Sheriff reopens investigation into death of Georgia teen found inside rolled gym mat
The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office says it will take a fresh look at an investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson, whose body was found stuffed headfirst inside a rolled gym mat at a south Georgia high school in 2013.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shuttered its case nearly a year ago, but Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk plans to re-examine more than a dozen boxes of previously sealed documents, WCTV reported.
“We’re starting fresh,” Paulk told the news station. “So it’s like a brand new investigation, no predisposed opinions, can’t have that. “We’ll be looking at all the read material, and obviously we’ll be doing some more interviews.”
Johnson’s body was discovered inside a gym at Lowndes County High School in Valdosta, about 70 miles northeast of Tallahassee,Florida, on Jan. 11, 2013. State and local investigators determined the 17-year-old’s death was accidental, and an initial autopsy ruled it was a result of “accidental asphyxiation” when he climbed into the mat to retrieve a tennis shoe.
Johnson’s parents, Kenneth and Jackie Johnson, believe their son was murdered and placed blame on two white classmates. The couple has continued to seek justice for their son, filing multiple lawsuits over the years that alleged a cover-up by several defendants they accused in their son’s death.
The Justice Department investigated their claims but closed the case in 2016 after investigators ruled there was “insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges,” despite two subsequent autopsies that found Kendrick Johnson had suffered blunt force trauma to his neck and jaw.
Paulk said he and the Johnsons had been working to get access to federal documents related to the case, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Justice Department initially shot down their requests, but last week, federal officials agreed to hand over 17 boxes of paperwork, hard drives and other materials from their three-year investigation.
News that the case would be reopened was cheered by the Johnson family, which called it a step in the right direction.
“For it to be reopened is righteous and just,” Marcus Coleman, an activist and spokesperson for the family, told WTLV. “It’s a shame that it took eight years and two months, but justice delayed is justice denied. Those 17 boxes in Lowndes County are there for a reason and again, each one of them represent a year of Kendrick’s young life.”
Paulk, who is leading the new investigation, said it could take months and lots of manpower to get through the documents.
“We are confident in what (we) will come up with will be the truth,” he said, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
McClatchy News reached out to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office for more information as is awaiting a response.