Kendrick Johnson Death: Group marches for Valdosta teen found dead in gym mat
'Justice for Kendrick Johnson' found dead in gym mat
It's been over 10 years since Kendrick Johnson, a Valdosta teen, was found dead in a rolled up gym mat. While officials ruled it an accident, his family believes someone killed him. Hundreds of people from Israel United in Christ marched in Atlanta in his honor on August 3, 2024.
ATLANTA - The family of a Valdosta teen found dead at school over 10 years ago is continuing their push for justice.
Kendrick Johnson's family says law enforcement has ruled the 17-year-old's death an accident. But they're adamant he was murdered.
Hundreds of people with the organization Isarel United in Christ took to the streets in Downtown Atlanta on Saturday demanding justice for Johnson.
"We're pushing for the truth to come out, and we won't stop until the truth come out," Kenneth's Johnson, Kendrick's father, said.
Police say classmates at Lowndes High School in Valdsota found Johnson's body in an upright rolled gym mat in January 2013.
Investigators at the scene when Johnson's body was discovered and a submission from the Valdosta-Lowndes County Crime Laboratory found no evidence of blunt force trauma or foul play. The crime lab submission found "signs of skin slippage on Johnson's
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The family says investigators say Johnson was reaching for his shoe in the mat when he got stuck, but Johnson's family believes someone killed him and are urging the Court of Appeals to take action.
"Follow all of the evidence. Look at the evidence and just do the right thing, because we've been going through this so long now and like I said, there's enough evidence right before the court to, you know, prove that Kendrick did not die of what they say he die," Kenneth Johnson said.
The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office released a synopsis of the case file in 2022 saying investigators have continued to believe no foul play was involved in Johnson's death.
"He was murdered, he was assaulted, he was severely beaten," Jonathan Burrs, the Johnson Family Attorney, said.
The family filed a federal lawsuit against the GBI and Lowndes County Sheriff's Office last year. They call the situation a cover-up.
"We are here to say enough is enough, and we cannot have any more future Kendrick Johnson's. We cannot have any more future cover-ups where, the state of Georgia, they blantantly dismiss legitimate credible evidence," Burrs said.
In response to the family's lawsuit last year, the GBI said the medical examiner performed a thorough autopsy and the agency stands by their initial findings.