Death of Kendrick Johnson
Johnson, circa 2012
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| Date | January 11, 2013 |
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| Location | Gymnasium, Lowndes High School, Valdosta, Georgia, USA |
| Cause | Contested. 1st autopsy: accidental, positional asphyxia. 2nd autopsy: blunt force trauma. |
| Inquiries | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Litigation | Wrongful death, Kendrick Johnson's family vs. Lowndes County Board of Education and school officials. Conspiracy to cover up murder, Kendrick Johnson's family vs. 38 respondents. |
On January 11, 2013, Kendrick Johnson's body was discovered inside a rolled up wrestling mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, where he was a student.[1][2][3] A preliminary investigation and autopsy concluded that the death was accidental. Johnson's family had a private pathologist conduct a second autopsy which concluded that Johnson died from blunt force trauma. On October 31, 2013, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death.[4] The Department of Justice investigation was closed in November 2015 after two Department of Justice motions[5][6] to intervene were denied.[7] The Department of Justice stated they would not be able to proceed with their case if Jackie and Kenneth Johnson were forced to sit for depositions.[The depositions of Jackie and Kenneth Johnson went ahead despite the DOJ objections.[8] Kendrick Johnson's parents are currently being sued for $850,000 in attorney fees [9] and $1 million in defamation damages.[10]
Contents
Death
Initial investigation
Johnson was found headfirst in the center of a rolled up wrestling mat, in his high school gym, on January 11, 2013. His body was discovered by students who had climbed up to the top of a cluster of mats, each of which stood nearly six feet tall and three feet wide.[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 Sheriff's Office.[1] The Department of Justice has concluded that there is no basis for a civil rights investigation and are continuing their criminal investigation into his death.[13]
They hypothesized that Johnson had fallen into the mat while looking for a shoe and died after being unable to get out.[12] Three students told investigators that it was common for some students to store their shoes behind or under the rolled up mats. Johnson was not wearing shoes when he was found.[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."[11]
Lt. Stryde Jones, who headed up the investigation for the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office stated: "We never had credible information that indicated this was anything other than an accident."[11] Johnson's family has questioned this hypothesis. An independent autopsy conducted by a private pathologist in the service of Johnson's parents came to a different conclusion, finding that his death was caused by blunt force trauma.[1]
Subsequent events and legal actions
After the opinion of the private pathologist was released, Johnson's family stated that they believed Johnson had been murdered.[12] The family retained the services of attorney Benjamin Crump.[14] On October 31, 2013, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that the office would open a formal review into the death of Johnson.[4] The Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that Kendrick Johnson's death was an accident and no foul play was involved.[15] Benjamin Crump has since withdrawn from representing the Johnson family and is no longer participating in the case.[16]
Johnson's family filed a legal action to open a coroner's inquiry into his death. When the judge in that case delayed a decision, pending the outcome of the U.S. District Attorney review, the family demanded that the governor of Georgia immediately authorize the inquiry instead. The Johnson family, together with the NAACP and other civil rights activists, then held a rally at the state capitol in Atlanta.[14] The governor's office released a statement indicating that they would await the report of the U.S. District Attorney.[12]
Body
The independent autopsy found, among other things, that Johnson's body was stuffed with newspapers.[12][17] The funeral home which processed the body following the GBI's autopsy stated that they never received Johnson's organs from the coroner. Johnson's internal organs were said to have been "destroyed through natural process" and "discarded by the prosector before the body was sent back to Valdosta," according to the funeral home owner.[1] That left a void, which the funeral home filled.[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.[12][17] Johnson's family filed a complaint, with a regulatory body, against the funeral home operator.[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". Nonetheless, the investigation cleared the funeral home of any wrongdoing.[18] A spokesperson for the Secretary of State said that the investigation found that the funeral home "didn't violate any rules".[19] The Johnson family subsequently filed a civil suit against the funeral home, seeking money damages.[18]
Coroner Bill Watson
Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson had some initial serious concerns with the death investigation related to the delay in contacting his office. Bill Watson has since gone on record that all of his concerns have been alleviated and he agrees with the accidental death conclusion. The sworn affidavit of Bill Watson stating such is linked here.
Surveillance tape
In November 2013, 290 hours of surveillance tape from 35 cameras that covered the gym area was released to CNN following a court request.[20] A forensic analyst enlisted by CNN found that tapes from two cameras are missing an hour and five minutes of footage, while another set was missing two hours and ten minutes of footage. The cameras were motion activated, and the mat area was believed to be outside the camera's range.[11] Two cameras covered the entrance into the gym before Johnson's arrival, and showed a student entering the gym before Kendrick Johnson. There were also some students standing near the entrance to the gym. Raw footage can be seen here. [1]
Attorneys for the Johnson family have expressed fears that the camera footage was edited as part of a "cover-up".[11] However, both the president of the Valdosta-Lowndes County chapter of the SCLC, and the former lead investigator for that chapter, have stated that they believe the attorneys for the Johnsons have "not been entirely truthful in their statements" and that there is no cover-up in this case.[21]
Brian and Branden Bell
Jackie and Kenneth Johnson have made public accusations that brothers Brian and Branden Bell violently assaulted Kendrick Johnson in the gym causing his death. Video surveillance from the school proves that Brian Bell was in his fourth block biology class when Kendrick Johnson died.[22][23][24] Branden Bell was on a bus 60 miles away headed to a wrestling tournament in Macon Georgia at the time of Kendrick's death.[22][24] Additonally surveillance video from cameras outside the gym covering the entrances and exists prove that neither Bell brother entered the gym on January 9, 10, or 11th.[22]
During their sworn depositions Jackie and Kenneth Johnson both admitted that there is no evidence either Bell brother had anything to do with Kendrick Johnson's death.[25][26]
Sworn Affidavit of Branden Bell
Depositions
In November 2015 Judge Richard Porter of Valdosta Superior Court ordered Jackie and Kenneth Johnson to sit for depositions in the wrongful death lawsuit. During the depositions Jackie and Kenneth admitted they do not have evidence that Kendrick Johnson was murdered. Jackie and Kenneth also admitted they have no evidence of any conspiracy or coverup to hide Kendrick Johnson cause of death. The deposition of Jackie Johnson is linked here and the deposition of Kenneth Johnson is linked here.
Harassment on Twitter
Subpoenas were filed with Twitter for usernames of 23 individuals who have stalked, harassed, and defamed the Bell family with false and malicious accusations that the Bell brothers were responsible for the death of Kendrick Johnson. The subpoena is linked here.
Legal actions
The family of Kendrick Johnson filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lowndes County Board of Education, its superintendent and the high school principal. The suit alleges that Johnson "was violently assaulted, severely injured, suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, and subjected to insult and loss of life" on January 10, 2013. While the lawsuit does not name the person or persons allegedly involved in the January 10 event, nor identify the race of alleged perpetrators, it implies a race-based dimension to the hypothetical assault. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were negligent, and violated Johnson's constitutional right to equal protection based on race. It alleges that the defendants ignored reports that, previously, Johnson was repeatedly attacked and harassed by a white student.[27] Kendrick was attacked on a bus trip 14 months prior. According to the lawsuit, the other student "had a history of provoking and attacking" Johnson at school. Johnson was "victimized" again "in the presence of the coaching staff and employees" of the school again after his mother complained about the attacks, the suit said. The suit also alleges that school officials failed to "properly monitor the activities of students throughout all areas" of the campus and to "maintain a properly functioning video surveillance system."[27]
In August 2014, the parents of two Lowndes County High School students filed a $5 million lawsuit against Ebony Magazine after the magazine published a series of articles naming two students as possible suspects in the death.[28] The magazine used pseudonyms, but was otherwise accurate in descriptions of the boys, including the fact that their father was an FBI agent. The article used as a source an anonymous email to the sheriff's office alleging that the younger of the two brothers killed Johnson after learning that Johnson had sex with the brother's girlfriend. Rick and Karen Bell assert that their sons were not involved in the crime, are not considered suspects, and have been harassed as a result of the publication.[29]
In January 2015, Kendrick Johnson's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in the Superior Court of DeKalb County against 38 individuals. Respondents include three of Johnson's classmates (two or three respondents are unnamed) and local, state, and federal officials: the school superintendent of Lowndes County, the Valdosta-Lowndes crime lab, the police chief of Valdosta, many sheriff's deputies, the city of Valdosta, the state medical examiner, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its five agents, and an FBI agent. The lawsuit alleges that the FBI agent ordered his two sons and a classmate to attack Johnson. Kendrick Johnson's family allege that his death was a murder, and accuse the respondents of a conspiracy to cover up the homicide.[30] Jim Elliott, the Lowndes County Attorney, stated that the allegations are "unfounded" and "baseless", and that any response would be made in court.[30] A lawsuit could not be brought in Lowndes County, when all local Superior Court judges recused themselves from presiding over the case, because of their close proximity to the accused. For that reason, Chief Judge Harry J. Altman stated that it was inappropriate for these judges to preside over the case.[30] Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore, said in a statement that a federal investigation is still open, and that "the investigation has proven more complicated and taken longer than originally anticipated."[30] U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael J. Moore has since resigned.[31] After Michael Moore resigned, the case was transferred to the Northern District of Ohio under the leadership of Steven Dettlebach.[32] Shortly after receiving the Kendrick Johnson case U.S. attorney Steven Dettlebach also resigned. Despite these resignations, the Department of Justice investigation is ongoing, according to Department of Justice spokesman Michael Tobin.[33]
In November 2015 a motion filed by Department of Justice motion to intervene in the civil wrongful death lawsuit was denied. The motion warned that continuing with the civil suits would jeopardize the criminal investigation, because of the similarity of the criminal investigation and the civil case. The motion was denied based on a lack of evidence that the death of Kendrick Johnson was the result of criminal activity [34] and a lack of evidence of misconduct in the official investigation.[34] During sworn depositions Kendrick Johnson's father admitted that he does not have evidence to support the claims that Kendrick Johnson was murdered.[35] Shortly after admitting he does not have evidence to support their claims of a murder conspiracy Jackie and Kenneth Johnson dismissed their own wrongful death lawsuit.[36] Jackie and Kenneth Johnson are currently being sued for more than $850,000 in attorney fees [37] and $1,000,000 in defamation damages for fabricating a murder conspiracy.[38]
Summary Judgment
Shortly after the depositions, the defendants in the $100 million wrongful death lawsuit filed for summary judgment. The summary judgment motions are based on a lack of evidence that Kendrick Johnson's death was the result of criminal activity and a lack of evidence of misconduct in the official investigation.
Rick, Brian, and Branden Bell Motion for Summary Judgment
Lowndes County Sherrif Motion for Summary Judgment
Owens Transport Motion for Summary Judgment
City of Valdosta Motion for Summary Judgment
Wes Taylor Motion for Summary Judgment
Motions for Attorney Fees
Subsequent to filing for summary judgment the defendants in the $100 million wrongful death lawsuit filed motions for attorney fees from Jackie and Kenneth Johnson and their attorney Chevene King in the amount of $853,343.03. The attorney fee motions are based on that fact that the Johnson family claims that Kendrick Johnson was murdered were completely frivolous and lacked any basis in fact, evidence, and law. The Johnson family claims of misconduct during the official investigation were also completely frivolous.
Rick, Brian, and Branden Bell Motion for $241,358.50 in Attorney Fees and Litigation Costs
Owens Transport Motion for $47,274.00 in Attorney Fees and Litigation Costs
Board of Education Motion for $349,589.65 in Attorney Fees and Litigation Costs
City of Valdosta Motion for $62,379.05 in Attorney Fees and Litigation Costs
Lowndes County Sheriff Motion for $152,741.83 in Attorney Fees and Litigation Costs
Grand total: $853,343.03
See also
References
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