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

[LinasK]

If that were the case, why would they leave the body in the school gym?

Obviously it was a good place to hide a body because it wasn't discovered for a full 24 hours, and could have been longer depending on how often that particular mat was used...
The school staff is most likely not the assailants, more likely it was students, but the school district can be sued for wrongful death, so yeah they have motive to cover up.

 

[jjenny]

They can be sued for wrongful death if someone died on the school premises without being murdered.
So that really doesn't add up.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Are we do believe there is only one way in and out of that gym?

Every gym I've ever been to had multiple entrances and exits and also connecting girls & boys locker rooms which also each had two exits.




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Excellent point. Thinking back to the gyms at the high school I attended, back in the Mesozoic age, this was true even then.

At minimum there has to be one entrance/exit for the spectators and one for the athletes coming out of the locker room.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I want to see the reenactment video!!!!!

If someone can show me a way this could have happened accidentally, I may change my mind.




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[IzzyBlanche]

I want to see the reenactment video!!!!!

If someone can show me a way this could have happened accidentally, I may change my mind.




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I agree. I still have a lot of catching up to do on this case, but I can't envision an accident either.

As for a cover-up--I am NOT saying this happened, I don't know enough yet to form an opinion apart from the ones I've already posted--but I can also envision a scenario of homicide (which is not always the same as premeditated murder) followed by a coverup:

1. Something happens at school whereby KJ dies at the hands of schoolmates. Prank gone wrong, bullying, outright attack, whatever, that lands his body in the mat.
2. Body is discovered the next day and school officials realize the liability they are in for, especially because they soon learn or maybe even already had an idea what really happened given the rumors would have been flying around had this occurred.
3. School officials immediately start concocting accident scenario to cover their own posteriors from fear of negligence lawsuits for any possible number of reasons.

Repeat of disclaimer: I am in no way saying I believe this is what happened. I am just outlining a scenario that includes both unintentional death and coverup.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Other students were playing basketball in there shortly after he went in. Seems rather unlikely nobody would see any confrontations or fighting.

We saw what Jodi arias managed to do in the span of a few minutes.
I'm sure any confrontation could have been over in a minute or two. How long does a devastating neck blow take?
If there were more than one attackers, his body could have been rolled up and propped up in under two minutes.


I'm having difficultly imagining what would cause blood drip like that. Any ideas?



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[IzzyBlanche]

There were lots of people in and out of the gym all that day and evening per the article

BBM, snipped for focus, and not directed at Karmady.

Well now that's interesting too I think. All of those people in and out of the gym during all those hours, yet in that time no one climbed up on top of the mats as the article suggests kids normally did--until the next morning when the two students doing so found KJ's body?

That seems odd.

 

[Karmady]

I guess we travel in different circles.




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I have no doubt that we travel in different circles. Not sure what that has to do with stupid chit kids do, though lol

 

[Karmady]

BBM, snipped for focus, and not directed at Karmady.

Well now that's interesting too I think. All of those people in and out of the gym during all those hours, yet in that time no one climbed up on top of the mats as the article suggests kids normally did--until the next morning when the two students doing so found KJ's body?

That seems odd.

I have to go back and look at article, but iirc most of the kids in the gym after that time were there for special activities, not gym.

 

[Karmady]

So WHO exactly found him in there? And what were they doing when he was found?


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That's in the article, too. Female students walking on the mats.

 

[al66pine]

This timeline-of-a-tragedy article contains info LE provided to The Times in a face to face (linked below, and frequently ref’ed in this thread) re Thursday.

“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.

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.

“We can only assume that he had gone down into the mat by that time,” said Prine. BBM

Now my questions: Did LE just say video system did not record KJ’s motions? Was it a motion activated CC system, or not? If motion activated, why was he not recorded? Was he out of all cameras‘ field of vision? Or technical glitch? Or a portion was deleted? Who?

Did system record him, by himself, scampering onto vertical mats, then crawling across the mat tops, then slithering into the mat’s doughnut hole?

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

JMQuestions.

 

[jjenny]

Rather clearly the camera did not record him walking on the mats and falling into the mats. Because if it did, it would be very clear he died in an accident. I can only assume he was out of camera's view.

 

[Karmady]

This timeline-of-a-tragedy article contains info LE provided to The Times in a face to face (linked below, and frequently ref’ed in this thread) re Thursday.

“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.

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.

“We can only assume that he had gone down into the mat by that time,” said Prine. BBM

Now my questions: Did LE just say video system did not record KJ’s motions? Was it a motion activated CC system, or not? If motion activated, why was he not recorded? Was he out of all cameras‘ field of vision? Or technical glitch? Or a portion was deleted? Who?

Did system record him, by himself, scampering onto vertical mats, then crawling across the mat tops, then slithering into the mat’s doughnut hole?

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

JMQuestions.

The article says the camera was motion activated. So it was likely on the door and a few feet in front sufficient to say which direction they went in after entering and no more than that. jmo

 

[momrids6]

I have to go back and look at article, but iirc most of the kids in the gym after that time were there for special activities, not gym.

Yes- it is the OLD gym- used for clubs, teams, etc.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I have to go back and look at article, but iirc most of the kids in the gym after that time were there for special activities, not gym.

Right. I realize that. What I meant was, thinking back to my high school days back in the Mesozoic age, any kind of special perch like the tops of the mats would have been occupied any time any kids were in the gym for any reason. Onlookers who wanted to observe the special activities and yet seem a bit "cooler" observing from there rather than in the plain old bleachers.

Of course that was back in the Mesozoic age. But I don't think teenage human nature has changed that much since then.

 

[jjenny]

Right. I realize that. What I meant was, thinking back to my high school days back in the Mesozoic age, any kind of special perch like the tops of the mats would have been occupied any time any kids were in the gym for any reason. Onlookers who wanted to observe the special activities and yet seem a bit "cooler" observing from there rather than in the plain old bleachers.

Of course that was back in the Mesozoic age. But I don't think teenage human nature has changed that much since then.

He was found the next day. So I am not sure where you are going with this.

 

[jjenny]

I want to see the reenactment video!!!!!

If someone can show me a way this could have happened accidentally, I may change my mind.




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I find it rather easy to envision how it could have happened accidentally. He fell in and couldn't get out. It wouldn't be hard to reenact at all. Although I am sure nobody wants to kill the reenactor.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

He was found the next day. So I am not sure where you are going with this.
Are you suggesting somebody sat on top of the mat every second of every day?

No, that's not what I'm suggesting.

Once again I am not as read up on this case as I would like to be. But didn't he enter the gym in the morning like 10 or 11?

If not, forget it, I have my facts wrong.

But if I'm correct with that time frame, the official scenario is that shortly after entering the gym, he ended up in the mat. Right? Because he was never seen again, didn't make it to his next class.

I'm not saying that somebody sat on top of the mat every second of every day.

I am saying that if he ended up in the mat shortly after he entered the gym, and other activities took place in the gym after that throughout the afternoon and evening, it seems strange that no one else sat on top of the mats during any second of that time to have observed the body before the next morning.

Also I'm not going anywhere with this, just questioning things that don't make sense to me. That's all. I even recognize that I am being self-contradictory. I don't have a theory. I'm just trying to make sense of a very strange case.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I find it rather easy to envision how it could have happened accidentally. He fell in and couldn't get out. It wouldn't be hard to reenact at all. Although I am sure nobody wants to kill the reenactor.

I can envision him falling in accidentally too. Only I can't see him falling in headfirst accidentally. Walking on the top of the mats and falling in feet first, yeah, I can see that. Headfirst, not so much. Even if he tripped and fell forward, he would have to be at an exact angle to fall straight down into the mat rather than just sprawling on top of the mats all bunched together.

The theory that he was reaching to retrieve something and accidentally fell in makes no sense to me for reasons I've already posted.

I am not calling this murder or anything else at this point. All I am saying is that the official version of how he ended up in the mat doesn't seem remotely logical to me.

 

[jjenny]

Mats were normally stored horizontally. Over Christmas break, the school decided to store them vertically. That's in the article.
So when he stored his shoes in there, it would have been in a horizontally stored mat.
He could have tried to get it out and fell in head first. I fail to see why that would be impossible.
He might have not realized he wouldn't be able to get out of the mat.