GA - Kendrick Johnson, 17, Suspicious Death, Jan. 10/11, 2013, #1

Reader · Jan 17, 2013

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/1...s-death-high-school-student-found-wrapped-in/

Local authorities are investigating the death of a 17-year-old high school student whose body was found Friday morning inside his school's gym in an inverted position and wrapped inside a wrestling mat...........

Initial reports vary on how Kendrick Johnson's body got trapped inside the mat. A preliminary autopsy showed there were no signs of struggle, and early theories said he may have been attempting to retrieve a shoe that fell into the mat...........

"I want to express how did my son go missing during school hours in broad daylight? We know our son was murdered while he was at Lowndes High School. We do know that," Johnson told the station..............

"How can you go on when you have a beloved child who wakes up everybody in the house and makes a laugh out of everything, how can you go on? It's hard," Johnson told the station.

More at link.....

Filly · Jan 17, 2013

How awful and so sad. What a horrific death.

Prayers for his family that love him so dearly. I pray they find out what actually happened to this poor kid.

eileenhawkeye · Jan 17, 2013

OMG I think I know what happened.

This is just speculation: But at my HS, the mats were rolled up, with the hole at the top. So I think he leaned it to get his shoe, and then he got stuck upside down. (It says he was found in an inverted position).

But you would think he would be able to use his body strength to push the mat over, so he could get out though? I don't think it would be difficult to get the map to tip over...

Norwegian · Apr 28, 2013

Kendrick Lamar Johnson <modsnip>. Only to be found the next day by janitors rolled up in a wrestling mat in the gym at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, GA. <modsnip> So please stand up for this young man. Justice deserves to be served.

Very little press on this.

Daily Mail writes:

"His body was found in rolled-up mat and initial reports said he fell in while reaching for a shoe"

Police needs to take this seriously. Let these parents not go through any more than what they already are!

MOD Comment: The article says it is an open investigation

mikeysmommom · Apr 28, 2013

I did not read any where that his face was unrecognizable.It does seem to be a death by accident.Most parents would not want to accept such a tragic death was an accident but accidents do happen.

Capri · Apr 28, 2013

http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x1303518583/Autopsy-returned-in-student-death

Sheriff: No signs of struggle found

Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA A Lowndes High School student apparently climbed on top of rolled, upright wrestling mats last week, fell into a center opening of a rolled mat, became lodged inside, upside down, and died, according to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office Monday.

Hejlena · Apr 29, 2013

Norwegian said:
Kendrick Lamar Johnson was murdered at school on January 10, 2013. He was beaten to death. Only to be found the next day by janitors rolled up in a wrestling mat in the gym at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, GA. His face was unrecognizable. The sheriff is calling it foul lay and is paying no mind to the death of this child. His parents were also arrested for protesting. So please stand up for this young man. Justice deserves to be served.

Very little press on this.

Daily Mail writes:

"His body was found in rolled-up mat and initial reports said he fell in while reaching for a shoe"

Police needs to take this seriously. Let these parents not go through any more than what they already are!

IMHO, this posting is extremely misleading. You state this young man was "murdered" "beaten to death" and "face was unrecognizable", but nowhere does it say anything like this in the article you linked.

I'm sorry that these parents have lost their son under any circumstances, but it sounds to me like the investigators are doing a fine job so far.

Reader · May 1, 2013

This death occurred in Jan. 2013 and there is already a thread on the case in crimes for children:

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Georgia sheriff investigates death of high school student found in wrestling mat

Maybe these can be combined?

JeannaT · May 12, 2013

This has really become an interesting story, with NAN now formally asking for open records from the school, the sheriff, and the GBI. It's possible, I guess, but odd. And why won't the school release the video of him walking in to the gym?

Exactly what position were the mats in relative to where his shoe was? Why was he fetching his shoe from there between 3rd and 4th periods?

http://www.examiner.com/article/ken...ds-gospel-rally-effort-to-find-justice-for-kj

scorekeeper · May 12, 2013

On Janurary 11th, Johnson was found dead in the high school’s gymnasium, rolled up inside wrestling mats and his face heavily swollen as if beaten. He also had lacerations on his face and on other parts of his body. The local Sheriff’s investigators have said that they believe Johnson fell into the mats and wasn’t able to get out, and they ruled the death an accident. The investigators clearly wanted to close the case and move on, but the family of Kendrick Johnson has pressed on for answers.

http://www.blackcommunityweb.com/20...appened-to-valdosta-ga-teen-kendrick-johnson/

BBM

how could LE have ruled "accidental?

JeannaT · May 12, 2013

scorekeeper said:
On Janurary 11th, Johnson was found dead in the high schools gymnasium, rolled up inside wrestling mats and his face heavily swollen as if beaten. He also had lacerations on his face and on other parts of his body. The local Sheriffs investigators have said that they believe Johnson fell into the mats and wasnt able to get out, and they ruled the death an accident. The investigators clearly wanted to close the case and move on, but the family of Kendrick Johnson has pressed on for answers.

http://www.blackcommunityweb.com/20...appened-to-valdosta-ga-teen-kendrick-johnson/

BBM

how could LE have ruled "accidental?

I spent some time reading through articles this evening - like, about 2 hours of reading.

It appears to me he didn't have lacerations or bruising. The coronor who is on the family's side for finding more information doesn't agree he had any visible injuries. He agrees there are irregularities with the investigation, but seems to agree that there aren't injuries to his body. Autopsy photos are UGLY, that's for sure, but it doesn't mean foul play.

time · May 13, 2013

I just heard about this case. I don't have any theories except I wouldn't blame the parents one bit for questioning this as an accident. I think at the least, the sheriff's office should call this undetermined. It seems they did not call in the coroner until many hours (5-6?) after they arrived on the scene.

time · May 13, 2013

JeannaT said:
I spent some time reading through articles this evening - like, about 2 hours of reading.

It appears to me he didn't have lacerations or bruising. The coronor who is on the family's side for finding more information doesn't agree he had any visible injuries. He agrees there are irregularities with the investigation, but seems to agree that there aren't injuries to his body. Autopsy photos are UGLY, that's for sure, but it doesn't mean foul play.

You can NOT exclude foul play, just because there are not visible injuries on the body either.

jjenny · May 13, 2013

It would be very unusual for a healthy young male to fall into some mats and not be able to get out.

JeannaT · May 13, 2013

jjenny said:
It would be very unusual for a healthy young male to fall into some mats and not be able to get out.

I would really like to see graphic of how they are suggesting this happened.

If the mats were stacked up together, standing upright against each other and he in fact DID fall head first into one of the mats that was, for example, stacked against a wall and another mat was stacked up against that mat, it would take super-human strength to get back out. A mat rolled into a cylinder - or a carpet rolled into a cylinder - is impossible to open up if you're stuck inside. Kids who have been rolled in carpets as a joke or kind of mean play have suffocated - you simple can't get out even if you're very fit and agile.

But it still seems odd. What position was he in, where diving headfirst into a rolled up mat would happen?

jjenny · May 13, 2013

How would someone fall into a mat that is standing upright?

JeannaT · May 13, 2013

jjenny said:
How would someone fall into a mat that is standing upright?

That's what's being alleged, although I haven't seen a clear description anywhere.

According to the articles, he fell head first into the center of the rolled up mat that was standing upright while he was reaching for his shoe.

In a freak accident, with a mat that was rolled up leaving enough of a center hole where he could fall clean through in to it, it could happen if for some unknown reason his shoe was in the bottom of the mat hole, or very near it.

For all the information that has been posted about this awful incident, there is VERY LITTLE information describing the actual scene and the details of the fall. Baffling, really, although possible, I guess. I don't know why details of this are so hard to come by.

One small detail that came up about the coroner - it was apparently only recently that the coroner, not the sheriff, was required to declare someone dead. The sheriff in this little town may not have been used to calling the coroner, but rather, may have been used to being able to process a death himself.

time · May 13, 2013

I honestly don't see how his face was in that condition even if he had suffocated. Then there are questions about what was he doing there at that time and how did he drop his shoe anyway.

Is the coroner's report available somewhere?

KateB · May 14, 2013

https://www.facebook.com/RipKendrickJohnson

His father tries to get himself in one of the mats in one of the pictures.

JeannaT · May 14, 2013

KateB said:
https://www.facebook.com/RipKendrickJohnson

His father tries to get himself in one of the mats in one of the pictures.

Right. His father is significantly heavier than Kendrick, and not falling straight down. We don't know how tightly the mat was folded that Kendrick allegedly fell in to - it's likely it was rolled up by students, and they can be lazy and loosely fold mats in a loose fashion.

More information is needed.

GA - Kendrick Johnson, 17, Suspicious Death, Jan. 10/11, 2013, #1

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