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Teen Dies At School After Getting Stuck Upside Down In Rolled Up Wrestling Mat

Killroy

Killroy

The D'D Front Page
LOWNDES COUNTY, GA – An autopsy report reveals that the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson, the teen*found dead inside a wrestling mat inside his high school’s gymnasium, was accidental.
Last Thursday, the family of Kendrick Johnson*called police to report their son had not returned home from Lowndes High School*and they were unable to locate him. The following morning, Johnson’s*body was found in his high school’s gymnasium, stuffed upside down inside an upright, rolled up wrestling mat.
Initially, Johnson’s death was being treated as a homicide, but the autopsy report showed Johnson*had not been in a struggle and had died inside the mat. What actually happened was far less sinister than murder, but just as horrific.
For unknown reasons, Johnson*had climbed up on top of some rolled up wrestling mats and then fell inside the center of one. The teen went in head first and found himself stuck upside down and unable to move.
They don’t know for sure, but investigators believe Johnson*was trying to retrieve a shoe. “We feel like he was trying to reach a shoe that was down that hole,”*Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine said, “but no one knows (why he reached into the mat) but him and the good Lord.”
Most people who die after getting themselves lodged upside down, die from suffocation.…

This article was written by Morbid for The Dreamin Demon - the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.


"Read the full Front Page article..."
 
The family of a Lowndes High School student who died at school tonight is demanding a federal investigation.

Today, investigators officially ruled 17-year old Kendrick Johnson's death an accident.

That announcement came just an hour before friends, family and civil rights activists marched outside Lowndes High School demanding justice.

The family believes Johnson was murdered. His body was found inside a rolled-up cheerleading mat in the old Lowndes High School gym January 11th. Investigators believe he was in the gym alone, reached into the mat to get something he dropped, and got stuck. Today's final autopsy report ruled the death an accident as a result of positional asphyxia.

"I'm frustrated that my nephew was supposedly found in a mat, when that doesn't make sense," said Johnson's Aunt, Stacy Roe.

Civil Rights activists with Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network and The United Justice League led the rally, calling for a federal investigation.

"We want an independent investigation, lets just say by an agency with higher credentials than Lowndes County. There's been a number of what we feel are inconsistencies, are mishandlings, and for that very reason is why we want another set of eyes," said Atlanta's National Action Network Chapter President, Marcus Coleman.

The family says they expected the autopsy report would rule the death as an accident. And they plan to keep rallying until federal investigators step in.

"When you have the body that's been moved, when you have the Coroner's Office being notified hours later, when you have the misplacement of his clothing, which could be a direct indicator of any evidence needed to move forward," said Coleman.

Lowndes County Sheriff's officials say the statements of his body being moved and his clothes being misplaced are untrue. But Coroner Bill Waston has voiced his anger that he wasn't notified until hours after Johnson's body was discovered. The Sheriff's office says the investigation still remains open.
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http://www.14news.com/story/22142655/lowndes-officials-announce-kendrick-johnson-autopsy-results
 
Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson, who was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat at his high school in January, died as the result of "unexplained, apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma," according to a newly released, independent autopsy report.
The report, obtained exclusively Tuesday
[...]
directly contradicts the finding of an autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that determined that Johnson's death was the result of positional asphyxia. The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office determined that his death was accidental.
[...]
Inconsistencies in official reports on the condition of Kendrick's body have led the family and community to question the official cause of his death.
The family's attorney, Chevene King, has sent the independent autopsy report to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the U.S . Attorney for Georgia's Middle District and Lowndes County Coroner for review.
The coroner can call a coroner's inquest, a process that resembles a grand jury proceeding. After reviewing evidence and testimony, a jury would decide the cause of death, although the findings alone would have no civil or criminal consequences.
"Coroner's inquests are not something you do every day. I cannot tell you the last time a coroner's inquest was done in this office," Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson said.
"I want to do the right thing by the people and the county and all concerned; I'm just not sure we have enough information. I'm not about to refute anybody's findings because I'm not a doctor," said Watson.
On May 1, a judge granted the Johnsons' request to exhume their son's body for the purposes of a conducting an independent autopsy at their expense.
That autopsy, conducted June 15, found blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues, "consistent with inflicted injury." It was conducted by Dr. William R. Anderson with Forensic Dimensions in Heathrow, Florida.
"This is unexplained -- most very, very likely inflicted, as opposed to something he caused himself, inflicted by another -- and therefore needs to be investigated as an open homicide investigation," Anderson said.
"I've never had a case that I can recall where the prosecution actually was told that this may well be a homicide -- the prosecution being the state, the police and so forth -- and then they didn't bother prosecuting. It's mystifying," he added.
Anderson's finding supports the narrative of the initial patient care report, written by EMTs with the South Georgia Medical Center Mobile Healthcare Service on January 11, the day Johnson's body was discovered. That report said, "bruising noted to the right side jaw."
[...]
The autopsy results released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation May 2 identified "no significant injuries."
A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the agency stands by its report after reviewing the findings of the independent autopsy.
U.S. Attorney Michael Moore is reviewing the case but has not launched a formal investigation.
"We've been working on this for some time," he said. "I'm sure at the appropriate time, I'll speak with his pathologist."
"There are some members of the community that question the result," Moore continued. "I want to make sure members of the community and the family and everyone involved has confidence in my work and my decision."
The spokesperson for Civil Rights Division has not yet responded to questions about the new report.
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http://us.cnn.com/2013/09/03/us/georgia-teen-death-autopsy/?iref=obnetwork
 
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For the local sheriff's department, the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson is a closed book: A tragedy, but an accident.

State medical examiners concluded that Johnson suffocated in January after getting stuck in a rolled-up gym mat while reaching for a sneaker. That's a finding his family has never accepted, and one challenged by the findings of a second autopsy they commissioned.

Now, death scene imagery obtained exclusively by CNN has led a former FBI agent to question how the three-sport athlete died.

"I don't believe this was an accident. I think this young man met with foul play," said Harold Copus, now an Atlanta private investigator.

And Johnson's father, Kenneth Johnson, said he believes authorities aren't leveling with his family.

"They know something happened in that gym, and they don't want it to come out," he said.

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.

There were more streaks of blood on a nearby wall -- but it wasn't Johnson's, according to investigators. Meanwhile, Copus said there appeared to be no blood on a sneaker that the teen supposedly was attempting to reach, located inches beneath him.

A pair of orange-and-black gym shoes found a few yards from the body had a substance that looked like blood on them, but investigators told CNN the stains weren't blood -- and so the shoes weren't collected as potential evidence. The same went for a hooded sweatshirt found a few feet away from the teen.

Copus said he can't explain how investigators handled items found around the gym.

"If you're running a crime scene, then you're going to say 'That's potential evidence. Obviously, we're going to check this out and find out who does it belong to,' " he said.

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine refused to discuss the case with CNN, saying, "Our case is closed." But in June, an independent pathologist who conducted a second autopsy for the Johnson family found the teen suffered a blow to the right side of his neck that was "consistent with inflicted injury."
[...]

In September, the Justice Department said it wouldn't open a civil rights investigation into Johnson's death. But federal prosecutors in south Georgia are reviewing the imagery to determine whether a separate investigation is necessary, the U.S. attorney's office in Macon told CNN.

For Johnson's father, the evidence is clear.

"Someone murdered him," he said. "They should be in jail."
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http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/us/georgia-gym-mat-death/

R.I.P Kendrick Johnson on FB: https://www.facebook.com/RipKendrickJohnson
 
From what I've seen all the top famous pathologist seem to find evidence that indicates, whatever, whoever is paying them wants it to indicate
That's why you have one hired by the DA saying guilty and one hired by the defense saying innocent
The famous ones just happen to relate better to juries,the better they relate the more they're worth and the cost go up, up & up
 
so tell me how you get stuck rolled up in a mat grabbing a running shoe??
are they fucking spring loaded and snap up>??
That just doesn't even make sense if the shoe was inside why wouldn't he unroll it and grab it rather then climb in and not fit???
then keep going enough to get stuck?
 
Whisper said:
so tell me how you get stuck rolled up in a mat grabbing a running shoe??
are they fucking spring loaded and snap up>??
That just doesn't even make sense if the shoe was inside why wouldn't he unroll it and grab it rather then climb in and not fit???
then keep going enough to get stuck?
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Mats rolled up against the wall, shoe got thrown in the air and went in the mat, he climbed on top of the mats reached down as far as he could and fell in
Mats are long and very heavy one person can not handle them alone, usually takes for or five people to roll them up carry and stack them
just a thought, who really knows
 
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I was thinking rolled up laying down I just couldnt see it happening
and by the looks of his face he fell pretty hard into concrete a couple times
 
Whisper said:
I was thinking rolled up laying down I just couldnt see it happening
and by the looks of his face he fell pretty hard into concrete a couple times
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That's because the blood pooled in his head. Gravity would make all body fluids seek the lowest level. And decomposition starts right away and he wasn't discovered for a while.
 
Dakota said:
That's because the blood pooled in his head. Gravity would make all body fluids seek the lowest level. And decomposition starts right away and he wasn't discovered for a while.
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yeah I knew that part he just really looks bad
I know when I was 12 we found a man that fallen in and drowned 6 weeks earlier
and from the cold water he was bloated but otherwise grey instead of black but not much decomp
 
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http://ourweekly.com/news/2013/sep/...ck-johnsons-death-was-not-accid/#.UlXHJEpraAg

The story above includes a photo of him in they gym on the day he died. In the background you can see the rolled up mats - they are laying down though, not standing up as the original story states. I'm guessing they were stood up later in the day.

They look to be long mats and appear to be longer than Kendrick is tall? Perhaps?

Not too sure what to make of this story.
 
The death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was awful enough for his parents. Then came the doubts about investigators' conclusion that it was an accident.

But the discovery that their son's body and skull had been stuffed with newspaper before burial added a horrific new dimension to their anguish and further fueled their skepticism of the official findings.

"We have been let down again," his father, Kenneth Johnson, told CNN. "When we buried Kendrick, we thought we were burying Kendrick, not half of Kendrick."
[...]

During an autopsy, internal organs are removed and examined before being returned for burial. But when Dr. Bill Anderson, the private pathologist who conducted the second autopsy, opened up the teen's remains, the brain, heart, lungs, liver and other viscera were missing. Every organ from the pelvis to the skull was gone.

"I'm not sure at this point who did not return the organs to the body," Anderson said. "But I know when we got the body, the organs were not there."

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.

GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang told CNN that after the autopsy, "the organs were placed in Johnson's body, the body was closed, then the body was released to the funeral home." That's normal practice, Lang said.

The funeral home would not comment to CNN. But in a letter to the Johnsons' attorney, funeral home owner Antonio Harrington said his firm never received the teen's organs. Harrington wrote that the organs "were destroyed through natural process" due to the position of Kendrick Johnson's body when he died, and "discarded by the prosecutor before the body was sent back to Valdosta."

Stuffing a body with old newsprint and department-store circulars -- "like he was a garbage can," as Jacquelyn Johnson put it -- isn't exactly standard practice in forensic pathology or the mortician's trade. Vernie Fountain, the founder of a Missouri embalming school, called it "not consistent with the standards of care" in the industry. And Dr. Gregory Schmunk, the president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told CNN, "I have never heard of this practice."

Organs are typically placed in plastic bag, which is then put back into the body cavity after an autopsy, Schmunk told CNN in an e-mail. While individual organs may be kept back for further testing, he wrote, "This would not amount to all of the organs in any circumstance that I can imagine."

Funeral homes are licensed by the Georgia Secretary of State's office, which has opened an investigation into how Johnson's body was treated, said Jared Thomas, a spokesman for the agency.
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http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/23651952/gym-mat-death-shocker-body-stuffed-with-newspaper
 
Dam, this is all fked up! First the cops are douchebags when it comes to trying to solve this THEN they steal his organs?! it does look like a set up to me! I would be FURIOUS if that was my child!
 
It is very common to place paper towels in the body cavity and head cavity. I never did newspapers, but I guess it could still do the job. The purpose was to help soak up any left over fluids so it wouldn't drip/drain in the body bag.

Also, the only time I ever returned organs to the body was with Orthodox Jews. Everyone else became a "man in a pan" that sat on a shelf until the pathology report became finalized. Once the path report was final the pan was emptied into a biohazard container with all the other man in a pans and surgical specimens. The reason the organs sat in the pan was to make sure there was no abnormal pathology found on micro slides. If there was any abnormal pathology found, we would return to the pan to obtain more sections of the organ(s).

The second pathologist knew there wouldn't be any organs. He is only releasing this information to get the public in an uproar. Public prosecution. Remember, the second pathologist is being paid by the family.

I've discussed this case into the ground on another forum and just don't have the energy to spend anymore time typing everything out. If people are interested, I am more than willing to copy and paste my posts from the other forum here.

I do not see a conspiracy or cover up. I do see some blunders from the crime scene, but I don't see any foul play.

Also, just like I have mentioned on the other forum; why isn't the family looking for the "murderer?" I have yet to see them mention how they are outraged that there is a murderer at the school, in their neighborhood, or how frightened they are. This is suspicious to me. This family sees dollar signs.

Also, when this incident happened, the family was screaming it was a hate crime. They were comparing their son to Trayvon Martin. Where has that steam gone?
 
TeeJay said:
It is very common to place paper towels in the body cavity and head cavity. I never did newspapers, but I guess it could still do the job. The purpose was to help soak up any left over fluids so it wouldn't drip/drain in the body bag.

Also, the only time I ever returned organs to the body was with Orthodox Jews. Everyone else became a "man in a pan" that sat on a shelf until the pathology report became finalized. Once the path report was final the pan was emptied into a biohazard container with all the other man in a pans and surgical specimens. The reason the organs sat in the pan was to make sure there was no abnormal pathology found on micro slides. If there was any abnormal pathology found, we would return to the pan to obtain more sections of the organ(s).

The second pathologist knew there wouldn't be any organs. He is only releasing this information to get the public in an uproar. Public prosecution. Remember, the second pathologist is being paid by the family.
Thanks TeeJay for clarifying.
Now, I have a questions. When people opt out to donating their organs the organs are still immediatly disposed of??
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Click to expand...
 
Deedee D said:
Thanks TeeJay for clarifying.
Now, I have a questions. When people opt out to donating their organs the organs are still immediatly disposed of??
Click to expand...

When people opt out of organ donation and an autopsy is performed the same things happen. Their organs go into the pan until the final path report and then disposed of.

The brain takes a while longer. It is hung in a bucket and fermented. It's much easier to "loaf" when it's fermented.

Loafing

2n1dwth.jpg
 
TeeJay said:
When people opt out of organ donation and an autopsy is performed the same things happen. Their organs go into the pan until the final path report and then disposed of.

The brain takes a while longer. It is hung in a bucket and fermented. It's much easier to "loaf" when it's fermented.

Loafing

2n1dwth.jpg
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hmmm... might as well donate then huh!!!? and thanks for the pic *not really* :( lol
 
Both stories make sense from a medical stand point. I just hope the truth is discovered and this poor kids soul gets rest and his family gets piece of mind. I won't be surprised either way. Tragic. I've seen this story before.
 
Feds open probe into death of Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson found in rolled-up gym mat
The announcement comes after new video was released showing Johnson, 17, prior to his death. He is seen walking in the hall and later crossing the gym at Lowndes High School on Jan. 10. The next day he was found inside a wrestling mat, although local investigators say his death was accidental.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...n-prior-found-rolled-up-mat-article-1.1502537
 
There's no fucking way, he climbed and fell into the mat, that's a ridiculous notion ..
Someone beat the kid, stuffed him in a mat and left him to die ..
 
I don't why but I just don't think that boy got stuck down in that mat all by himself. But I'm not at all sure in my mind how it did happen. Whether someone threw his shoes up inside the mat and then left him when he got stuck trying to get them out or they killed him some sort of way and rolled him up in there and stood the mat up. That last one would require more than one, probably at least 3-4 students, to do it. But I just don't feel like he did it by himself, it's just a hinky feeling.
 
Whisper said:
on the video they show his dad attempting to fit into rolled up matts
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Not just that but, why wouldn't the kid just tip the mat, retrieve his shoe and carry on ..
Why climb in upside down?
AND how did the shoes end up by his feet again?
It doesn't make any sense ..
 
Oh the shoes were by his feet? Then him climbing up and reaching inside to get his shoes doesn't makes sense then, cause the shoes would then be by his hands, arms or head definitely NOT by his FEET! Okay then It gets hinkier!
 
@TeeJay is right; paper towels, newspaper, sawdust, and even kitty litter-like products are sometimes used to absorb fluid and fill out an empty cavity. The point of embalming is to make the body presentable for the brief period before burial. Families usually don't take too kindly to any particularly unpleasant sights or smells, like a collapsed chest and abdominal cavity or the scent of the putrefying organ mush that tries to seep out, so we make sure that the chest is stuffed with something to fill it out and that the gooey innards are removed and the cavity disinfected.

Would this family have preferred packing peanuts? It's not like they were stuffing him with used toilet paper or blown-up condoms. The history of stuffing bodies to give the deceased a better appearance in their coffin goes back millennia; one Egyptian pharaoh's mummy was discovered in which the embalmers had used pearl onions to fill the eye sockets.

This is really just twisting facts to spark more outrage over something that is not at all outrageous. Several hours in a head-down position after suffocating on a hot Georgia day in an unairconditioned gym will cause distortion of the facial features and discolouration like you see in the photos that the family claims are evidence of a beating.
 
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