Kendrick Johnson; 17 years old; Found Deceased in a Rolled-Up Gym Mat on January 11, 2013; South Georgia

Schoolmates of teenager whose body was found inside rolled-up gym mat subpoenaed more than a year after he died

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581040/Schoolmates-teenager-body-inside-rolled-gym-mat-subpoenaed-year-died.html#ixzz2vyH5uFFU
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

NEW LEADS!!!

" ... CNN reported that an assistant district attorney in Lowndes County ordered a communications company to turn over particular records pertaining to an anonymous email sent to investigators. That email reportedly had information about a former classmate confessing to killing Kendrick Johnson.

The email was sent on January 27, 2014, according to CNN who has obtained a copy of the email. CNN reports the author of the email does not suggest they personally witnessed the individual confess, but was told by somebody who purportedly was aware of a confession in the 2013 death by one of the people implicated in the email....."

Good index to left of story:
http://www.wtxl.com/news/confession-made-in-kendrick-johnson-case/article_05ca6664-b01b-11e3-843d-001a4bcf6878.html

" ... Current students at Lowndes High School and current and former students at Valdosta High School were seen entering the federal courthouse in Macon on Thursday, according to the network...."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kendrick-johnsons-schoolmates-subpoenaed-in-mat-death/

" ... The false email implicated four people in the suspicious death. It also prompted the Lowndes County Assistant District Attorney to order Internet records according to CNN...."
http://www.walb.com/story/25029543/lowndes-co-officials-email-confession-in-kendrick-johnson-case-a-hoax

" ...A Lowndes County, Georgia, assistant district attorney has ordered a communications company to hand over Internet records after investigators received an anonymous e-mail claiming an ex-schoolmate reportedly confessed to killing Kendrick Johnson.

CNN obtained the e-mail and the subpoena on Monday, in response to a state Open Records Act request submitted to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office. ..."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/19/us/kendrick-johnson-death-probe-georgia/

Sheriff's office: Claim of confession in Kendrick Johnson death not credible
By Victor Blackwell, CNN
updated 8:24 AM EDT, Fri March 21, 2014

" ... According to an incident report provided to CNN by the Sheriff's Office, investigators interviewed two of four students identified by name in the anonymous e-mail on January 28.

Both students acknowledged they knew Johnson but denied any involvement in his death.

The incident report does not indicate whether the investigators attempted to speak with the two other students identified in the e-mail...."


http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/justice/kendrick-johnson-death-investigation/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

Coroner slams handling of Kendrick Johnson case
From Victor Blackwell, CNN
updated 10:05 PM EST, Thu November 7, 2013


" ... I was not notifedi n (sic) this death until 15:45 hours. The investigative climate was very poor to worse when I arrived on the scene. The body had been noticably (sic) moved. The scene had been compromised and there was no cooperation from law enforcement at the scene. Furthermore the integrity of the evidence bag was compromised on January 13, 2013 by opening the sealed bag and exhibiting the dead body to his father," wrote Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson in a report dated January 22....."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/justice/georgia-gym-mat-death/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

Old Video but wanted to repost
Gym mat and gym visited
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/crime/2013/11/07/ac-blackwell-kendrick-johnson-gym-video.cnn.html

Each of the above links has videos of interest next to text.

Kendrick Johnson's family meets with U.S. prosecutor
Kristen D Swilley, WMAZ 2:40 p.m. EDT April 4, 2014

Snipped:
-----
The family of Valdosta teen Kendrick Johnson met with U.S. Attorney Michael Moore today for an update on their son's death.

...He said the Johnson family reported "progress" on the investigation, although they have not provided details.
-----

Read more:  http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/local/2014/04/03/kendrick-johnson-rally/7274845/

Georgia school district sued in Kendrick Johnson's gymnasium death
From Victor Blackwell and Devon M. Sayers, CNN
updated 7:41 PM EDT, Tue May 13, 2014

Snipped:
-----
(CNN) -- The family of Kendrick Johnson has sued a south Georgia school district claiming it was negligent in protecting their son from harassment and bullying, which they contend led to his death.

...The lawsuit was filed in State Superior Court on Tuesday. It alleges that Lowndes County Board of Education was negligent and violated Johnson's constitutional right to equal protection based on race. Johnson was African-American.
-----

Read more:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/13/us/georgia-kendrick-johnson-lawsuit/

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/14/justice/kendrick-johnson-death-investigation/index.html?iref=allsearch

Mom slams arrest of son who said he heard confession in Georgia gym death
By Victor Blackwell, CNN
updated 11:02 AM EDT, Fri August 15, 2014

http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthread.php?27336-Kendrick-Johnson-%2817%29-Dies-after-getting-trapped-in-gym-mats/page24

By Stephanie Slifer / CBS News / November 20, 2014, 7:02 AM

Timeline challenged in Kendrick Johnson gym mat death

The parents of Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia teen found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat in his Valdosta high school in January 2013, have released a video that focuses on two brothers who the family contends were on campus when Johnson was last seen alive, and who they say may have had a motive to harm their son.

At a news conference Tuesday, Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson and their attorney, Chevene King, disclosed what they called new information to challenge the police assertion that 25 students on the Lowndes High School wrestling team, including one of the brothers, were not at school at the time the 17-year-old went missing.

King referred reporters to this 2 ½-minute video his investigative team produced to advance their case, urging parents of the wrestling team members to "talk to your children" and "find out what they know," as they focused attention on the brothers who were schoolmates of Johnson.

Read more:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/timeline-challenged-in-kendrick-johnson-gym-mat-death/

By Christian Boone - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Despite seemingly ironclad alibis, two teen sons of an FBI agent remain part of the focus of the federal probe into the January 2013 death of a Valdosta high school student found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat.

Michael Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, has said little beyond his initial pronouncement on Halloween 2013 "that a sufficient basis exists for my office to conduct a formal review of the facts and investigation surrounding the death of Kendrick Johnson."

Letters he sent to the brothers in February informing them they were "target(s) of the grand jury's investigation" into Johnson's death indicate Moore is skeptical about the official finding that the 17-year-old's death was accidental. A "target" is a person "to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant," according to the United States Attorneys' Manual.

The boys' father, FBI agent Rick Bell, also received a target letter, alleging possible civil rights violations. It's not known whether target letters were sent to anyone else.

"This is a witch hunt," said the boys' mother, Karen Bell. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not naming the brothers because they were juveniles at the time of the alleged incident. "The only reason our sons are being attacked is because their dad is an FBI agent. It fits into their claim that this is a conspiracy."

Moore declined comment, but the AJC has learned that, as recently as four weeks ago, witnesses were still being questioned about the brothers' possible involvement.

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/crime...t-death/nhzyH/

Nov 18, 2014 11:14 AM

VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) -- With their attorney Chevene King, Jackie and Kenneth Johnson appeared at a morning conference in Valdosta Tuesday.

The Johnsons said they had learned the school's wrestling team had not left campus for a tournament the morning their son went missing, as previously thought.

The parents say that school officials excused 25 Lowndes High students from class approximately four and a half hours before the chartered bus left the school parking lot headed to Macon.

King showed a copy of an attendance record showing that Lowndes High officials released the athletes and others from class starting at approximately 11:30 a.m. on January 10, 2013.

He also referenced a school bus travel log that confirmed 4 p.m. as the departure time of bus driver William P. White, 66, who drove wrestling team coach Spencer Graybeal, his wife, Jennifer, a Lowndes High teacher, two other adults and the 25 students on the trip to Macon.

The document was secured from the school board under the Open Records Act, and suggests that the group left nearly three hours after Kendrick Johnson was last seen on school surveillance video at 1:09 p.m. His body was found the next morning.

http://m.walb.com/walb/db_348418/con...tguid=75QcDW42

One of two wealthy white brothers cleared in the death of black teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up gym mat
Published: 13:05 EST, 18 December 2014 | Updated: 16:06 EST, 18 December 2014


One of two brothers being investigated by federal prosecutors in the case of a Georgia teenager found dead in a rolled-up gym mat has had his alibi confirmed by local police.

Classmates found the body of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson of Valdosta in the middle of a mat propped upright against the wall of the gym at Lowndes High School on January 11, 2013.

Sheriff's investigators concluded that the teenager died in a freak accident, but a second autopsy found the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

...Two brothers, whose names have been withheld because they were juveniles at the time of incident, received letters from the U.S. Attorney’s Office informing them they were 'target(s) of the grand jury’s investigation.'

The boys - described as 'white and affluent' by AJC - had been linked to the case because the youngest sibling had been involved in a 2011 scuffle with Johnson.

Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies released a report confirming the alibi of the older of the two brothers earlier this week.

The report concludes that the oldest boy had left the school grounds an hour before Johnson was last seen on school surveillance tapes because he was taking part in a wrestling tournament in Macon.


Read more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2879399/One-two-wealthy-white-brothers-cleared-death-black-teenager-body-inside-rolled-gym-mat.html

Police focus on timeline in Kendrick Johnson gym mat death
ByStephanie SliferCBS NewsDecember 18, 2014, 3:07 PM


VALDOSTA, Ga. - A Georgia sheriff's department has issued a report detailing its investigation of claims that the Lowndes High School wrestling team was still on campus when Kendrick Johnson, the teen found dead in January 2013 inside a rolled-up gym mat in the school's gym, was last seen alive.

Last month, Johnson's parents and their legal team released a video that focused on two brothers - one of whom was on the wrestling team - who the family contends were on campus when Johnson was last seen alive, and who they say may have had a motive to harm their son.

The video aimed to challenge the Lowndes County sheriff's assertion that 25 students on the Lowndes High School wrestling team, including one of the brothers, were already on a bus heading to Macon on January 10, 2013 at 1:09 p.m., the time Johnson was last seen on school surveillance video entering the gymnasium. His body was found there inside a rolled-up gym mat the next day.

The other brother, who was not on the wrestling team, was at another part of the school when Johnson entered the gym, Lowndes County Sheriff Lt. Stryde Jones told the Valdosta Daily Times earlier this year.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-focus-on-timeline-in-kendrick-johnson-gym-mat-death/

Bring in the students. They know. The girl friends know and they have shared info. There has been a huge cover up on this from the school and then LE.... It will eventually split open when alliances separate with graduation, time/distance.

Hmmm. I wonder if someone drove a car and the perp to the wrestling tournament.... Cars usually can go faster than buses on the road so they could have gotten there before the bus and blended in. The driver could have left the perp and then driven himself to the other location....

Just ideas....

Judges recuse themselves in case of Georgia teen's mysterious death
{no date listed}

Judges in Valdosta, Georgia have recused themselves from cases involving the death of a 17-year-old black high school student, Kendrick Johnson, who two years ago was found dead in a rolled up gym mat at his high school.

“We have valiantly attempted to mediate the presently outstanding issues in the Kendrick Johnson matter, but it appears at this point that we have reached an impasse,” wrote Georgia superior court judge Harry Jay Altman II, in a letter dated Wednesday.

“Given the fact that officials with whom the judges in the circuit deal with everyday are involved, it is not fair to the parties for any judge in this circuit to rule on contested matters of importance to the parties and the community,” wrote Altman, adding that other circuit judges had also agreed to recuse themselves.

Read more:  http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/08/kendrick-johnson-judges-recuse-dead-georgia-teen-case

Kendrick Johnson's family files $100M suit in gym mat death
ByStephanie SliferCBS NewsJanuary 16, 2015, 1:23 PM


VALDOSTA, Ga. - The parents of Kendrick Johnson, a Georgia teen found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat in his high school two years ago, have filed a $100 million lawsuit alleging a local FBI agent encouraged his sons - who were schoolmates of Johnson - to "violently assault" the teen, leading to his death.

The lawsuit filed Monday in DeKalb County Superior Court on behalf of Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson names 38 defendants, including the local FBI agent, his two sons, and another schoolmate of Johnson. Also accused are several officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Valdosta Police Department, the city of Valdosta, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department and the Lowndes County School District, all of whom the family alleges conspired to cover-up their son's murder.

...The lawsuit filed Monday is the latest legal action taken by the Johnson family. They already have another lawsuit pending against the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, two pending wrongful death suits against the Lowndes County School District, and another against the funeral home that handled their son's remains.

The latest suit alleges the local FBI agent "encouraged" his two sons to attack Johnson with the help of another schoolmate and an unnamed John Doe and Jane Doe. The lawsuit says the Jane Doe "induced" Johnson to enter the gymnasium where he was then met by the two brothers and another student who fatally beat Johnson and then placed him in the gym mat.


Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kendrick-johnsons-family-files-100-million-dollar-suit-in-gym-mat-death/

From link provided by CP:

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kendrick-johnsons-family-files-100-million-dollar-suit-in-gym-mat-death/

I found this on the comment section of the above link:

".....we3r4god January 16, 2015 7:7PM

I live in Lowndes County; the family sits out in front of the old courthouse day in and day out. They are seeking justice for their murdered child. I do not believe they want $100 million nor do they think they will get it, but the attention that has come from it is welcomed. 7 Judges are now recusing themselves. That act alone speaks volumes. I applaud them and pray that justice is served. They deserve as parents to know who took their child's life. Those of us who are parents should support their efforts. As for those who are quick to scold the family and even bring race into play; stop. Lay down the condescending comments and the other issues. A child was murdered. The only rant that should be made is the one seeking justice. ...."

Parents Of Kendrick Johnson Push For New Legislation
Jan 23, 2015


The parents of Kendrick Johnson, Attorney Benjamin Crump and community activist Marcus Coleman joined Roland Martin on “NewsOne Now” to discuss a new piece of legislation that would require all coroners in the United States to be medically licensed professionals.

Attorney Crump told Martin “coroners in most states in America only need a GED and win a popular election and they get to  determine the manner and cause of death” of an individual who has died.

Crump went on to say they are working with National Association of Medical Examiners who want the qualifications “more sufficient for the person who is making such an important determination.” He added those individuals who perform the duties of a coroner should have a medical background.

Read more:  http://newsone.com/3083739/parents-of-kendrick-johnson-push-for-new-legislation/

Parents of teenager found dead inside rolled-up gym mat two years ago could face jail after they staged a protest over the lack of information about his death

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson and five family members are facing a host of charges related to 'obstruction' of a court house
Kendrick Johnson, 17, of Valdosta, Georgia was found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat and believed to have died while retrieving a shoe
The boy's parents filed a $100 million lawsuit last week alleging his classmates beat him to death

By Belinda Robinson For Mail Online

Published: 14:07 EST, 25 January 2015 | Updated: 15:26 EST, 25 January 2015



The grieving parents of a teenager who was mysteriously found dead inside a gym mat could face charges after they staged a protest over the lack of information about his death.

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson and five family members are facing a host of charges - including interference with government property for allegedly blocking an entrance to a Georgia courthouse.

It is alleged that the Johnsons stood in front of the Lowndes County Courthouse in Valdosta, Georgia, and the security checkpoint inside the building.

But the group said that they were only there to demonstrate after becoming frustrated at the lack of information from investigators about their 17-year-old son, Kendrick's death.

Scroll down for video
Arrest: Jacquelyn and Kenneth Johnson are arrested while blocking the doors to Lowndes County Courthouse in Valdosta, Georgia
+7

Arrest: Jacquelyn and Kenneth Johnson are arrested while blocking the doors to Lowndes County Courthouse in Valdosta, Georgia
Court house: It is alleged that the Johnsons stood in front of the Lowndes County Courthouse, seen here, in Valdosta, Georgia, and the security checkpoint inside the building
+7

Court house: It is alleged that the Johnsons stood in front of the Lowndes County Courthouse, seen here, in Valdosta, Georgia, and the security checkpoint inside the building

Kendrick Johnson of Valdosta, Georgia was reported missing on January 10, 2013 and found the next day dead inside a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School.

"....Police interviewed some of the former wrestler's fellow teammates as his parents call into question the alibi of one student.

CNN reports that the student, who has not been named, confronted Johnson and told him 'it ain't over' after an incident between Johnson and the younger brother of the former student. ...."



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2925800/Parents-teenager-dead-inside-gym-mat-face-jail.html

Kendrick Johnson's parents convicted but not jailed for protest
By Victor Blackwell and Devon Sayers, CNN  Updated 4:09 PM ET, Wed January 28, 2015

(CNN)A jury found Kendrick Johnson's parents and five other family members guilty of misdemeanor charges related to a 2013 protest, attorney Benjamin Crump said Wednesday.

State Court Judge Mark Mitchell sentenced them to 12 months in jail and suspended the sentence, so they will spend no more time behind bars and will not be placed on probation. They won't be fined, either.

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson and five family members were convicted of interference with government property for blocking the entrance to the Lowndes County Courthouse in Valdosta, Georgia, and blocking access to the security checkpoint inside the building.

Read more:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/28/us/georgia-kendrick-johnson-parents-protest/

Man indicted for lying to police in Kendrick Johnson case
By Victor Blackwell  Updated 2012 GMT (0412 HKT) February 4, 2015

(CNN)A Lowndes County, Georgia, grand jury has indicted a man on a felony charge of making a false statement to investigators in connection with the 2013 death of Kendrick Johnson.

According to incident reports released to CNN after an Open Records Act request, Dalton Ray Chauncey told neighbors he'd overheard two students at Lowndes High School in Valdosta discussing their involvement in the 17-year-old's death.

...According to the reports, "Chauncey admitted he had fabricated the story while at the home of friends in order to boast." The students he claimed had admitted involvement in Johnson's death "do not exist," the report said.

Read more:  http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/04/us/kendrick-johnson-lying-to-police-indictment/index.html

FSU withdraws scholarship for recruit named in Kendrick Johnson suit
12:37 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 | Filed in: Local News

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned Florida State University has withdrawn its scholarship offer to Brian Bell, a star linebacker out of Lowndes High School whose name has surfaced in a federal probe of a classmate’s controversial death.

...Over the last several weeks, an intense lobbying campaign has been waged on social media to persuade FSU to withdraw its scholarship to Bell, 17, who committed to the ACC powerhouse last February. It’s unclear whether Ben Crump, the attorney for Johnson’s parents and an influential alum, may have personally interceded.

Read more:  http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/fsu-scholarship-in-limbo-for-recruit-named-in-kend/nj36R/

FBI agent and two sons countersue parents of Georgia teen who died in gym mat with $1million defamation lawsuit
March 9, 2015

".....Three family members named in a $100million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a Georgia teen who was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat have countersued with a $1million defamation suit.

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson filed the wrongful death suit after their son Kendrick was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, in January of 2013.

The suit lists 38 defendants and claims that brothers Brian and Branden Bell as well as their father Rick, an FBI agent, were behind the 17-year-old's death. ...."




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2985258/Countersuit-filed-Rick-Bell-sons-against-Kendrick-Johnson-s-parents-Georgia.html#ixzz3Tw8ToYzm
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After 18 months, no answers from feds in Ga. gym mat death
ByCrimesider StaffAP April 20, 2015, 11:38 AM

...Federal authorities also launched their own investigation into Johnson's strange death. Almost year and a half later, they have yet to announce any findings. Michael Moore, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, promised to do "everything in my power to answer the questions that exist in this case." That was on Oct. 31, 2013. Moore's chief assistant prosecutor, Pete Peterman, said in an email Thursday the investigation is still ongoing but gave no other details.

...Lowndes County sheriff's records indicate a federal prosecutor from Washington, D.C. was taking a fresh look at Johnson's death last fall. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Sines visited the sheriff's office Nov. 19. She left with the gym mat in which Johnson was found dead, as well as recordings of 911 calls and surveillance video from the school.

Sines works as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, where she has focused on homicides and cold cases, a spokesman for that office said. Peterman, the chief assistant prosecutor in Moore's office, confirmed Sines is "actively involved" in the Johnson case.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/after-18-months-no-answers-from-feds-in-georgia-gym-mat-death-of-kendrick-johnson/

Valdosta Man Wanted in Shooting of Kendrick Johnson's Sister
Posted: Tue 4:27 PM, Apr 21, 2015

VALDOSTA, Ga. -- On April 20, 2015 at approximately 2:35 am, Kenyetta Johnson, a 22-year-old female and Valdosta resident, sustained a gunshot wound while sitting in a vehicle parked at 600 East Hill Avenue. Johnson was sitting in the front passenger seat when the occupant of the back seat, Ervin Robinson, a 29-year-old Valdosta resident, mishandled a handgun and fired a shot inside the vehicle which struck Johnson in the lower back.

...Johnson was listed in stable condition at SGMC.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Kendrick-Johnsons-22-year-old-Sister-Shot-in-Valdosta-300666021.html

CuriousPortlander wrote:
Valdosta Man Wanted in Shooting of Kendrick Johnson's Sister
Posted: Tue 4:27 PM, Apr 21, 2015

VALDOSTA, Ga. -- On April 20, 2015 at approximately 2:35 am, Kenyetta Johnson, a 22-year-old female and Valdosta resident, sustained a gunshot wound while sitting in a vehicle parked at 600 East Hill Avenue. Johnson was sitting in the front passenger seat when the occupant of the back seat, Ervin Robinson, a 29-year-old Valdosta resident, mishandled a handgun and fired a shot inside the vehicle which struck Johnson in the lower back.

...Johnson was listed in stable condition at SGMC.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Kendrick-Johnsons-22-year-old-Sister-Shot-in-Valdosta-300666021.html

This family does NOT need this!

Man Pleads Guilty To Making False Statement in Kendrick Johnson Death Investigation
Posted: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 10:39 am | Updated: 10:57 am, Tue May 5, 2015.

VALDOSTA, GA (WTXL) -- A man has pleaded guilty to making up statements about who killed Kendrick Johnson.

Read more:  http://www.wtxl.com/man-pleads-guilty-to-making-false-statement-in-kendrick-johnson/article_5809ed8e-f334-11e4-b834-df62ff8d7526.html?mode=story

Feds raid home of brothers in Kendrick Johnson investigation
Posted: Jul 23, 2015 5:50 PM PST  Updated: Jul 23, 2015 8:20 PM PST
By Ben Roberts  With Christian McKinney

LOWNDES CO., GA (WALB) - Federal investigators announced property seizures in the mysterious death of a teen.

Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found dead by students at Lowndes County High School on January 11, 2013. His body was inside a rolled up gym mat.

Federal investigators seized cell phones, computers, and other electronics from the family of two brothers who were classmates of Johnson.

The attorney for the family of the brothers said federal marshals served search warrants around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the family's home.

Read more:  http://www.walb.com/story/29621377/search-warrants-served-to-two-teens-in-kendrick-johnson-investigation

Lowndes Sheriff's attorney blasts Kendrick Johnson family claim
Posted: Aug 13, 2015 11:26 AM PST  Updated: Aug 13, 2015 12:01 PM PST
By Colter Anstaett

VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - The attorney for Lowndes County Sheriff's Office says the latest claim by the family of Kendrick Johnson regarding Johnson's death is bogus.

The Johnsons have filed an amended complaint, specifically saying that Lowndes County's sheriff and others intentionally hid Kendrick Johnson's body in the rolled up gym mat in the old Lowndes High gym, in order to cover up the fact that he was murdered.

Read more:  http://www.wtvm.com/story/29781197/lowndes-sheriffs-attorney-blasts-kendrick-johnson-family-claim

^^^^^
http://www.wtvm.com/story/29781197/lowndes-sheriffs-attorney-blasts-kendrick-johnson-family-claim

".....The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against 38 of Kendrick Johnson’s classmates on January 15, 2015. The suit accuses three classmates of attacking and killing Johnson.

They also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Lowndes County Board of Education and its members on July 28, 2013....."




I missed this one....
April 2015

http://www.walb.com/story/28733483/protestors-arrested-after-making-kendrick-johnson-demands-at-school


".....VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) -
An Atlanta organization was demanding Monday that Lowndes High School honor Kendrick Johnson, the student who was found dead in the school in January, 2013.

The protestors claimed they walked 17 miles a day for four days to get to Lowndes High School. Five of them were arrested at the board of education building just down the street from the high school and charged with criminal trespassing. The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office said they tried to walk through the parking lot to get to the high school after being told repeatedly to stop.

The members of "commUNITY Atlanta" gathered at the entrance to Lowndes County High School to demand that the school hold a four minute moment of silence at the 2015 graduation ceremony to honor Kendrick and to commemorate the four days the group spent walking to get to the school.

They also wanted the school to issue Kendrick an honorary diploma and to allow his sister Kenyetta to walk at graduation and receive the diploma. She was not allowed to participate in her class's commencement in 2013.

"She had memorabilia of Kendrick Johnson on her clothing and she wasn't allowed to walk," said protester Marlie Mahogany.

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine was at the protest, and protesters let him and the other law enforcement on scene know their feelings. They said the sheriff's office refuses to release the truth about Johnson's death. "Who do you think you talkin' to? We know that he was murdered," shouted one protester.

But, the sheriff's office was not upset. "If somebody has a different set of information that's reviewable, certainly we would welcome them to sit down and review that information," said Lowndes County Sheriff's Office Lt. Stryde Jones.

But, Mahogany said it should be up to a judge to decide whether the sheriff's office is telling the truth about Johnson's death. "At least if this case was taken to trial and a judge would take this case, that that could be determined," Mahogany emphasized.

Kendrick Johnson was found dead and upside down in a rolled up gym mat in the Lowndes High gym in January, 2013. The sheriff's office concluded that his death was a tragic accident, but the family continues to believe he was murdered....."



Freedom of speech abridged?
JMO but the penalty should not outweigh the crime.
The wearing of a button or a slogan should not outweigh the years and hours of study and attendance in preparation for a simple high school diploma...

Freckles wrote:^^^^^
http://www.wtvm.com/story/29781197/lowndes-sheriffs-attorney-blasts-kendrick-johnson-family-claim

".....The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against 38 of Kendrick Johnson’s classmates on January 15, 2015. The suit accuses three classmates of attacking and killing Johnson.

They also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Lowndes County Board of Education and its members on July 28, 2013....."




I missed this one....
April 2015

http://www.walb.com/story/28733483/protestors-arrested-after-making-kendrick-johnson-demands-at-school


".....VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) -
An Atlanta organization was demanding Monday that Lowndes High School honor Kendrick Johnson, the student who was found dead in the school in January, 2013.

The protestors claimed they walked 17 miles a day for four days to get to Lowndes High School. Five of them were arrested at the board of education building just down the street from the high school and charged with criminal trespassing. The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office said they tried to walk through the parking lot to get to the high school after being told repeatedly to stop.

The members of "commUNITY Atlanta" gathered at the entrance to Lowndes County High School to demand that the school hold a four minute moment of silence at the 2015 graduation ceremony to honor Kendrick and to commemorate the four days the group spent walking to get to the school.

They also wanted the school to issue Kendrick an honorary diploma and to allow his sister Kenyetta to walk at graduation and receive the diploma. She was not allowed to participate in her class's commencement in 2013.

"She had memorabilia of Kendrick Johnson on her clothing and she wasn't allowed to walk," said protester Marlie Mahogany.

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine was at the protest, and protesters let him and the other law enforcement on scene know their feelings. They said the sheriff's office refuses to release the truth about Johnson's death. "Who do you think you talkin' to? We know that he was murdered," shouted one protester.

But, the sheriff's office was not upset. "If somebody has a different set of information that's reviewable, certainly we would welcome them to sit down and review that information," said Lowndes County Sheriff's Office Lt. Stryde Jones.

But, Mahogany said it should be up to a judge to decide whether the sheriff's office is telling the truth about Johnson's death. "At least if this case was taken to trial and a judge would take this case, that that could be determined," Mahogany emphasized.

Kendrick Johnson was found dead and upside down in a rolled up gym mat in the Lowndes High gym in January, 2013. The sheriff's office concluded that his death was a tragic accident, but the family continues to believe he was murdered....."



Freedom of speech abridged?
JMO but the penalty should not outweigh the crime.
The wearing of a button or a slogan should not outweigh the years and hours of study and attendance in preparation for a simple high school diploma...

Freckles,
Do you mean to reference this case?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_v._Des_Moines_Independent_Community_School_District

"The Tinker test is still used by courts today to determine whether a school's disciplinary actions violate students' First Amendment rights."

^^^^
Thanks, Colsnipe! That IS the case I was thinking of. Much appreciated.
JMO, but too many times we forget some of the most important legal cases and fail to understated the why of the legal decisions. Using the link you provided,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_v._Des_Moines_Independent_Community_School_District I will share the following:

".... The court observed, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."[4] Justice Abe Fortas wrote the majority opinion, holding that the speech regulation at issue in Tinker was "based upon an urgent wish to avoid the controversy which might result from the expression, even by the silent symbol of armbands, of opposition to this Nation's part in the conflagration in Vietnam." The Court held that in order for school officials to justify censoring speech, they "must be able to show that [their] action was caused by something more than a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint," allowing schools to forbid conduct that would "materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school."[5] The Court found that the actions of the Tinkers in wearing armbands did not cause disruption and held that their activity represented constitutionally protected symbolic speech....."

Georgia brothers deny role in death of teen Kendrick Johnson found in gym mat
BY Rachelle Blidner
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 9:15 AM

Two Georgia brothers under investigation in the death of a classmate found in a rolled-up gym mat spoke out for the first time to insist they're innocent.

... "I want everyone to know the truth," Branden Bell told WSBTV in his first media interview. "They can ridicule me and they can say whatever they want. But in the end, the truth will prevail and everybody will find me and my brother are innocent and have always been innocent."

Johnson's death was ruled an accident by local authorities, who claimed that he reached into the mat to retrieve his shoe, got stuck and asphyxiated.

Branden said he was on a bus to a wrestling match at the time of the incident, while Brian said he was in class.

Read more:  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ga-brothers-deny-role-death-teen-found-gym-mat-article-1.2329204

Feds Seek to Pause Civil Lawsuit in Georgia Gym Mat Death

By Russ Bynum, Associated Press .
Savannah, Ga. — Oct 27, 2015, 2:00 PM ET

Federal prosecutors who have spent nearly two years investigating the death of a Georgia teenager who was found at school inside a rolled-up gym mat want a judge to order a six-month halt to evidence gathering in a civil lawsuit by the boy's parents.

Classmates found the body of 16-year-old Kendrick Johnson in a gymnasium at Lowndes High School in January 2013. Michael Moore, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced a federal investigation on Oct. 31, 2013, after the sheriff's department concluded that the teenager died in a freak accident in which he got stuck upside down — and unable to breathe — in the upright mat.

Johnson's parents insist that someone killed their son. With the federal criminal investigation still unresolved, Johnson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this year blaming two brothers for killing him. The lawsuit also says local and state investigators and school officials covered up the crime.

Court records show that the Justice Department filed legal motions Oct. 16 asking the presiding judge in the civil lawsuit to stop all depositions and other evidence gathering by attorneys in the case for 180 days.

Tom Withers, a former federal prosecutor who now practices criminal defense and civil law in Savannah, said the Justice Department sometimes intervenes in civil cases to protect a criminal case in which existing charges are awaiting prosecution. He said applying that strategy to the Johnson case, in which no one has been charged, "strikes me as bizarre."

"It strikes me as improper, quite frankly, that the government would be trying to stick its nose into the Superior Court case," Withers said. "They've had plenty of time to resolve their investigation. I've just never seen it before."

Read more:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/feds-seek-pause-civil-lawsuit-georgia-gym-mat-34764544

VALDOSTA GYM-MAT DEATH
Kendrick Johnson case still defies resolution
Posted: 12:47 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015

For more than two years, two Valdosta families have anxiously awaited the findings of a federal investigation into how Kendrick Johnson came to die in a rolled-up gym mat.

...But U.S. Attorney Michael Moore, who championed the investigation for two years, has just resigned, and he left office without ever revealing key evidence that seemingly would go a long way toward settling this mystery.

That evidence: first, the FBI long ago reviewed the school surveillance video amid claims by the Johnsons’ attorneys that the video had been doctored. Moore told the Johnsons he would release the FBI’s findings on the video but never did, according to the Johnson family’s spokesman, Marcus Coleman.

Second, the results of a second official autopsy, requested by Moore, also remain under wraps. Attorneys for the Bells so far have been rebuffed in their efforts to view that report.

Read more:  http://www.myajc.com/news/news/crime-law/federal-investigation-into-gym-mat-death-reaches-c/npTzy/

Kendrick Johnson's family drops lawsuit, but intends to refile, attorney says
By Victor Blackwell and Steve Almasy, CNN
Updated 8:46 PM ET, Tue March 1, 2016

(CNN)The family of Kendrick Johnson, who was found dead at a Georgia high school three years ago, has temporarily withdrawn a wrongful death lawsuit that includes two former schoolmates as defendants.

Attorney Chevene King told CNN that he filed Tuesday for a motion for dismissal but it is a procedural move.

"We will be refiling in the coming months," he said. "We understand the federal investigation is ongoing and this gives us an opportunity to strengthen our case."

Read more:  http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/01/us/georgia-kendrick-johnson-lawsuit/

Tierra Sibley shared 11Alive's post.
59 mins ·

They kilt that boy and took his organs and put him back in the mat edited the security footage and all ...how no charges and he arrived to the morgue stuffed wit news paper....FYI I kids ain't going missing they taking them for organs and experiments and it's so sad no body believe it

".....MACON, Ga. -- The Department of Justice announced today that they found "insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges" in Kendrick Johnson's death.

He's the Valdosta 17-year-old found dead inside a wrestling mat at his high school in January of 2013.

Johnson's family met Monday with the U.S. Department of Justice in Macon to hear their findings on the case....."

"......"After extensive investigation into this tragic event, federal investigators determined that there is 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. Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed without the filing of federal criminal charges," a release read in part. ..."

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/no-federal-criminal-charges-in-kendrick-johnsons-death/250378746

From Feb 2016:


".....Kendrick Johnson's death was originally ruled an accident, but a private autopsy funded by the family found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Since then, a federal investigation has been opened.

While it has taken some time, a family spokesman said they're positive they'll get justice in the end.

Marcus Coleman/Family Spokesman

"I think we will start the wheels to clean up a corrupt system in Valdosta, Ga. Will that save lives? Absolutely," family spokesperson Marcus Coleman said....."

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/decatur/family-of-teen-found-dead-in-gym-mat-holds-rally-investigation-continues/68323894

March 2016

Murder allegation sidelines football player's career, divides community

"..... The family filed a $100 million wrongful death suit that names 39 defendants, including Bell and his brother and father, as well as law enforcement and state officials who the family says are covering up a crime. The suit alleges Bell, who is white, held a grudge against Johnson, who was black, after a fight on a team bus in 2011. ...."

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/murder-allegation-sidelines-football-players-career-divides-community/132145131

(Bell's family is connected with local law enforcement.)

From last alink above:

March 2016:

".....EVIDENCE INDICATES ACCIDENT

The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office completed its report on Johnson almost four months after his death and called it accidental. The coroner ruled positional asphyxia as the cause of death. Investigators think Johnson got stuck after he went headfirst down into the center of the standing mat to retrieve a shoe.

Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft, regional medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said findings from the crime scene, investigator reports, forensic testing, witness statements, scene photographs and coroner's findings all pointed to accidental death.

The Johnsons hired William Anderson, former deputy chief of the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office in Florida, to conduct an independent autopsy. Anderson told USA TODAY Sports that Johnson suffered a single blow or pressure to the head or neck and that he did not find the typical signs of positional asphyxia, including fluid accumulating in the lungs, in his autopsy.

"There is no evidence he was beaten," Anderson said. "It was probably just a single pressure application."

The lawsuit also alleges that the Bell brothers acted on a "command" from their father, who is an FBI agent, and that law enforcement made a "deliberate and malicious effort" to withhold evidence of their son's death from the family. The sheriff's department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its pathologist are among the law enforcement entities named in the suit.

Brice Ladson, the Bell family's attorney, did not respond to requests to speak to them. James Elliott, an attorney representing 18 sheriff's office employees, said in court papers that the Johnsons and their attorney "cannot reasonably believe a court will accept these asserted claims," which he called frivolous and groundless. ...."

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/murder-allegation-sidelines-football-players-career-divides-community/132145131

Mention of Kendrick and why his body was stuffed with papers....smuggling of drugs as well as organ theft.

Go to 11:10 of video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zxVuUwJuio

Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit after teen's body was found upside down in a rolled-up gym mat at Georgia high school

".... The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a Georgia teenager who was found dead inside a rolled up gym mat at school has been dismissed by a federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands filed an order Tuesday saying the parents of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson did not file for extensions and submit paperwork in time......"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4610562/Judge-dismisses-lawsuit-Georgia-teens-gym-mat-death.html

Freckles wrote:FBI agent and two sons countersue parents of Georgia teen who died in gym mat with $1million defamation lawsuit
March 9, 2015

".....Three family members named in a $100million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a Georgia teen who was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat have countersued with a $1million defamation suit.

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson filed the wrongful death suit after their son Kendrick was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, in January of 2013.

The suit lists 38 defendants and claims that brothers Brian and Branden Bell as well as their father Rick, an FBI agent, were behind the 17-year-old's death. ...."




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2985258/Countersuit-filed-Rick-Bell-sons-against-Kendrick-Johnson-s-parents-Georgia.html#ixzz3Tw8ToYzm
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Still going after the Johnson family....

Judge orders the parents of teen found dead rolled up in gym mat to pay $300,000 in legal fees to the people they unsuccessfully sued for his death

"... In 2015, Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson filed a lawsuit accusing two brothers of killing their son, who had been their schoolmate.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Johnsons also alleged that the brothers' father, an FBI agent, acted in cahoots with the school superintendent and his daughters, as well as a former sheriff, to roll up Kendick's body inside the mat to make it look like it was an accidental death.

The Johnsons voluntarily dropped the $100million civil suit last year, reports Valdosta Today.

The 39 defendants they had sued then asked the judge to order the family to pay their attorney fees and related court costs, initially stating that they were owed about $850,000.

Superior Court Judge Richard Porter had the lawyers take a closer look at their billings....."



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4776110/Judge-Parents-owe-292-000-suit-sons-gym-mat-death.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/21/body-high-school-student-found-dead-in-rolled-up-gym-mat-to-be-exhumed-for-second-time.html

body-high-school-student-found-dead-in-rolled-up-gym-mat-to-be-exhumed-for-second-time