Autopsy #3

It’s a tragedy that this family has been fighting for six years for answers in the death of their teenage son, Kendrick Johnson, who was found dead in a gymnasium mat at Lowndes High School. The family recently paid to have a third independent autopsy conducted on their son’s body, and the conclusion is in line with the first autopsy performed six years prior.

The Johnson family felt the need to get another autopsy because of the federal investigation that had concluded there was no evidence of foul play in the death of Kendrick Johnson. Federal investigators determined Johnson’s death was caused by “positional asphyxia.” The Justice Department stated, there was “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.” State and local officials believe that the teen got stuck in a large mat as he was reaching for a pair of sneakers, however this explanation has never been satisifactory for Johnson’s parents who beleive he was murdered.

The most recent autopsy found that Johnson died from “non-accidental blunt force trauma between his neck and abdomen” which reflects the findings of what was concluded in the first autopsy six years prior. Unfortunately, even with the new finding, officials don’t believe that there will be any additional investigations, due to the details of the federal findings stating there was no foul play involved.

On Facebook, Jackie Johnson wrote a post about the most recent autopsy which read, “Kendrick KJ Johnson WAS MURDERED but we already knew that.” The family is sticking by their belief that brothers Brian and Brandon Bell, the sons of a local FBI agent had something to do with Johnson’s death. Investigators are adament that video evidence prove Brian and Brandon were no where near the gym during the time of Johnson’s death. The Johnson family also filed a civil lawsuit claiming a mass cover-up by the FBI, Sheriff, and School Superindent. However, a judge in turn, ordered the Johnson family to pay attorney’s fees to a number of defendants named in one of their suits. The judge also claimed the Johnsons and their attorney fabricated evidence to support the claims against the FBI and others.

Unfortunately, even with three autopsies, we may never know the real story of how this young teen died, helpless, and (allegedly) alone in a high school gym.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution