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, in the U.S. state of Georgia, where he was a student. 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. Kendrick Johnson's parents are currently being sued for $850,000 in attorney fees and $1 million in defamation damages.
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. An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Johnson had died from positional asphyxia, and the case was ruled an accidental death by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office.
They hypothesized that Johnson had fallen into the mat while looking for a shoe and died after being unable to get out. 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. 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."
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." 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.
After the opinion of the private pathologist was released, Johnson's family stated that they believed Johnson had been murdered. The family retained the services of attorney Benjamin Crump. 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. Benjamin Crump's application to the Georgia court to practice in Georgia representing Kendrick's parents was not ruled on, and he withdrew from representing the Johnson family and is no longer participating in the case.
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