Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of death. Reader discretion is advised.
CNN stated that Kendrick Johnson’s autopsy revealed his death was an accident. On January 11, 2013, Johnson’s body was found in a vertically rolled-up wrestling mat in the school gym. After an initial investigation, authorities determined that the 17-year-old’s death was accidental. Law enforcement officers believe he was trying to reach for his shoes when he accidentally fell into an opening. They claim he couldn’t get out of there, per Business Insider.
However, there were several discrepancies in official reports and the theory around Johnson’s accidental death. His parents and community members have accused law enforcement officers of botching the investigation and covering up a crime. They strongly believe someone murdered the Black teenager. The case made national headlines and is in the news again after his parents filed a lawsuit against Georgia police.
A famous documentary, Finding Kendrick Johnson, revisits the case and chronicles the theories around his death. Directed by Jason Pollock, the film premiered in 2021 and is streaming on Tubi and Prime Video now.
Kendrick Johnson’s autopsy: Was the case reopened & what was his cause of death?
Georgia Bureau of Investigation, via Kendrick Johnson’s autopsy, ruled his cause of death was accidental positional asphyxia. However, the teen’s parents have accused authorities of trying to cover up his murder via the “false narrative” about an accidental death. Business Insider stated that in September 2023, Johnson’s parents filed a federal $1 billion lawsuit against Georgia police.
Johnson’s death in the gymnasium of Georgia’s Lowndes High School has been in the news for over a decade now. Detectives have reopened the investigation into his death a couple of times after the initial investigation ruled it an accident. According to CNN, there have been several inconsistencies in official reports regarding the positioning of the teen’s body. This then led his family and other people to believe his death was a murder.
An independent pathologist conducted Kendrick Johnson’s autopsy separately after exhuming his body. However, this examination ruled that the teen’s cause of death was “unexplained, apparent non-accidental, blunt-force trauma” to the neck.
The outlet reported that the first investigation into Johnson’s death began in October 2013. The Justice Department then closed this probe in 2016 after failing to find sufficient “evidence to support federal criminal charges.”
In 2021, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk claimed they had reopened the investigation into Kendrick Johnson’s death. Later, in September 2023, Johnson’s parents filed a lawsuit against law enforcement, accusing them of botching the investigation, per Business Insider.
The lawsuit stated that authorities “clearly agreed to make false writings in each of its official documents.” It further claimed their findings “misrepresent material facts and present an invented narrative and erroneous cause of death for Kendrick Johnson.”
It added that at the time of the discovery, Johnson’s body was in a pool of blood on the floor. Moreover, there were visible injuries to his body, including bruises on his face, lacerations to his ear, lip, and knuckles. The lawsuit also stated that two circular markings near his waist were consistent with the prongs of a stun gun.
The GBI reportedly told Business Insider that their Medical Examiner’s Office conducted Kendrick Johnson’s autopsy thoroughly. Furthermore, their statement said they “stand behind our original findings” and have closed the case.
GBI’s statement was a response to the lawsuit, which cited the coroner’s report, calling the initial investigation and the investigative environment “very poor.” These reports also stated that authorities had “compromised” the crime scene and their lack of cooperation, among other things.
Jason Pollock’s documentary Finding Kendrick Johnson details the mysterious death of the high school teenager.
