Kendrick Johnson death update: US attorney meets with family, still no answers
In one of the most shocking and mysterious deaths, the family of Kendrick Johnson continues to seek answers surrounding the death of their son, who was found dead in a school’s wrestling mat back in January 2013.
The family and their attorney met with the U.S. attorney investigating their son’s death Friday, but no real details have been revealed.
“We were given a general idea of how things were proceeding and we are certainly looking forward to getting some further updates in the next 30 to 60 days,” Chevene King, one of the family’s lawyers told CBS.
The Johnson, age 17, was found dead inside a rolled up wrestling mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, where he was a student, on January 11, 2013.
Authorities initially called his death a freak accident, saying he fell head-first into an upright mat and became trapped. An autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) concurred.
“They just messed up and killed the wrong child this time,” Kendrick’s mom, Jacquelyn Johnson, told the crowd of about 150 people gathered to support the family.
“We won’t stop until we get justice for Kendrick,” his dad, Kenneth Johnson, told CNN before the meeting.
The case was closed, but Johnson’s family insists there was more to the story and had their son’s body exhumed for a second autopsy last summer. It was then that a private pathologist determined the teen died of blunt force trauma to the neck and that his organs were missing and his body had been stuffed with newspaper.
In October, Michael Moore, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced he was reopening the case and in February, Johnson’s parents filed a lawsuit against the funeral home that handled their son’s remains, alleging the home intentionally disposed of their son’s organs in an effort to interfere with the investigation into his death.
