organs kendrick johnson tongue
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. When organs are missing, such as in cases involving organ donors, space inside the body cavity often is filled with an absorbent, preservative powder, Fountain said. Austin said Brian pulled Kendricks locs and held his head down, prompting the fight. [11] However, analysis of the camera systems by the Valdosta Daily Times purported to explain the anomalies, casting doubt on the theory of a cover-up. The only thing that wakes you up in the morning is to just keep pushing," said Jacquelyn Johnson. While Jacquelyn may have been kept from her son to secure the scene and possible evidence, Pollock told CrimeOnline that Lowndes High School was not placed on lockdown the morning the teens body was found on campus. The funeral home said that it received the body without organs which it replaced with paper or sawdust as is common practice while embalming. The private pathologist presented a four-page report of his findings Aug. 15 saying he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. organ, in music, a keyboard instrument, operated by the player's hands and feet, in which pressurized air produces notes through a series of pipes organized in scalelike rows. Kendricks parents had his body exhumed in June 2013 and June 2018 for further examination. When doctors are not sure how someone died, they tell us, Detective, find me something that can help me lead towards a direction. [17] A spokesperson for the Secretary of State said that the investigation found that the funeral home "didn't violate any rules. It is kept moist by the products of the major and minor salivary glands, which aids the organ as it facilitates deglutition, speech, and gustatory perception.While there is significant variability in the length of the tongue among individuals, on average, the organ is roughly 10 cm . Investigators claim that in the findings of the initial autopsy, Johnson's cause of death was ruled by accidental asphyxiation when he got stuck in the mat while trying to retrieve a shoe. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. A private pathologist was hired to carry out a second autopsy. But it's just not something that's within what I would consider acceptable standards.". Although it is one of the most complex of all musical instruments, the organ . The tongue's anatomy is complex; it involves interlacing muscles, nerves, and a blood supply. But it's just not something that's within what I would consider acceptable standards.". Pollock told CrimeOnline that the lungs of someone who asphyxiates are heavier because the lungs fill with fluid, causing death. In a letter to the Johnsons' attorney, Harrington Funeral Home owner Antonio Harrington denies he received Kendrick's organs. Meanwhile, Johnson's parents are preparing to file a lawsuit asking a judge to order a coroner's inquest in their son's death, said Chevene King, an attorney working with the family. U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded that he died from positional asphyxia, his body stuck in a position in which he couldn't breathe. [12], A subsequent investigation by the Georgia Secretary of State's office found that the funeral home did not follow "best practice" and that other material was "more acceptable than newspaper." He was located in the left corner of the gym, in a rolled-up mat that was lying against a wall. Johnson's family asked the Justice Department to get involved, arguing that authorities failed to investigate Johnson's death thoroughly because he's black. [12] The funeral home owner stated that it is standard practice to fill a void in this fashion, and that cotton or sawdust may also be employed for this purpose. In the documentary, Kendricks parents claimed Lowndes County police barred them from seeing his body for three days. [2][13], After the opinion of the private pathologist was released, Johnson's family stated that they believed Johnson had been murdered. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Kendricks father, Kenneth Johnson, worked as a truck driver and was on the road when the teen vanished and was found dead. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. I think it was just a look into it just to quiet down the family, quiet down some of the media, Credle told CrimeOnline. As Kendrick lay dead in the gym, the basketball and color guard teams held their night practices. Sheriff Chris Prine has said he suspected Johnson became trapped while trying to retrieve a shoe that fell into the center of the large rolled mat. Two entities had custody of Kendrick Johnson's body after his death - the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the first autopsy in January; and the Harrington Funeral Home in. They saw that report in 2014, they saw that photograph of the boys standing next to each other and they let the Bells go television and say they hadnt seen KJ, Pollock told CrimeOnline. While presenting the case to the public in October 2014, Lieutenant Stride Jones explained why they could not test every student. Johnsons parents finally believed that their sons death was not being taken seriously because of his race. Moore did not immediately return a phone message Thursday. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. [30] After the Justice Department's motion was denied, Johnson's parents dismissed their own wrongful death lawsuit, saying that they hoped to refile it after the conclusion of the federal investigation. Moore did not immediately return a phone message Thursday. In June, Kendrick's body was sent to Florida. Just after 24 hours of being found, the investigators ruled Johnsons death an accident. [31] They were subsequently sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees[32] and $1,000,000 in defamation damages. He also stated the funeral home never had Johnsons organs, saying they were discarded by the prosecutor before the body was sent back to Valdosta for burial. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. On May 8, 2013, a judge granted Kendrick Johnson's body be exhumed. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. During the film, Jacquelyn becomes so overwhelmed seeing the footage that she has to excuse herself, as Kenneth wipes tears from his eyes. Kendrick Johnsons casket was unearthed for a second time for a third autopsy. Well, a lot of people ask why didnt you test everyone at the school? Well, number one, we dont have a legal basis, number two, youre talking about testing 3,000 people, he said. U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in Macon has been monitoring the case but has yet to announce whether he'll take any further action. "This can happen to any of our kids," said Kenneth Johnson, the teenager's father. Kendricks body found in a gym mat, alongside a pair of shoes [Image: Millennial PR]Lowndes County police said they believed Kendrick crawled into the mat to retrieve his shoes, became stuck, and continued to burrow into the mat until he became completely trapped and died. UNDATED: Kendrick Johnson,17, was found dead inside his high school's gym. "They brought me in to make sure this is not able to be swept under the rug in small-town Georgia and they never get justice for their child.". "But I don't think raising all this Cain down here is going to bring closure to them. He was just in his socks. Kendricks father was shocked by his sons disfigured body. He said Johnson's organs were missing when the body arrived at Harrington. Found in a rolled-up gym mat, officials at Lowndes County High School in south Georgia concluded the athlete had been reaching for his sneaker when he fell headfirst into the mats. Credle also said that a new, thorough investigation would require Lowndes County police to contact everyone involved in the initial probe, and he has not heard from anyone. The crowd of city residents and out-of-town supporters, including several youth activists from #ItsBiggerThanYou, came to demand justice for Kendrick Johnson. It does appear, however, that their quest for answers has only led to more questions. Who would want Kendrick dead? [14] The governor's office released a statement indicating that they would await the report of the U.S. SAVANNAH, Ga. The parents of a Georgia teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat at school said Thursday that they have a new reason to suspect signs of foul play were covered by investigators -- their son was buried without his internal organs. Kendrick missed his fourth-period class and did not come home from school, prompting his family to file a missing persons report that night. In comparison, the mat he was found in is 6 feet long and the opening was 14 inches. "[26] After Moore resigned in 2015,[27] the case was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio under U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach. In November 2013, 290 hours of surveillance tape from 35 cameras that covered the gym area were released to CNN following a court request. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia. Just after 1pm, he entered the gym, never to come out alive. 1. The parents asserted that the sons of the FBI agent killed Johnson and used their connections to cover up the investigation. Johnsons father, however, admitted that he had no hard evidence to back up any of these claims and the Johnsons had to drop the suit. The mat was positioned upright. / CBS News. The lawsuit further alleged that another student, Brian Bell, "had a history of provoking and attacking" Johnson at school, stating that the provocations took place "in the presence of the coaching staff and employees" after his mother complained about previous attacks. Georgia Judge Richard Porter ordered the Johnsons and their attorney to pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the defendants, accusing them of fabricating evidence to support their claims. "Is newspaper necessarily more indicting that sawdust or cotton?" Indeed, in 2013, racism in Valdosta, Georgia, was still very much alive. "I feel outraged about them stuffing my son's body with newspaper," Jaquelyn Johnson said. They believed that the Sheriffs Department wastoo quick to rule out foul play as a cause for Johnsons death, considering that within 24 hours of finding Kendrick Johnsons body, they concluded that it was an accident. The family of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson complained after the high school student's corpse was exhumed in June 2013 and investigators discovered newsprint in place of several vital organs . As a result of this new evidence, Matthew Moore, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced a formal review of the case. The photo, in which Kendrick Johnsons face is extremely swollen, almost does not look human. But Johnson's family believes he was killed and has been pressuring authorities into taking a second look at the case. Thats another red flag.. "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone who told me they've used old newspapers," Fountain said. Kendrick Johnson lived with his family in Valdosta, Georgia and attended Lowndes High School. But Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson said many of Johnson's organs were deemed too badly decomposed to be preserved and had to be disposed of before the body was sent to the funeral home. On January 11, 2013, the body of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found in the most unusual of circumstances: upside-down and rolled up in a school gym mat. Anderson's report said he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. October 11, 2013 / 11:31 AM But the Justice Department found insufficient evidence to support an investigation. Meanwhile, Pollock, who called for a federal probe, said he does not believe justice will find Kendricks case in Georgia. Regardless, the organs were lost and could not be tested during the second autopsy, which further aroused suspicions in Johnsons parents that this was a cover-up. After autopsies, those organs are typically sealed in a plastic bag and placed back in the body, said Vernie Fountain, who runs an embalming school in Springfield, Mo. It alleged that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson had been repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student. When authorities ruled Kendrick's death accidental, theorizing he had fallen into the opening at the center of the mat and suffocated, the Johnsons conducted an independent autopsy of their own,. In the face of this racist mob violence, some 500 . Both Credle and Pollock said they are not hopeful it will provide any solace to Kendricks family. "It would've been during or immediately after the autopsy," he said. The family was given photos of the scene and Kendricks body. Kendrick Johnson's Family's Quest For Answers Moves To Georgia Capitol", "National Civil Rights Attorney No Longer Involved In Kendrick Johnson Case | Valdosta Today", "Kendrick Johnson family holds rally after filing complaint about missing organs", "Parents of Georgia teen found dead in gym mat sue funeral home", "No Wrongdoing Detected in Kendrick Johnson Funeral Home Probe", "Kendrick Johnson footage released; expert finds it 'highly suspicious', "Rose, Touchton believe no coverup in Johnson case", "Georgia school officials sued in Kendrick Johnson's gym death", "Local, federal investigations into gym mat death continue", "FBI agent, wife file $5 million defamation suit against Ebony.com and crime writer for KJ stories", "Parents File $100 Million Suit in Gym-Mat Death of Georgia Teen Kendrick Johnson", "Second U.S. Attorney in charge of KJ case resigns", "Kendrick Johnson probe: Attorney exits mark shift", "KJ Family Drops $100 Million Wrongful Death Suit | Valdosta Today", "US Justice Department: No criminal charges in gym mat death", "Judge: Parents owe $292,000 for suit in son's gym mat death", "Investigation into death of Georgia teen found in a rolled-up gym mat 8 years ago will be reopened", "Georgia sheriff vows to personally, thoroughly investigate re-opened case of teen found dead in gym mat", "Sheriff reopens Kendrick Johnson case in Valdosta", "A second local investigation into the death of a Georgia teen found in a rolled-up gym mat has closed with no charges filed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_of_Kendrick_Johnson&oldid=1143606101. Kendrick Johnson 's body was found in a wrestling mat Jan. 11, 2013, in the Lowndes High School gym in Valdosta, Georgia. Why The Accidental Death Of Kendrick Johnson Remains Suspicious To This Day. "[35][36], On March 10, 2021, the case was officially reopened. Indeed, when the mat was first unrolled, Johnson did have one arm stretched above his head and the other down around his waist as though struggling for his shoe. Finally, in March 2021, authorities reopened their investigation into Kendrick Johnsons death. "It's unbearable, just about. Nonetheless, the investigation cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing. "[11] Johnson's family questioned this hypothesis. Kendricks mother, Jacquelyn Johnson, told filmmakers that she was on campus when her son was found, and police would not let her or Kendricks aunt see his body. "When we got the body for the second autopsy, the organs - the heart, lungs, liver etc. "But I don't think raising all this Cain down here is going to bring closure to them. [11] An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Johnson had died from positional asphyxia,[12] and the case was ruled an accidental death by the Lowndes County investigators. Kendrick reportedly walked away from Rick, who has denied this encounter ever transpired. The family, together with the NAACP and other civil rights activists, then held a rally at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. The town of Valdosta, Ga., witnessed, on Jan. 10, the kind of militant protest march that characterizes the "Black Lives Matter" movement across the country. Kendrick Johnsons parents hoped that with the results of this third autopsy, the surveillance footage which they were convinced had been tampered with, and the mishandling of evidence at the scene, would be enough to reopen their sons case. They were all absent.". As far as the feds were concerned, the case was officially and finally closed. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in South Georgia. His sneakers were shoved behind his knees. The request, however, was denied, even though the coroner Bill Watson had originally expressed a lack of confidence in the Sheriff Departments handling of the case. Ive never seen a doctor rule on a theory without being able to present facts to me, Credle told CrimeOnline, claiming the medical examiner kicked him out of her office when he questioned her about her findings. In that autopsy, Anderson told the Johnsons he'd found evidence that Kendrick died as the result of a blow to the neck, and not accidental asphyxia after slipping into a rolled gym mat at school as investigators in Georgia had said. Despite this, the, Department of Justice closed the investigation. Its up to us to move the needle for KJ, because they are never going to do it down there.. [11] A student at the school said that he shared a pair of Adidas shoes with Johnson, and that after gym class Johnson would always "go to the mats, jump up and toss the shoes inside the middle of the hole. What made me think that everything was a cover-upwas that first meeting with the medical examiner, Mitch Credle said. That's what happened in Johnson's case, she said. A hoodie and a pair of orange and black gym shoes were also found lying on the floor of the gym, as well as traces of blood on the wall nearby. [11] Some of the apparent lapses in coverage were found to result from camera systems that were not synchronized with one another. [Featured image: Nikkolas Smith/Millennial PR], North Carolina Cop, Wife Found Shot Dead in Fayetteville Home, We Have Zero Leads: $80,000 Reward Offered for Information Leading to Man Who Gunned Down Texas Family, Missing: 18-Year-Old Mom Takes Toddler Son From Dads During Supervised Visit. He said Kendrick Johnson's brain, heart and tongue were among the missing organs. Johnson's organs appeared to be missing from his body, according to an autopsy. In place of the organs were crumpled pieces of newspaper. But investigators quickly closed their case on the theory that Johnson had simply fallen into the mat while reaching for one of his sneakers. The films producer, Jason Pollock, told CrimeOnline that he spent six years examining Kendricks case; an independent investigation he said authorities did not know about. Two entities had custody of Kendrick Johnson's body after his death -- the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the first autopsy in January; and the Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, which handled the teen's embalming and burial. I don't know. [5], Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against 38 individuals, stating that his death was a murder and that the respondents were participants in a conspiracy to cover up the homicide, which they claimed involved two sons of an FBI agent. Kendrick was found dead in the gymnasium at 10:30 a.m. on January 11, roughly 10 hours after his family reported him missing. On May 8, 2013, a judge granted Kendrick Johnsons body be exhumed. On June 20, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that it would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death. Kendrick Johnson, was a 17-year-old high school sophomore, found dead, inside of a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School gymnasium on January 11, 2013. "I'm terribly sorry for the family," Watson said. Kendrick Johnson video analysis: part 1 The family didn't even know the late teen's brain, heart, lungs, liver and other viscera were missing until the middle of last year, when an autopsy. The clothing he was wearing when he was found also was missing. More migrants expected Monday as Lightfoot pleads with Texas governor, EXCLUSIVE: Mayor Lightfoot opens up about election defeat, Crews to begin removing tree older than Chicago at Lincoln Park Zoo, JPMorgan Chase to take over most assets of First Republic Bank, At least 27 shot, 5 fatally, in Chicago weekend shootings: police, Toddler dies after being shot inside Chicago home last week: officials, Teen boy shot to death on South Side ID'd: officials, NFL player's 2-year-old daughter drowns in swimming pool, Authorities continue search for Texas man suspected of killing 5, NW Side restaurant burglarized 4 times in 5 weeks, owners say: VIDEO, Chicago family escapes Sudan as deadly fighting rages on, Paying more despite good credit? [12], The independent autopsy found that some time after Johnson's body was recovered from the mat and had passed through a funeral home, it had been stuffed with newspapers. The public was horrified by the photo and began to rally around the Johnsons in their quest for the truth. He was stuck upside down in the middle of a wrestling mat that had been rolled up and propped upright behind bleachers. The Georgia secretary of state's office, which regulates funeral homes in the states, is investigating how Johnson's body was handled, spokesman Jared Thomas said. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia, and Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident - falling headfirst into an upright mat and becoming trapped. Then without parent consent, a surgeon at the hospital harvested her organs . CrimeOnline has chosen not to publish the most graphic of those images. [26] Jim Elliott, the Lowndes County Attorney, stated that the allegations were "unfounded" and "baseless" and that any response would be made in court. The cameras which faced the mats were unfocussed and skipped around. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded that he died from positional asphyxia, his body stuck in a position in which he couldn't breathe. Why would the funeral home discard his organs and replace them with newspaper? The three teens were classmates. [21] The area where Johnson's body was discovered, where the gym mats were stored, was outside the range of all of the surveillance cameras. The second time, he was being pulled out of it. [7][8][9][10], On January 11, 2013, the body of Kendrick Johnson was discovered in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, found headfirst in the center of a vertical rolled-up wrestling mat. Its been eight long years, said Kendrick Johnsons mother, Jacquelyn. [39] In January 2022, the second investigation was closed with no charges filed. "[23], In August 2014, a $5 million lawsuit against Ebony magazine was filed, after the magazine published a series of articles naming two students as possible suspects in Johnson's death. "[34] On August 10, 2017, Georgia Judge Richard Porter ruled that Johnson's family and their attorney had to pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the dozens of respondents in their civil suit, writing "testimony shows that they had no evidence to support their claims that the [brothers] killed Johnson or that any of the other defendants engaged in a conspiracy to conceal the cause or manner of Johnson's death. [22], Johnson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lowndes County Board of Education, its superintendent and the principal of Lowndes High School. He was stuck upside down in the middle of a wrestling mat that had been rolled up and propped upright behind bleachers. A spokeswoman for the state told CNN after its autopsy, "the organs were placed in Johnson's body, the body was closed, then the body was released to the funeral home." Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who helped focus national attention on the 2012 shooting death of Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, said the discovery raises questions about why Johnson's organs went missing and couldn't be examined in the follow-up autopsy the family requested. It wasnt like I did anything nefarious to find it. Johnson was a three-sport . Attorney. Furthermore, Johnsons parents argued, if this was an accident, how could no one have heard Kendrick call for help in a high school of over 3,000 students? Eight years after the body of Kendrick Johnson was found in a rolled-up gym mat at a high school in Georgia, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office has announced it is reopening the case after . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The three teens were classmates. On January 11, 2013, the body of Kendrick Johnson (October 10, 1995 January 10, 2013) was discovered inside a vertical rolled-up mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, United States, where he was a student. Johnsons shoulders measured 19 across and he was five feet, ten inches tall. Kendricks photos drew wide comparisons to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy from Chicago who was murdered in 1955 in Money, Mississippi, after a 21-year-old white woman named Carolyn Bryant accused him of making ugly remarks and whistling at her. Johnson's family said Anderson also revealed that most of his internal organs were missing and the body cavity was filled with newspaper. The Johnsons were also sure that their sons body had been moved, which was corroborated by Lowndes County Coroner, Bill Watson. [5] Crump's application to practice law in Georgia representing Johnson's parents was not ruled on, and he withdrew from representing the family and is no longer participating in the case. Furthermore, a whole hour of footage from the gym was missing, right at the time which would have shed light on what happened that day. But Johnson's family believes he was killed and has been pressuring authorities into taking a second look at the case. Investigators did not take the hoodie and orange and black gym shoes into evidence. The term organ encompasses reed organs and electronic organs but, unless otherwise specified, is usually understood to refer to pipe organs. Every organ from the pelvis to the skull was gone." cnn.com Gym mat death shocker: Body stuffed with newspaper | CNN Kendrick Johnson's family was not able to perform a legitimate autopsy until June 2013. This time, the autopsy revealed that Kendrick Johnson had suffered hemorrhaging on the right side of his neck, which meant that he likely died from blunt force trauma. His family and friends described him as a sweet and quiet boy. "We have an excellent team of medical examiners, and we stand by them 100 percent," Lang said. In 2015, the Johnsons filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against 38 people, including three of their sons classmates, the school, the local crime lab, state and federal officials, five agents of the GBI, an FBI agent, and more.
