GA - Kendrick Johnson, 17, Suspicious Death, Jan. 10/11, 2013, #2

[iSleuth]

I asked the original-question. I was in the process of searching and sharing links here for a discussion . ( I was also genuinely curious about corporal punishment Listed ) ( no one wants address-answer )

And yes, There are schools in ga and definitely in Ct which do notify parents for Unexcused absences which occur during the middle of the day. The calls are made in the early evening - or letters go out that day.

I never said anything about statutes( yet)
Looks like LHS apparently sends letters.

I personally think it is fair to say the parents of the victim, Mr and Mrs Johnson, knew very well something was wrong and went wrong that day when their son never came home.

So worried (because it was so out of character -)they called LE .
Do I think they would have found him then and there.? no probably not

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[al66pine]

My comments in red :

Speaking only for myself, I ignored the corporal punhishment part because it doesn't have anything to do with the case.
When iSleuth posted re C/P in the handbook, I also was surprised that the school district authorized its use. But I totally understand, if the school board wants to keep C/P open as a option, that C/P needs to be included in handbook. And like Karmady said, I haven't seen any C/P question come up w. this investigation, so it seems irrelevant in this thread.
Maybe start a separate thread ?
Good idea, for anyone who wants to discuss C/P or other issues not relevant to KJ's death.
Eta: and thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding about the LHS policy. There is no policy to call a parent for a middle of the day absence, so no policy, procedure or protocol was violated by the school in that regard. (BBM)
Karmady, sorry, I don't conclude anything one way or another about school policy re notifying parents re partial day absences, except that I personally have not read it myself.
I imagine (and would bet US greenbacks) school has policy re this, set forth in other documents w. detailed procedures but does not include it in the Student Parent Handbook.
Speaking from experience of a HQ policy-setting employee (private corp, not pub school), it does not make sense to include all micro-level detail in expensive widely dissiminated policy handbooks. HQ or top level of any org needs to be able to tweak details of a procedure, without having to go through the rigmarole of reprinting, redistributing, etc. for minor changes.

I imagine details about how school notifies about partial day absences would be subject to tweaking, e.g. made after 1st, 2nd, or all three a.m. block absences? Absences starting in blocks after lunch? Auto-call or employee call? Leave voice mail message or not? Send text message or not?

Without seeing policy about notification, I still cannot conclude school violated it.
Or followed it.

JM2cts and I may be wrong.

jmo

 

[Karmady]

My comments in red :

Haha...you don't need to say sorry to me! Maybe I should have said there's no proof of a policy. Which was my focus since it was posted as fact that there was such a policy and that it was violated. For me, though, the absence of a written policy is sufficient. Probably because I've never heard of such a policy written or informal in any high school.

I did notice that students in attendance for 1/2 day are considered present for the entire day. This correlates with my understanding that the principal reason for the parent notification policy has more to do with enforcing truancy laws for the purpose of insuring federal funding. NOT for the safety of the students. Although safety is often offered as the primary reason. This also supports the idea that there is no policy for immediate notification. Written notification after the fact is sufficient to document the absence for the actual purpose of the policy -- making sure butts are in the chairs. all jmo

 

[juan]

I&#8217;ve been following this case intensely ever since the 2nd autopsy. My research lead me to this site. This site is about the most well-rounded, level-headed analysis of the facts and theories that I&#8217;ve found, which is refreshing.

I&#8217;ve gone back and forth in my opinion of what happened to KJ a number of times. Like many members here, I&#8217;ve watched that YouTube reenactment and it got me thinking. It was near impossible to hear that kid who did the reenactment. Also, he complained about how hot it was inside the mat. Let&#8217;s say just for a second that KJ DID fall into that mat or enter it of his own volition. Under those conditions, how long would it take him to expire? How much air would there be in that gym mat? I read that under normal circumstances, a healthy adult male at rest inhales 30 cubic inches of air with each breath. The same man&#8217;s lungs could hold a maximum of 230 cubic inches of air. If the mat was 8&#8217; (96&#8221 tall with a radius of 7&#8221; (14&#8221; diameter) then it would hold 14,778 cubic inches of air. Now let&#8217;s suppose that KJ&#8217;s body occupied two-thirds of that volume. That would leave 4,926 cubic inches of air. Let&#8217;s assume that KJ began to panic very quickly so let&#8217;s say conservatively that he was breathing in 100 cubic inches of air with each breath. That means if we take no other variables into account, he could inhale 49 times before exhausting his air supply. Someone in extreme duress might be inhaling as often as once per second. If that was the case, KJ would have exhausted his air supply in under a minute. Now let&#8217;s consider the depleting effect that heat has on oxygen and also the fact that he would have been exhaling almost as much carbon dioxide back into his already dwindling air supply. I theorize that if, IF&#8230; KJ did fall into that mat or enter it willingly he could have lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen within a couple minutes, maybe less. He might have been dead within a couple more. My point is that this could have happened very, very quickly and potentially with other, unsuspecting students very near by.

 

[Tawny]

Welcome to Websleuths juan!! :rollercoaster:

 

[Karmady]

I&#8217;ve been following this case intensely ever since the 2nd autopsy. My research lead me to this site. This site is about the most well-rounded, level-headed analysis of the facts and theories that I&#8217;ve found, which is refreshing.

I&#8217;ve gone back and forth in my opinion of what happened to KJ a number of times. Like many members here, I&#8217;ve watched that YouTube reenactment and it got me thinking. It was near impossible to hear that kid who did the reenactment. Also, he complained about how hot it was inside the mat. Let&#8217;s say just for a second that KJ DID fall into that mat or enter it of his own volition. Under those conditions, how long would it take him to expire? How much air would there be in that gym mat. I read that under normal circumstances, a healthy adult male at rest inhales 30 cubic inches of air with each breath. The same man&#8217;s lungs could hold a maximum of 230 cubic inches of air. If the mat was 8&#8217; (96&#8221 tall with a radius of 7&#8221; (14&#8221; diameter) then it would hold 14,778 cubic inches of air. Now let&#8217;s suppose that KJ&#8217;s body occupied two-thirds of that volume. That would leave 4,926 cubic inches of air. Let&#8217;s assume that KJ began to panic very quickly so let&#8217;s say conservatively that he was breathing in 100 cubic inches of air with each breath. That means if we take no other variables into account, he could inhale 49 times before exhausting his air supply. Someone in extreme duress might be inhaling as often as once per second. If that was the case, KJ would have exhausted his air supply in under a minute. Now let&#8217;s consider the depleting effect that heat has on oxygen and also the fact that he would have been exhaling almost as much carbon dioxide back into his already dwindling air supply. I theorize that if, IF&#8230; KJ did fall into that mat or enter it willingly he could have lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen within a couple minutes, maybe less. He might have been dead within a couple more. My point is that this could have happened very, very quickly and potentially with other, unsuspecting students very near by.

Hi Juan! Thanks for your input. It's linked upthread somewhere that the mat was only 6'2"ish. It was originally reported/posted that it was taller than that.

jmo

 

[juan]

Yes, that's right. I remember seeing that. I was taking the most conservative measures in my not-very-scientific calculations. So there might have been significantly less available oxygen in a shorter mat. I can't imagine the terror that must have went through KJ's mind IF in fact this was an accident. So sad.

 

[al66pine]

....
I did notice that students in attendance for 1/2 day are considered present for the entire day.

BBM SBM

Good point, per Student & Parent Handbook, linked above.

IIRC, KJ attended the first three blocks that day, and vid clip w KJ crossing the old gym after lunch was described as occurring after 1:00.

JM2cts.

 

[Karmady]

Yes, that's right. I remember seeing that. I was taking the most conservative measures in my not-very-scientific calculations. So there might have been significantly less available oxygen in a shorter mat. I can't imagine the terror that must have went through KJ's mind IF in fact this was an accident. So sad.

Agree. Watching that "reenactment" really brought home how horrible that must have been. I was having a panic attack just watching it even in a controlled setting. Just terrible

 

[BeginnersLuck]

From everything I have read, this is my take on automated phone notification used by schools across the country.

Automated phone notifications were designed to address absence issues. They were not designed or originally implemented as a safety measure, although they certainly can be useful for that purpose.

I've haven't found anything from the USDOE on down to LHS, that states any requirements schools have to meet, in regards to the use of these systems.

O/T - here is information on what states have/haven't banned corporal punishment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_corporal_punishment#United_States

 

[iSleuth]

I’ve been following this case intensely ever since the 2nd autopsy. My research lead me to this site. This site is about the most well-rounded, level-headed analysis of the facts and theories that I’ve found, which is refreshing.

I’ve gone back and forth in my opinion of what happened to KJ a number of times. Like many members here, I’ve watched that YouTube reenactment and it got me thinking. It was near impossible to hear that kid who did the reenactment. Also, he complained about how hot it was inside the mat. Let’s say just for a second that KJ DID fall into that mat or enter it of his own volition. Under those conditions, how long would it take him to expire? How much air would there be in that gym mat? I read that under normal circumstances, a healthy adult male at rest inhales 30 cubic inches of air with each breath. The same man’s lungs could hold a maximum of 230 cubic inches of air. If the mat was 8’ (96”) tall with a radius of 7” (14” diameter) then it would hold 14,778 cubic inches of air. Now let’s suppose that KJ’s body occupied two-thirds of that volume. That would leave 4,926 cubic inches of air. Let’s assume that KJ began to panic very quickly so let’s say conservatively that he was breathing in 100 cubic inches of air with each breath. That means if we take no other variables into account, he could inhale 49 times before exhausting his air supply. Someone in extreme duress might be inhaling as often as once per second. If that was the case, KJ would have exhausted his air supply in under a minute. Now let’s consider the depleting effect that heat has on oxygen and also the fact that he would have been exhaling almost as much carbon dioxide back into his already dwindling air supply. I theorize that if, IF… KJ did fall into that mat or enter it willingly he could have lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen within a couple minutes, maybe less. He might have been dead within a couple more. My point is that this could have happened very, very quickly and potentially with other, unsuspecting students very near by.

The same exact conditions would be true if he were assaulted.

 

[pearl]

BBM SBM

Good point, per Student & Parent Handbook, linked above.

IIRC, KJ attended the first three blocks that day, and vid clip w KJ crossing the old gym after lunch was described as occurring after 1:00.

JM2cts.

Student attendance is one of the factors that GA DOE uses in evaluating each school in GA. Excessive absences do hurt a school's evaluation. GA DOE allows schools to count a student present if he/she attends at least half a day. This is the official report to the state BOE. KJ would have been considered present the day he died because he was in class more than half the day. High school credit units are earned by the semester. In GA, there are end-of-course tests in every subject each semester. A couple of years ago (I'm not sure exactly how it works now), a student would be exempt from taking the end-of-course test if he/she had less than x number of absences and a certain grade. So, attendance is also kept by class to determine who has to take the test. For school purposes, KJ would have been counted present in his first three blocks and absent in the last one on the day he died.

 

[juan]

This “Prank Gone Wrong” theory is working its way up towards the top of my list. As an educator who’s practiced for 24 years in four different countries I can tell you that the following is gospel truth… KIDS ARE DUMB AS HELL, especially boys. Everyone can pile on me talking about how, “that’s an unfair generalization” but it’s true… and anyone else who’s worked in education can and should back me up. I can totally see how KJ could have enlisted the help of a classmate to “spot” him as he tried to retrieve his shoes. I can also see how that classmate could find it hysterical when KJ got stuck and then ran off to his next class thinking nothing more than how silly KJ would look when he was discovered stuck in a gym mat. Kind of like stuffing a kid in a locker. I don’t think a concept like positional asphyxia would ever cross the mind of a teenage boy.

Now let me shoot a hole in my own theory. The other thing I know to be gospel truth is that two kids can keep a secret for about 10 SECONDS. If there were two other kids involved BESIDES KJ, then at least one of them would have folded like a cheap suit under police questioning. That’s a fact. So I guess I’m no closer to an opinion.

 

[Bree1950]

I am also a former teacher. One of my prior students was shot by federal marshals and died in a local grocery store parking lot. In this area, when one of the students' dies, representatives from the school always attend the funeral (principal or vice-principal or dean). I'm surprised, if it is true, that none of his teachers attended the funeral from his school.

 

[noZme]

I am also a former teacher. One of my prior students was shot by federal marshals and died in a local grocery store parking lot. In this area, when one of the students' dies, representatives from the school always attend the funeral (principal or vice-principal or dean). I'm surprised, if it is true, that none of his teachers attended the funeral from his school.

I am curious why marshals shot your student. Was he or she involved in a crime? Would that be treated differently than another accidental death?

I do not have a link right now, but a teacher or administrator spoke at KJ's funeral service.

 

[iSleuth]

This “Prank Gone Wrong” theory is working its way up towards the top of my list. As an educator who’s practiced for 24 years in four different countries I can tell you that the following is gospel truth… KIDS ARE DUMB AS HELL, especially boys. Everyone can pile on me talking about how, “that’s an unfair generalization” but it’s true… and anyone else who’s worked in education can and should back me up. I can totally see how KJ could have enlisted the help of a classmate to “spot” him as he tried to retrieve his shoes. I can also see how that classmate could find it hysterical when KJ got stuck and then ran off to his next class thinking nothing more than how silly KJ would look when he was discovered stuck in a gym mat. Kind of like stuffing a kid in a locker. I don’t think a concept like positional asphyxia would ever cross the mind of a teenage boy.

Now let me shoot a hole in my own theory. The other thing I know to be gospel truth is that two kids can keep a secret for about 10 SECONDS. If there were two other kids involved BESIDES KJ, then at least one of them would have folded like a cheap suit under police questioning. That’s a fact. So I guess I’m no closer to an opinion.

I am tottering between an innocent prank gone wrong or some malevolent act of vengeance or hazing.

 

[Sherp]

I am also a former teacher. One of my prior students was shot by federal marshals and died in a local grocery store parking lot. In this area, when one of the students' dies, representatives from the school always attend the funeral (principal or vice-principal or dean). I'm surprised, if it is true, that none of his teachers attended the funeral from his school.

Two of his teachers attended the funeral and a substitute teacher among the 1000 people there. I don't see any requirement for teachers to attend a funeral. Evidence collected by 6 GBI investigators, 3 GBI technicians and local Sheriff's Office still points to a terrible accident, as does the GBI board certified Forensic Doctor's autopsy that was also peer reviewed.
The top of the Tier, Georgia Bureau of Investigation is A #1 and no sloppy work was done by this committed group of Law Enforcement who were called in immediately by local LE.
Sadly, this young man climbed his way into a mat that was surrounded by 20 other mats against a wall and no likely hood that he was stuffed into it by others. The mats were not disturbed and weighted about 130 lbs each - very difficult to move, let alone line up 20 of them in rows. There was no time for a prank, other students not shown with him nor a hazing incident.

 

[iSleuth]

I definitely do not think KJ was ever "stuffed into "or "fell into" a mat. My working theory has been this : I think a mat was out, where he was assaulted - if he had a punch to neck area as indicated by the second autopsy- maybe punched in face and the neck.
Then he collapsed and the perpetrators either freaked out or planned to - quickly roll him into that mat. Tipped it up on end - and that is where his injuries became positional asphyxia and death.

And I truly do not know about the other witnesses. kids will keep silent. the school is their shield. It has stated this. The school hasn't been that forth coming either. They are all stake holders. Definitely at least for issues of safety and supervision of the old gym.

As always just my own opinion.



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[Reader]

The dead boys’ friends and family say they were also slighted when virtually every member from the high school faculty, including his coaches, were absent at the funeral.

‘Only two teachers came to K.J.’s funeral,’ Rickey told MailOnline. ‘And a substitute teacher came.’

The three teachers joined a mass of mourners; some included Kendrick’s middle school football coaches and his middle school principals, while others traveled from rival high schools and drove long distances to pay their respects. Rickey said the abandonment hurt.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...urs-teens-mysterious-death.html#ixzz2mH3M25zI
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Does there have to be a requirement for a teacher to show respect for a student who died at your school, no matter the reason?

 

[Karmady]

The dead boys’ friends and family say they were also slighted when virtually every member from the high school faculty, including his coaches, were absent at the funeral.

‘Only two teachers came to K.J.’s funeral,’ Rickey told MailOnline. ‘And a substitute teacher came.’

The three teachers joined a mass of mourners; some included Kendrick’s middle school football coaches and his middle school principals, while others traveled from rival high schools and drove long distances to pay their respects. Rickey said the abandonment hurt.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...urs-teens-mysterious-death.html#ixzz2mH3M25zI
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Does there have to be a requirement for a teacher to show respect for a student who died at your school, no matter the reason?

yeah, I've seen this before (post 503) and a bunch of people responded. Here's what I said the first time. My opinion on it hasn't changed. Don't know how to bring the actual posts forward for new posters. Mine, below, was in response to Pearl.

Right. And besides, how is it telling in any relevant way? If teachers, etc. did not go, I'm sure they had their reasons. Maybe, considering the climate of the situation, they thought it was best to stay away to keep the focus of the funeral on Kendrick's memory rather than on strife in the community. jmo