Bizarre case - Teen found dead in wrestling mat (murder, criminal, evidence)
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Kendrick Johnson (age 17) was a sophomore at Lowndes High School. His body was found on Jan. 11, 2013 in a wrestling mat. The state's autopsy says there was no evidence of foul play, and he suffocated when trying to get his shoe out of the mat. The family didn't believe this, so they ordered a private autopsy and it was revealed that Kendrick died of "unexplained, apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma". On May 1st, a judge granted the parents request that the body is exhumed. And guess, what? All of his organs were gone and he was stuffed with newspaper. The crime photos that were released show him right-side up. His shoes were tucked neatly behind his body. The coroner wasn't immediately notified of the death.
The mat was found upright and his body was headfirst.
The following is from "stash" a commenter on the CNN site.
Quote:
-Local emergency and police were called at 10:30 AM and local LE called for the GBI shortly after 11:00. The death was treated, and investigated, as a possible homicide from the beginning. The local coroner wasn't called out until later because the only thing he does is make a declaration of death, nothing more. He is not a pathologist and wouldn't be allowed near the body until the scene was processed.
-The motion activated camera in the gym show Kendrick walking towards the mats ALONE before he walked out of camera range. There was no altercation and no one followed him. The camera activated a short time later as the kids in the next class started entering the gym.
-With the over 100 interviews done, the police were able to confirm that the students there regularly used the gym mats as a "free" locker. Three of Kendrick's friends confirmed that they, along with Kendrick,used the mats to store school supplies and shoes to avoid the school locker fee. According to friends,Kendrick normally switched from his "good" tennis shoes to is "play" tennis shoes to keep them nice. His next scheduled class was the field house.
-The mats, approximately 7ft. wide and 700lbs, were normally stored rolled and stacked horizontally making it easy for kids to reach in for their supplies. Over Christmas break, the mats had been moved and set upright against the wall behind the bleachers. Kendrick's body was found when two girls walking across the top of the mats behind the bleachers saw sock covered feet just below the top of a mat. The mat he was found in was against the wall,with other mats stacked in front and leaning against his mat.
-The gym teacher, frantic to get to Kendrick, started shoving the mats over until he reached the mat
Kendrick was in and pushed it over to get to him. Kendrick's books and one shoe fell from the top of the mats when pushed over, the second (good) shoe was found on the floor by the mat. LE believes the second shoe was in the bottom of the mat or on the floor between the mats, and the first shoe had been successfully retrieved since it fell with his books. The pair of shoes found inside the mat were the shoes he had been wearing (on camera) when e entered the gym. LE unsure whether he removed them prior, and they fell in with him, or if he lost the shoes while struggling to free himself
-The pathologist for the family's autopsy is the same one used by the Casey Anthony defense team. He specializes in prosecutorial and LE misconduct trials. Enough said.
GRAPHIC IMAGES
Spoiler
KJ's face (In my opinion, those look like bruises)
KJ's shoe
Another shoe found a few yards away (It's not KJ's) It wasn't taken into evidence
Close-up of random shoe
KJ rolled up in mat
Gym mats
Blood on the wall (6 impacts) according to LPD, it's not KJ's blood
Wow, no wonder the parents paid for a second autopsy. I guess the regular pathologist fugures he gets paid whether he finds the right cause of death or not, so...?
A local investigation into the death of a 17-year-old Georgia student who was found dead in 2013 in a rolled-up gym mat has been closed with no charges filed.
Kendrick Johnson’s body was found in a wrestling mat Jan. 11, 2013, in the Lowndes High School gym in Valdosta, Georgia. State and local law enforcement officials ruled the death an accidental asphyxiation, saying Johnson died after he climbed into a rolled-up mat to retrieve his sneakers.
Kendrick Johnson's body was found upside down in a rolled-up wrestling mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., on Jan. 11, 2013. Investigators ruled his death an accident.
The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office reopened the case in March. Sheriff Ashley Paulk detailed his findings in a 16-page document, concluding that evidence and other information do “not produce anything to prove any criminal act by anyone that would have resulted in the death of Kendrick Johnson.”
About his body being exhumed and no internal organs stuffed with newspaper? What's up with that?
Dunno, but it happened long after he was dead. Maybe a cheap mortician
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