to discuss! Kayla