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

[FrayedKnot]

This case has really grabbed me from a few perspectives. 1. true crime person 2. teacher 3. parent I am just going to let it rip. forgive me. OMGGG

I think he was found Much Much sooner. if not immediately...I think they tampered with the boy and the scene-immediately- in secret and after hours.

There is no way he was not found sooner. Not in a school...no way. Every room is used throughout the day. ( even if it is the old gym) The cover up is protecting every single member of that school and it makes me sick. From its minor students, to the gym teachers, coaches, nurse, and entire administration all the way to the very top principal and superintendent of schools, LE and ......

I think they were so busy tampering with his body that they forgot about the blood on the wall. Which by the way only certain school personel can even come in contact with body fluids. not teachers!?!

The coroner said it himself they are protecting people in the community, the school said it themselves too.... they are protecting the students- who murdered that poor teen and protecting the people who plotted to cover the crime scene. Shame on them I hope alot of people go to jail over this.

The fact that his nails were clipped makes me think of the athletic department people who also often teach health programs in public schools too.

MOO:truce:

Yes. This. ^^^^^


Thank you.

 

[gxm]

This case has really grabbed me from a few perspectives. 1. true crime person 2. teacher 3. parent I am just going to let it rip. forgive me. OMGGG

I think he was found Much Much sooner. if not immediately...I think they tampered with the boy and the scene-immediately- in secret and after hours.

There is no way he was not found sooner. Not in a school...no way. Every room is used throughout the day. ( even if it is the old gym) The cover up is protecting every single member of that school and it makes me sick. From its minor students, to the gym teachers, coaches, nurse, and entire administration all the way to the very top principal and superintendent of schools, LE and ......

I think they were so busy tampering with his body that they forgot about the blood on the wall. Which by the way only certain school personel can even come in contact with body fluids. not teachers!?!

The coroner said it himself they are protecting people in the community, the school said it themselves too.... they are protecting the students- who murdered that poor teen and protecting the people who plotted to cover the crime scene. Shame on them I hope alot of people go to jail over this.

The fact that his nails were clipped makes me think of the athletic department people who also often teach health programs in public schools too.

MOO:truce:

With all due respect, the livor mortis appears to support that the body was not moved. How can one "tamper" with the body without moving it?

 

[Cyan]

Timeline of a Tragedy for those new to this case:

http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy

That answered a lot of questions that I myself (and probably others, as well) had! That article makes me wonder if he had climbed on top of the mats and was lying across the tops of them, perhaps on his stomach, and went reach, reach, reach, re- STUCK.

 

[Linda7NJ]

The livor mortis indicates that KJ's body was not moved. The livor mortis is consistent with the position he was found in.

Livor mortis isn't immediate. A person could die sitting in a chair and moved to the floor 5 minutes later. I doubt anyone would know the difference. IMO


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[Karmady]

That answered a lot of questions that I myself (and probably others, as well) had! That article makes me wonder if he had climbed on top of the mats and was lying across the tops of them, perhaps on his stomach, and went reach, reach, reach, re- STUCK.

It sure does. Especially that the mats are usually stored horizontally;that the school charges locker fees; that some of his belongings were scattered when the mats were tipped by the gym teacher trying to get to him, etc. etc. I was a little confused about why he would have put shoes in a vertical mat, but that explains the only question I had. jmo

 

[Karmady]

I think the shoes these kids leave in gym are the shoes they use for gym CLASS -- not their prized, expensive street shoes. This is why they leave them. The gym class shoes are probably cheap(er), not fashionable, and therefore, not highly valued (by the kids, at least). Just my conjecture.

yes, the article gxm linked says some of the kids did the same to avoid locker fees. So if kids left their shoes in the mats and everyone knew it, they're not putting anything but their ratty gym shoes in there. Otherwise they'd be gone in a heartbeat.

jmo

 

[LinasK]

Who just abandons a Hollister hoodie laying on the floor?

Who told the CSI not to collect possible evidence?

If a shoe fell inside the 6 foot tall mat...how exactly was he trying to reach it? It makes zero sense. How did the white shoes end up where they were?

To rule it an accident, I'm sure they must have been able to replicate & reenact their version of some sort of freak accident. It should have been videotaped. I want to see it.

IMO it makes more sense that he was jumped by several people while changing his shoes, a scuffle, he receives a devastating blow to the neck ... Collapses and he was stuffed into the mat, shoes tossed in after him.

No one bothered to source the blood on the wall, didn't bother to collect sneaker, hoodie, nail clippings. That's basic 101 evidence collection.


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You've managed to sum up so eloquently in one post what I've taken several to try to say!!!:drumroll::drumroll::drumroll:

 

[Montjoy]

I think that the key part of the timeline is this:

"Following the Christmas break, school resumed on Jan. 9. On Jan. 10, Johnson disappeared from video surveillance at approximately 1:09 p.m. after he entered Lowndes High School’s old gymnasium, according to reports. Footage from the school’s motion-controlled camera depicted another student going into the gym ahead of Johnson, but he went in another direction in the gym and authorities confirmed that the student headed straight to the next class."

"'He comes down the hallway, and essentially he enters the gym. He’s following another kid,' said Jones. 'The first kid comes in and goes to the left. Kendrick goes in and off to the right towards the corner where the mats are. You don’t see anyone trailing him or someone he’s having a dispute with,' adding that allegations he had been in a confrontation that day or the day before were false."

from: http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy


Unless he was attacked by someone who was able to teleport in and out of the gym, I can't see how anyone could believe this a murder. There no opportunity for a crime to occur here, and it is unclear if there was any motive for anyone to kill him. This tragic story is being exploited as an opportunity for a lawsuit, and I believe it will fail.

 

[LinasK]

I think that the key part of the timeline is this:

"Following the Christmas break, school resumed on Jan. 9. On Jan. 10, Johnson disappeared from video surveillance at approximately 1:09 p.m. after he entered Lowndes High School’s old gymnasium, according to reports. Footage from the school’s motion-controlled camera depicted another student going into the gym ahead of Johnson, but he went in another direction in the gym and authorities confirmed that the student headed straight to the next class."

"'He comes down the hallway, and essentially he enters the gym. He’s following another kid,' said Jones. 'The first kid comes in and goes to the left. Kendrick goes in and off to the right towards the corner where the mats are. You don’t see anyone trailing him or someone he’s having a dispute with,' adding that allegations he had been in a confrontation that day or the day before were false."

from: http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy


Unless he was attacked by someone who was able to teleport in and out of the gym, I can't see how anyone could believe this a murder. There no opportunity for a crime to occur here, and it is unclear if there was any motive for anyone to kill him. This tragic story is being exploited as an opportunity for a lawsuit, and I believe it will fail.

Okay, what happens after 1:09p.m. and after he enters the gym? When was his body found???

 

[Karmady]

Okay, what happens after 1:09p.m. and after he enters the gym? When was his body found???

read the article gxm linked. it's got a lot of the details, including when the body was first noticed and found.

 

[LinasK]

read the article gxm linked. it's got a lot of the details, including when the body was first noticed and found.

I did read it, and it says it was one full day later that his body was found. I see plenty of time for a murder to occur and roll up/stuff his body into a mat.

 

[Karmady]

I did read it, and it says it was one full day later that his body was found. I see plenty of time for a murder to occur and roll up/stuff his body into a mat.

Please elaborate where and when the murder occurred and how his body was stuffed into a vertical mat that weighed a ton. I'm open to your theory.

 

[Montjoy]

But he was never seen leaving the gym, and according to the article "Shortly after, other students could be observed entering the gym for class and you could see kids playing basketball later on another camera, according to Jones." (from the timeline article linked above -- http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy )

I think we can take for granted that LE viewed all of the surveillance video, noting who entered and left the gym, both before and after KJ's entrance. If he had been sitting on the mats waiting around indefinitely, he would have been seen by the students passing through or those playing basketball.

 

[LinasK]

I think that the key part of the timeline is this:

"Following the Christmas break, school resumed on Jan. 9. On Jan. 10, Johnson disappeared from video surveillance at approximately 1:09 p.m. after he entered Lowndes High School’s old gymnasium, according to reports. Footage from the school’s motion-controlled camera depicted another student going into the gym ahead of Johnson, but he went in another direction in the gym and authorities confirmed that the student headed straight to the next class."

"'He comes down the hallway, and essentially he enters the gym. He’s following another kid,' said Jones. 'The first kid comes in and goes to the left. Kendrick goes in and off to the right towards the corner where the mats are. You don’t see anyone trailing him or someone he’s having a dispute with,' adding that allegations he had been in a confrontation that day or the day before were false."

from: http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy


Unless he was attacked by someone who was able to teleport in and out of the gym, I can't see how anyone could believe this a murder. There no opportunity for a crime to occur here, and it is unclear if there was any motive for anyone to kill him. This tragic story is being exploited as an opportunity for a lawsuit, and I believe it will fail.

Lawsuit against whom? This isn't about race. Justice should be colorblind, no matter what race the victim is.

 

[LinasK]

Please elaborate where and when the murder occurred and how his body was stuffed into a vertical mat that weighed a ton. I'm open to your theory.

Any time in that 24 hours period in the gym. There was dried blood on the wall that wasn't tested. He could've been jumped immediately, after school, that evening, the next morning before school...
I never said his body was stuffed into the mat, I think he was rolled up into it the same way other dead bodies are rolled into carpets and sheets, and I read the mat was horizontal.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Timeline of a Tragedy for those new to this case:

http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy

Thanks for posting this.

I read it and I'm sorry (this is not directed at you, GXM, just jumping off from the article) but the official scenario makes absolutely no logical sense to me.

OK, I get that the mats were normally stored horizontally, and I can understand kids using the spaces in the middle of them to store things, including shoes, that weren't of much value to them to avoid locker fees, kind of like putting them in a round cupboard with no doors.

(Although this isn't what the article says. Not once does it say the kids stored items in the mats, but it does say they stored them under the mats. Which leads me to wonder how they lifted 700-pound mats to store things under them. But going along with the assumption that the spaces in the middle of the mats were the storage areas...)

I can understand that over the break those mats got moved and stored vertically.

I can understand KJ coming back from break, going to get his shoes where he last left them, and finding that the mats had been moved and were now standing vertically.

That's where the whole scenario of him looking for his shoes and accidentally falling in begins the epic fail.

The article states: "The students may have been walking on top of the roughly 700-pound, 7-feet-tall mats to retrieve school supplies and personal items, as interviews revealed that students commonly used the rolled-up mats to avoid locker fees, stated Edwards."

And: "It appears that since the mats were stacked up on end and had been moved and stored that way over the holiday break, his shoes weren’t where he left them, so he had to climb up on the mats."

Just for fun, I measured the height of my front door. Less than 7 feet.

So we're to believe that not only KJ, but all the other kids who stored their stuff in this manner were so mathematically and physically (I mean in the sense of actual physics, not their physiques) challenged that they actually thought they could reach down from a 7-foot height and retrieve their possessions, which had presumably fallen to the floor?

The items might not have fallen to the floor if the mats were wrapped tightly enough to hold them snugly, but if the middle spaces were big enough to hold a human body, anything smaller in them would have most certainly fallen to the floor.

My refrigerator is approximately 5'10" tall. Can you imagine lying on top of it thinking you can retrieve something on the floor?

I think most five-year-olds of normal intelligence would know better. Yet this kid was supposed to be trying to reach down from an even taller height to retrieve something?

Does not compute.

He may have voluntarily been on top of those mats, but it was not because he was trying to retrieve something that he'd left in one when it was lying horizontally on the floor.

 

[Karmady]

Lawsuit against whom? This isn't about race. Justice should be colorblind, no matter what race the victim is.

The school district, the police, the GBI, etc. The usual cast of characters imo.

 

[Montjoy]

I have never mentioned race as an issue here (and I do not believe it is, in the least), and I would be offended if you were suggesting that I had implied it. The lawsuit could be against the school or the school board. The lawsuit wouldn't even need to hit the courts to be worth a lawyer's time and his/her investment of money in a private autopsy -- many lawsuits are settled out of court to avoid the costs of a trial (financial and otherwise). This isn't a frivolous matter to be sure, but that doesn't preclude what might amount to a frivolous lawsuit aimed at getting a settlement. (And I don't really blame the parents for that -- I would suspect, IMO, that legal counsel would be the impetus.)

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I think that the key part of the timeline is this:

"Following the Christmas break, school resumed on Jan. 9. On Jan. 10, Johnson disappeared from video surveillance at approximately 1:09 p.m. after he entered Lowndes High School’s old gymnasium, according to reports. Footage from the school’s motion-controlled camera depicted another student going into the gym ahead of Johnson, but he went in another direction in the gym and authorities confirmed that the student headed straight to the next class."

"'He comes down the hallway, and essentially he enters the gym. He’s following another kid,' said Jones. 'The first kid comes in and goes to the left. Kendrick goes in and off to the right towards the corner where the mats are. You don’t see anyone trailing him or someone he’s having a dispute with,' adding that allegations he had been in a confrontation that day or the day before were false."

from: http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x6223544/Timeline-of-a-tragedy


Unless he was attacked by someone who was able to teleport in and out of the gym, I can't see how anyone could believe this a murder. There no opportunity for a crime to occur here, and it is unclear if there was any motive for anyone to kill him. This tragic story is being exploited as an opportunity for a lawsuit, and I believe it will fail.

Serious question. I haven't read everything available on this case.

I understand that the video shows no one followed him into the gym except that one student. Is there video evidence showing that there was no one in the gym--for lack of a better term--lying in wait?

 

[LinasK]

The school district, the police, the GBI, etc. The usual cast of characters imo.

Well, either way- whether it was a murder or an accident- the school district probably is at fault. And why are they charging a locker fee for a public school???
If the investigation was flawed, I'd be suing LE. I just don't see this as a family out solely to profit off their son's death. I think they just want justice.