Kendrick Johnson dies in rolled up cheerleading mat.

[fluffycat6]

I searched the forums for this case and nothing popped up, so I'm starting a thread. In January, a high school student in Valdosta Georgia disappeared during school and his body was found the next day upside down in a rolled up cheerleading mat in the school auditorium. The authorities have concluded that his death was "positional asphyxiation" caused when he fell into the rolled up mat, which wa vertical. His family, however, believes that he was murdered owing to the state of his body. His face was swollen beyond recognition and appeared to have been beaten. There is a picture if you Google "Kendrick Johnson." I was wondering if this could have been caused by his body hanging upside down until the next day. It only makes sense that all of the fluids in his body would drain into his head and face. Would this be sufficient to make his face appear to have been beaten?

Hopefully, there is not another thread on this subject - if there isn't it didn't come up in a search.

Google search page.

Any thoughts?

[tarsier]

I remember reading this story but not here it kind of struck me as the family was simply eager to sue the way they immediately jumped on this I'd have still been too shocked but they were already talking wrongful death. I was waiting for them to shout "bullying".

[cleanskull]

Maybe he likes sniffing girls feet and it went wrong on him.

[michihunt]

Could be someone that bullied him and wrapped him up to torture him.

[Jenivere2011]

On his "Tribute" page on Facebook, the profile pic is of him throwing gang signs. Practically everybody on there is using the "race card," even though it's not even proven if it was accidental, at this point. They even have a picture of him, side-by-side with poor Emmett Till. You know, some people just really fire me up. Why does everything have to be about race? (I know, Emmett's was, I was referring to this kid).

[ozzysmom]

Holy Hell!

[pkstracy]

It does look like there is some trauma to the face that looks like he may have gotten into a fight, the swelling and bloating can be from him hanging upside down and the fluid building up in his head and face, won't know for sure about a beating until the Medical Examiner finishes the autopsy and gives his findings.

[Miho]

A 15-minute video and nearly 700 photos taken by sheriff's investigators in Lowndes County documented the horrific scene. Johnson's body, clad in jeans and and layered orange and white T-shirts, was found wedged into a rolled-up wrestling mat in January. His face was bloated with pooled blood, some of which had poured out of his body, soaking his dreadlocks and spilling onto the floor.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/us/geo...html?hpt=hp_c2

[discod]

A 15-minute video and nearly 700 photos taken by sheriff's investigators in Lowndes County documented the horrific scene. Johnson's body, clad in jeans and and layered orange and white T-shirts, was found wedged into a rolled-up wrestling mat in January. His face was bloated with pooled blood, some of which had poured out of his body, soaking his dreadlocks and spilling onto the floor.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/us/geo...html?hpt=hp_c2

Ok I have to ask somebody to tell me how this happend...re create the whole thing....how can you fall into a mat..why wouldnt the mat fall over after he fell inside...was he hanging from somewhere to fall into the mat from above....I cant get my head around it

[Seagorath]

The photos are rough.

[McMorbid]

Some of these mats are very large and heavy when rolled up. A larger mat could easily remain standing. I have no idea how he could fall in unless he was climbing on them.

I will say though that he was one ugly mofo. Be warned if you look for the pics.

[Seagorath]

Was there a Nu-Grape at the bottom of the mat? (just kidding, just kidding)...

[Buttercup]

Ok I have to ask somebody to tell me how this happend...re create the whole thing....how can you fall into a mat..why wouldnt the mat fall over after he fell inside...was he hanging from somewhere to fall into the mat from above....I cant get my head around it

I'm not understanding it either. I'm also not understanding how they can say it's not a homicide. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the mat didn't beat the crap out of his face and I doubt he did it to himself. The only logical explanation is he was beaten and then rolled up in the mat. I really don't see any other conclusion. The police saying that he crawled into the mat to get his shoe (which was outside the mat) seems like a badly written comedy.

Yep, those pictures are pretty rough.

[McMorbid]

Was there a Nu-Grape at the bottom of the mat? (just kidding, just kidding)...

Evil. Pure evil.

[cleanskull]

Sounds like another case of a bungled crime scene. The more I look at all those pictures, well, it's hard to believe it was all accidental.

[Deathgoddess]

I just read about this case on CNN and they exhumed the body and found most of the organs missing and balled up newspaper inside of his body....WTH. The private autopsy revealed that he had blunt force trauma. Sounds like someone beat the hell out of him and shoddy investigative work made it into an accident.

[Little Chief]

This whole investigation sounds so shady. I feel so sorry for his family.

[Deathgoddess]

I know, I feel the same way. Those parents are obviously struggling but they are still fighting for their child. I don't know how people deal with this kind of tragedy and keep fighting for their loved one.

[Little Chief]

If those pictures of his face are legitimate, it's pretty obvious that there's trauma. How did the person conducting the first autopsy miss that? Do you have a link for that news article re; balled up newspaper?

[endsleigh03]

Can't believe they threw out the organs and replaced with newspapers. This whole thing is looking weird.

[Seagorath]

This is just sad. I take back my soda pop comment. http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/us/geo...gymmatdeath10a

[McMorbid]

See, I told you that shit was evil.

[pkstracy]

Sometimes the organs are kept to run tests on, they may not be returned to the body in time for the burial so wadded up newspaper is placed inside the cavity as a filler or depending on the state of decomp his body was in the organs may have already started to liquify, I would have to go back and read when the body was found.

[endsleigh03]

The ME's office is blaming the funeral home and the funeral home is blaming the ME's office regarding the missing organs.

[neilmpenny]

Weird. Sending a message maybe? The body could have been dumped where it would have been harder to find. Someone wanted it to be found obviously.

[sierrarose]

This is one sick story. I don't know how Kendrick's parents are holding on to their composure after finding out that at some point their son's body was filled up with newspapers and then re-buried. I would be running up and down the streets screaming at the notion. Where are his internal organs? Why didn't the original coroner notice the injury to his head? If there were other kids in the gym at the time Kendrick was there, why didn't the original investigation explain that? Did Kendrick have any feuds going on, was another student mad at him? Could somebody(ies) have placed his body in that rug with the intention of removing the rug but wasn't able to do it because they found the body beforehand? Even if this turns out to be some sort of accident, the family deserves the investigation to be re-opened.

[Miho]

Give me a O
Give me a R
Give me a G
Give me a A
Give me a N

What does that spell?

Yep..going to hell...

[Seagorath]

They didn't have security cameras on the Lowndes County HS campus...or in that gymnasium? Security?

[Dangitbawb]

I'm just curious... if he had been hung upside down, wouldn't there be ligature marks around his ankles?

[duster]

Being beaten to death would be a much less unpleasant way to die than falling into a space so tiny you couldn't move or breath, and then asphyxiating.

So maybe there's a silver lining here

[McMorbid]

I'm with you on this one Duster.

[Seagorath]

Video surveillance of Johnson entering the gym...

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/vi...-case.cnn.html

[pkstracy]

So hopefully they can identify those other students and question them.

[sierrarose]

Hey, it looks like a federal investigation will take place for Kendrick's death. I watched this news on JVM show. My positive feelings about this were somewhat dissipated when one of the experts on her show (I can't remember his name) poured cold water on the whole thing by saying the crime scene had been so contaminated by the original investigators that he doubted that there would even be a trial. I hope his parents press ahead anyway--every new piece of information points to this being a murder and a cover-up.

[BelleRain]

So glad to hear there will be a federal investigation. I hope the parents are able to get somewhere with this.

[Seagorath]

Law enforcement in Georgia is clever about covering things up. It's the worst police state by far...and the "good ole boy" politics are still in place in areas like Lowndes County.

[neilmpenny]

Being beaten to death would be a much less unpleasant way to die than falling into a space so tiny you couldn't move or breath, and then asphyxiating.

So maybe there's a silver lining here

Not to mention being upside down with the blood rushing to your head.

[Buttercup]

Hey, it looks like a federal investigation will take place for Kendrick's death. I watched this news on JVM show. My positive feelings about this were somewhat dissipated when one of the experts on her show (I can't remember his name) poured cold water on the whole thing by saying the crime scene had been so contaminated by the original investigators that he doubted that there would even be a trial. I hope his parents press ahead anyway--every new piece of information points to this being a murder and a cover-up.

Crime scene contamination is the least of the problems. The whole crime scene itself was torn down.

Curious about how well the local law enforcement will cooperate with the Feds in this case.

[McMorbid]

Law enforcement in Georgia is clever about covering things up. It's the worst police state by far...and the "good ole boy" politics are still in place in areas like Lowndes County.

I would have to argue that Mississippi is worse. Just the other day we had a couple shootings. Two guys fighting on school property. Neither are students. One shoots the other. An hour later a cousin of the shooter is found dead in his truck from a gunshot. The sheriff rules the shootings unrelated within minutes. I could go on for quite a while with stories like this. This is the same sheriff that appointed a convicted murderer over the local satellite prison. That's no shit either. The warden stabbed a 14 year old kid to death on a school bus and was sentenced and served time for it. He was a deputy in the same county within three years of his release. Now he's warden over the county half of the prison. It's used by the county and the state btw. As for good ole boy justice it's the opposite here. If you happen to be white then avoid most of Mississippi. If you're black then avoid the rest of Mississippi. If you're neither black nor white then you're just fucked. You better be related to someone or carrying some bribe money in this state.

[McCourt]

Hey, it looks like a federal investigation will take place for Kendrick's death. I watched this news on JVM show. My positive feelings about this were somewhat dissipated when one of the experts on her show (I can't remember his name) poured cold water on the whole thing by saying the crime scene had been so contaminated by the original investigators that he doubted that there would even be a trial. I hope his parents press ahead anyway--every new piece of information points to this being a murder and a cover-up.

You could have knocked me over with a fucking feather when I read that the original investigators were not going to pursue this investigation and find out who murdered this young man. It was so obvious that he was murdered. He deserves justice. My heart is just breaking for his family and friends.

[Deathgoddess]

I was just watching some of the footage on CNN and the video of him going into the gym is strange. The kids that follow him in there are up to NO good. You can tell by the way he walks up against the wall that he is trying to avoid them and stay far away from them and once they see him they are right on his heels. They show the footage at the end of the segment. Poor kid. I can't believe how mismanaged this was.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/vi...d-gym.cnn.html

[ichabodius]

That kid in the shorts is staring him down as he goes by. They are hot on his heels. And then the next camera shows him running into the gym. A few minutes later hes dead. Very suspicious.

[Seagorath]

Yeah...those boys know something. And their clothing, heights, etc. is obvious. The faculty should already have this group ID'd.

[Shejay]

Dude this stinks on ice... Just doesn't add up... That poor family!

[BelleRain]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDBrclshuS4

There are 2 reports from the ME. One where he states the scene was contaminated. The other one, and this one sheriffs are showing media, was never signed. The you tube link explains, I cant think properly right now..LOL But it sure is seeming like a huge cover up from the school and the sheriffs dept.

This whole thing screams murder, and I hope they can figure out what really happened to this young boy.

[Buttercup]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDBrclshuS4

There are 2 reports from the ME. One where he states the scene was contaminated. The other one, and this one sheriffs are showing media, was never signed. The you tube link explains, I cant think properly right now..LOL But it sure is seeming like a huge cover up from the school and the sheriffs dept.

This whole thing screams murder, and I hope they can figure out what really happened to this young boy.

The first time I heard about this case (which has only been recently), I saw the Sheriff warmly welcome CNN reporter Victor Blackwell to his office, then did a total 180 when Blackwell asked about Kendrick's investigation. The Sheriff abruptly threw Blackwell out of his office. I found the Sheriff's behavior simply bizarre considering how professional, mild mannered and non-confronting Blackwell was when asking the questions. The first thing I thought, why is the Sheriff so defensive about the case? He stated early on that it was a simple case of an accident, but refuses to explain how they came to this conclusion? And now, we have white washed coroner's report issued by the Sheriff, and a very damaging "real" ME report blasting law enforcement on many levels.

I wish the Feds good luck with this investigation. I have a feeling that the Sheriff and his buddies aren't going to cooperate in the slightest.

[Tiffany]

newspaper was stuffed where organs should have been?... that makes my stomach turn!

[Cat lady in training]

newspaper was stuffed where organs should have been?... that makes my stomach turn!

I would think that would have to have been the funeral home right? They were the last to have the body right?

[Cat lady in training]

I lived in Valdosta for about 10 years btw.

[NotThatGirl]

I would think that would have to have been the funeral home right? They were the last to have the body right?

Yes, that would likely be the responsibility of the funeral home. On autopsy patients, it's not uncommon for part of the body preparation for the viewing to involve stuffing the chest and abdominal cavity with filler material in order to keep it from looking collapsed inward under the clothing. But as I understand it's usually a plain sterile paper product and cotton wadding that is used for this purpose, not newspapers with print. That's likely what was found during the second autopsy and this report of "newspapers stuffed in him" is an exercise in hyperbole.