Feds to Investigate Kendrick Johnson's Death

ColorLines

The mysterious death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson, who was found in a rolled-up wrestling mat at his Valdosta, Ga. high school in January, is now being investigated by U.S. Attorney Michael Moore. A surveillance tape released yesterday shows Johnson walking around campus on his final day, but does not reveal how he died. School officials are expected to release 1,900 hours of security camera footage in the coming days that could provide more clues.

Johnson's parents recently contracted Benjamin Crump--lead prosecutor in the Trayvon Martin murder trial--as they believe their son was murdered and that his case wasn't fully investigated because he was black.  Loundes County investigators ruled Johnson's death accidental, saying he suffocated after he fell into the mat while trying to retrieve a shoe, and they continue to stand by their investigation. But an independent autopsy found blunt force trauma to the right side of his neck, which had not been revealed in prior autopsy reports. That, combined with the way his body was found stuffed with newspaper and missing organs after it was exhumed, have aroused suspicions around the nature of his death.