On January 11, 2013, the Johnson family was told that Kendrick had died. ", Kendrick Johnsons body has been exhumed twice in recent years. She discovered the body by design, the Johnsons alleged. Meanwhile, Paulk said he hopes his probe will bring some closure but acknowledged some minds will never be changed. The team was excused from 3rd block class to attend first lunch (~11:3012:00) and left on the bus around 12:1512:30. Unfortunately, much like George Zimmerman, this strategy needs perpetrators who they can identify as the enemy. The Bells' father, an FBI agent, and local authorities were also named in the suit against more than 30 people that alleged a cover-up occurred. The Lowndes County Sheriffs Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation determined Johnson died from positional asphyxia after he became stuck, squeezing himself into a rolled up gym mat while reaching down into the mat to retrieve a shoe. Myth #2: The surveillance tapes from the old gym were altered and at least an hour of footage was missing from around the time that Kendrick died. WGA Sets Strike For 12:01 AM After Talks With Studios Fail, Polite Society Review: A Cultural Action Adventure Film Complete With Martial Arts And Wirefu, Evil Dead Rise Review: Deadites Cause High-Rise Havoc In Lee Cronins Horror Venture, Chevalier Review: Kelvin Harrison Jr Holds Court As A Violin Virtuoso. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/kendrick-johnson-funeral-home_n_4733682.html, His Parents Have Called Me a Liar: Georgia Sheriff Puts Up $500K of His Own Money to Anyone Who Can Prove Kendrick Johnsons Death Was Not an Accident, Who Killed Kendrick?: Sheriff Reopens 2013 Case of Georgia Teen Found Dead Rolled-Up In Gym Mat at His High School, Petition to Reopen Kendrick Johnson Case Exceeds 1 Million Signatures, GBI Says Case Will Remain Closed. On January 11, 2013, a Black teenager, Kendrick Johnson, was found dead and rolled up inside a wrestling mat by his classmates at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia. . FSU alerted Bell of its decision last week, according to Lowndes High School coach Randy McPherson. THEY DISMISSED #KendrickJohnson CASE YESTERDAY AND NO ONE TALKING AB IT pic.twitter.com/Fk1h6Vro1N, Breonna Taylors killers still have not been charged. Investigators will now comb through 17 boxes of evidence, which were previously sealed. Kendrick Johnsons body has been exhumed twice in recent years. The suit, which names local law enforcement and the city of Valdosta as defendants, alleges a female lured their son into the gym, where two brothersformer classmates of Johnsonbeat the Black teen to death at the behest of their father Rick Bell, a local FBI agent. Lowndes County Superior Court Senior Judge Richard Porter ruled against the parents, accusing the Johnsons and their attorney, Chevene King, of fabricating evidence to support their claims. Kendricks body was intact and all organs accounted for at the time of death. WE CLEARLY NOT LOUD ENOUGH. But after three years, the U.S. Department of Justice closed the case, citing insufficient evidence. (. Kendrick Johnson's body was found upside down in a vertically stored gym mat at Lowndes High School in January of 2013. He was marked present during this class and this was confirmed by not only his teacher but fellow students. This claim was originally confirmed by the state medical examiner Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft, who concluded that the cause of death was positional asphyxia.. To make matters worse, Andersons autopsy found that Johnsons body was stuffed with newspaper. Branden Bell was with the wrestling team on a trip to Macon, 153 miles away (link). Before the GBI had even finalized his autopsy report for release, the Johnsons were proclaiming Kendrick was murdered and that they knew who did it. Although the tragic loss of a promising teens life is always difficult to process, the investigations findings werent enough for Johnsons parents or those around them. Jacquelyn Johnson, mother of Kendrick, during a moment while filming the documentary. Unsatisfied with that account, Johnsons parents had his body exhumed and examined by forensic pathologist Dr. William Anderson in June of 2013. He entered the gym at 13:27. Both Parks and Crump were facing a potentially devastating reveal to the rest of the world. While Finding Kendrick Johnson doesnt have all the answers, I remember whats done in the dark will come to light. But in the end, the truth will prevail and everybody will find me and my brother are innocent and have always been innocent.". The boys have been questioned repeatedly, but they deny knowing anything about Kendricks death and have not been formally charged with anything. Johnson's death was ruled an accident by local authorities. If you choose to Accept all, we will also use cookies and data to. The day Kendrick died his parents had to experience pain no parent should ever have to experience. Rick Bell Federal Bureau of Investigation (Closed By DOJ - LELDF The Johnsons insists their son died of foul play. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. It was that or go to jail. He was beloved by his family, well-liked at school, and participated in all sorts of sports. Brian Bell (BB2) was attending class on the other side of the school when KJ went into the mats. The 2014 FBI analysis of school surveillance footage was first made public in February, but the names of two persons of interest, who were the subject of the report, were redacted. Facts: None of the confessions thus far have been deemed accurate or reliable. Using their race-defined foot soldiers, mostly college aged students and social justice types, and combining the grievance methods of the AME church network in conjunction with cultural advocates like Russell Simmons et al, Parks and Crump begin to formulate a strategy -to benefit from Kendrick Johnson- DESPITE the reality. who had Kendricks organs and finger/toe nails removed so Kendricks time of death could not be determined. From there until now, we feel like this has been a cover-up at a very high level. Dr. Anderson did not write a third autopsy report. Karen Bell, mother of Brian and Branden Bell, said she was disappointed with Paulks decision but wasnt surprised. Additionally, the claim that she lured Kendrick into the old gym so BB2 could beat him up is without merit. of foul play, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But the parents of Kendrick Johnson probably had no way to know this stuff, and given the publicity of the case two high-profile Black Grievance Industry advocates, Parks and Crump, most likely sounded like a good team to request assistance from. Brianna Mitchell (@mitchell_brii) July 4, 2020. Their testimony shows they had no evidence, Porter wrote. This fact has never been disputed, even by his parents. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. The Johnsons suit, filed in DeKalb County, asks for $100 million in damages from 38 defendants. However, as predicted, the Kendrick Johnson case is an outcome of not stopping the absurd behavior of both Daryl Parks and Benjamin Crump in 2013, in its tracks. Narrated by legendary singer, actress, and activist Jennifer Lewis, the documentary shows this case in graphic detail from his family testimony and what theyve experienced to pictures of Kendricks bloated body. January 2013, for the professional race-baiting antagonists, was a time of consternation, trepidation and worry. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-old's death a freak accident. Police surmised his shoes had fallen into the center of the rolled-up mats, which were stored on-end. In 2018, an. The Bell family filed a countersuit in March, claiming the Johnson family defamed them on social media, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. But to others, the theory explaining KJs alleged homicide, and how it was allegedly covered up by powerful local interests, is just as far-fetched. Last week, federal officials finally agreed to turn over 17 boxes of materials from their three-year probe into Johnsons death. The victim Kendrick Johson was of black ethnicity, whereas the accused suspects, brothers Branden and Brian Bell, are white. Select More options to see additional information, including details about managing your privacy settings. What didnt come out in court, because Mark OMara withheld it worried it would be too disconcerting for a public to absorb, was that Prosecutors Angela Corey, Bernie De La Rionda, and their investigators knew the deception in April 2012 and intentionally did not ask for identification from the person, Jeantel, from whom they took an official statement. Revelatory details are presented that could further aid the Johnson family. According to the authorities, Johnson fell into the mat while looking for his shoes, got stuck, and suffocated. Government agents early Tuesday morning searched and seized property, including cell phones, computers, and other electronics, from the Jacksonville, Fla. area home of FBI agent Rick Bell, whose two sons went to school with Johnson. These servers are not connected to each other or online. One has to wonder how a young man is found dead, rolled up in a gym mat, and no one is responsible. The Bell familys American Dream has turned to a nightmare, one thats accompanied by daily violent threats, threats against those whove supported their sons, by libelous published reports suggesting their sons were involved in Kendrick Johnsons death, and by a U.S. Attorney whose actions represent the excesses and abuses of Federal power that need to be reined in. Who was Kendrick Johnson? Similar searches were conducted on the two brothers, who live elsewhere and a girlfriend of one of the brothers, according to the Associated Press. There are new developments in the case of Kendrick Johnson, a 17-year-old Black student found dead in a school gym in Lowndes County, Ga. in 2013. CNN reported that federal marshals, warrant in hand, seized emails from the Lowndes County sheriffs office on July 21 and 22 related to the federal grand jury investigation into the teens death. OMaras CNN contract shortly thereafter solidified his intent. And after his death, he has become an example of what can happen when rumors become facts. A federal investigation was launched on October 31, 2013, but was later closed due to insufficient evidence. Dr. Anderson concluded that Johnsons death was a homicide due to evidence of unexplained, apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma to Johnsons neck. For Kendricks family, let that be sooner rather than later. While I recognize this article may be an exercise in futility, at the very least I would like to offer a clearinghouse for access to the facts for those who wish to seek it out. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Murder allegation sidelines football player's career, divides community We want to hear from you! A state autopsy ruled Johnsons death accidental, and a federal review of the case ended in 2016 when the Department of Justice announced it had not found sufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges.. The Bell family has previously deflected blame in the incident; now, Karen Bell says she's upset by the renewed investigative efforts. It should be noted neither Dr. Anderson nor the original pathologist found evidence of a stroke. however, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2015, pointing fingers at two brothers, Brian and Branden Bell . 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat. U.S. Attorney Moore has disregarded not only the facts but the admonitions of respected community leaders, including Rev. This film examines the level of racism within the American justice system through the lens of the Kendrick Johnson case. The glaring problem with his story is that not only did BB1 not have an apartment in Jacksonville, FL at the time of this alleged confession, he. 'Our generation's Emmett Till': what happened to Kendrick Johnson Like a game of telephone, a simple Well, I heard can become a fact- often twisted and changed to become more salacious, more violent, just more. The next morning, Jimbo called me and told me that they still were not going to let him give Brian a scholarship.. Brian and Branden Bell were named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of Kendrick Johnson, 17, whose body was found stuck upside down inside the mat at Lowndes High School a day after he went missing in January 2013. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. With literally thousands of pages of documentation released under the FOIA available readily and free on the internet, yet lies run rampant in the media, on social media, in podcasts and blogs. Social media is rife with rumors, innuendos, misunderstandings and outright lies that are taken as gospel. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast. Paulk estimated it might take six months to process everything. Jan 23, 2023 - Entire rental unit for $95. Two points of contention are a November 2014 video released by the Johnson familys lawyer and a Facebook post on a KJ memorial site asking Florida State University to rescind a football scholarship offer to Bells youngest son. But that white hot anger can also make one blind to the facts. His case has received renewed attention on social media recently after the charges against the suspects involved were dismissed last week. Close to shops and monuments you . The case was. In essence the State of Florida chose a path of willful blindness as the easiest to retain the false case. Myth #5: The Bells have admitted to killing Kendrick on various occasions and in front of various witnesses. Why did Florida State pull Bell's scholarship offer? - Grantland The video claimed the older Bell brother, Branden, had reason to harm Johnson and was still on campus when Johnson was last seen on a school surveillance video. #OrganHarvesting, Proof: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/kendrick-johnson-funeral-home_n_4733682.html, Your email address will not be published. School survailence was taken from the school. What Involvement Did a FBI Agent and His Sons Have in the Death of Apr 27, 2023 - Entire rental unit for $40. On January 11, 2013 the body of 17-year old Kendrick Johnson was found upside down in a rolled up gym mat in the old gym at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, GA. After an investigation by the Lowndes County Sheriffs Department and an autopsy by the GBI, his death was ruled an accident due to positional asphyxiation. The family has provided a list of questions they seek to have answered and the sheriff has agreed to research those answers and provide answers of clarification, wrote Jones, who has been involved in the investigation from the beginning. Kendricks school helped cover up this brutal crime. #BLM #GeorgeFloyd #KendrickJohnson, 2021 Chaos+Comrades. Read the original version of this article, FBI video analysis: Brian Bell not near Kendrick Johnson, TPD investigating shooting at Lake Bradford Road and Lake Avenue, Florida man guilty in 2017 serial killings of 4 people, Disabled veteran confronts past at Vietnam Memorial Wall. He was on his way to his 4th block class and entered the old gym to get his sneakers for this class as was routine. They received a report naming Brian Bell as one of the two persons of interest, but the second persons identity remained concealed, suggesting Brians older brother, Branden, was not a subject of the analysis. But Johnson's parents said they suspect foul play, claiming that he was bullied and beaten over a previous fight with Brian before being stuffed in the mat. Nearly a decade after Kendrick Johnsons body was found in a high school gymnasium, investigators have announced a new probe into the Black teenagers mysterious death. There are new developments in the case of Kendrick Johnson, a 17-year-old Black student found dead in a school gym in Lowndes County, Ga. in 2013. Both have examined the matter and publicly repudiated the ongoing smear campaign against the respected FBI agent and his family. Your donation will help make sure that these officers get back to doing their jobs instead of sitting behind. #KendrickJohnson pic.twitter.com/miFnSXwNY1. Brian Bell, one of the agents sons named in the Johnson wrongful death lawsuit, posted his reactions to the federal on social media, as was reported in First Coast News: Rick Bells son, Brian, posted this to Instagram. Government agents search homes in Kendrick Johnson Georgia "gym mat Their only successful endeavor was a singular Home Owners Association (HOA) insurance policy who determined it was easier to pay-off the extortion than to fight the collective BGI in court. I will attempt to dispel those myths and expose the truth of the tragic death of Kendrick Johnson. The Johnson family requested for his body to be re-examined. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. A petition was created at the start of this year that has since accumulated over 1.5 million signatures, which sparked the reopening of the case. The three teens were classmates. It all sounds ridiculous, until you understand the history of how both Parks and Crump have gotten away with manufacturing claims out of thin air, and then enlisting their ideological compatriots in selling the wild and patently ridiculous. Local and state investigators had already determined Johnsons death was an accident. The other person of interest was located in the parking lot headed towards J-Wing at 1:28 p.m. Johnson and the two persons of interest were travelling in opposite directions towards their respective fourth block classes and likely did not cross paths. The first autopsy done by the GBI found no. Kendrick Johnson Death Case Reopened 8 Years Later | Crime News Honor Flight receives warm welcome to D.C. publicfile@live5news.com - (843) 402-5555, Johnson had entered the old gym area en route to his fourth block class, for which he never arrived. "They played on the same football team," she said. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. This was either done to either a) sell them on the black market or b) make it impossible to determine time of death. It has been over two years since 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson went to the Lowndes County High gym around 1 p.m. As evidence indicated, Johnson climbed up on top of a stack of gym mats to reach for shoes hed left behind he fell head first into the rolled up mats, became stuck, and died as a result of positional asphyxia. If there was something there, dont you think the feds wouldve pursued it? said Touchton, who was initially supportive of the Johnsons claims but now believes their sons death was an accident. The Case of Kendrick Johnson is Gaining Renewed Attention Johnsons family found this conclusion insufficient and conducted an independent autopsy with William R. Anderson at Forensic Dimensions in Heathrow, Florida. 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat. This reality was the reason for our unwillingness to praise Zimmerman attorney Mark OMara. The second autopsy done by Dr. Anderson noted a bruise on his right mandible/neck area. Meanwhile, a forensic pathologist hired by the Johnson family concluded the death was a homicide, with evidence of unexplained, nonaccidental blunt force trauma.. the Johnson family attorney, Chevene King, said. The feds seem to agree. Kendrick Johnsons body was discovered in rolled-up gym mat on Jan. 11, 2013. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. The Lowndes County Sheriffs office explained that on January 10, Johnson entered the wrestling mat to retrieve a lost shoe and got stuck. After reviewing all of the evidence and information they amassed, police announced Johnson had died of positional asphyxiation. County investigators ruled Johnsons death accidental, a case of positional asphyxia, claiming he got stuck while reaching for a shoe at the center of the gym mat. The passing period between 3rd block and 4th block was about 13:25. Domek-Hernandez was the only one to claim that he heard the confession directly from either Bell brother. The videos from the extensive number of cameras at LHS were saved to 6 different servers. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-olds death a freak accident. The Johnson family evidently concluded, without the benefit of any evidence at all, that Rick Bells sons had a hand in murdering Kendrick. The pain of losing a football scholarship due to accusations for a crime that never happened. So long as whomever they accuse stands upright and pushes back, eventually the false BGI claims run smack into the reality of no justifiable accuracy surrounding their cause. There is no evidence he was beaten, Anderson said. In 2019, they wrote the Justice Department asking for documents but were initially rebuffed, the sheriff said. Apr 29, 2023 - Entire rental unit for $67. Kendrick was a beloved son, a brother, a student, and an athlete. The Bell family countersued, accusing the Johnsons of using others as their authorized agents to post messages on various social media, including Facebook, Twitter, blogs, instant messaging, and the like, that were defamatory of the Bells. The Bells also sued Ebony magazinein a $5 million slander and libel suit, based on articles accusing their sonsthrough the use of aliasesof being involved in Kendrick Johnsons death. Eventually the house of cards came falling down when the ruse was exposed during trial. Not only is this confirmed in the GBI autopsy, but the slides were made available to Dr. Anderson for his second autopsy and he noted nothing remarkable about the organs in either his first or second autopsies. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. The FBI has concluded Brian Bell was headed towards the D Wing for his fourth block class at the time Johnson was entering the schools old gym, according to the report. The Bell family's American Dream has turned to a nightmare, one that's accompanied by daily violent threats, threats against those who've supported their sons, by libelous published reports suggesting their sons were involved in Kendrick Johnson's death, and by a U.S. Attorney whose actions represent the excesses and abuses of Federal . Branden Bell was with the wrestling team on a trip to Macon, 153 miles away (, being targeted by Daryl Parks and Benjamin Crump, Against Backdrop of Inflation Continuing, Fed Set to Raise Rate Again Before Debating Pause, May 2nd 2023 Presidential Politics Resistance Day 833, FISA 702 Reauthorization Scheduled for This Year Heres Why It Must Be Opposed, JPMorgan Chase Acquires First Republic Bank with FDIC Backstopping Deal While Ignoring Current Banking Laws, President Trump Travels to Scotland to Cut Ribbon for New Golf Course in Aberdeen, Senator Ron Johnson Notes Republicans on Senate Homeland Security Committee Refused to Support Hunter Biden Investigation. It was all a lie. The suit alleges the boys' family conspired with former Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine and county school officials to cover up the death. Conspirators included Taylors daughter, according to the lawsuit. But when social media became abuzz with news of the lawsuit, Florida States commitment to Bell came under considerable heat. The person of interest whose identity remains redacted in the FBI video analysis was observed in the LHS parking lot headed towards J-Wing at the time Kendrick is last seen, according to the FBI report. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. From the perspective of Parks and Crump, their financial scheme to use wrongful death lawsuits to extort the City of Sanford, the Sanford Police Department and the various insurance companies therein, was quickly collapsing under the reality of a false construct soon to be revealed. Jacquelyn Johnson said he son gave her strength, and she just wants to know what happened to him. A 19-year-old witness #8, Rachel Jeantel, walked into court and the admissions began: She wasnt a minor on February 26th 2012 she only just met Trayvon two weeks earlier at her 18th birthday party she was never hospitalized and she never went to the funeral because she barely knew him. Organs cannot be used for transplant after they have been rotting in a dead body for almost 24 hours. Where is Brian Bell now? Was Kendrick Johnson's case closed? The argument was quickly broken up and both boys were kept from playing in the game as punishment. Brian Bells Instagram (Photo: Instagram). "Eight long years the crying, the tears, the backlash, being talked about, ridiculed it has not been easy," Johnson added. 'Body Parts Are Missing': Newly-Released Footage of Kendrick Johnson's The unclassified report is dated Sept. 9, 2014 and contains the FBIs analysis of Lowndes High School hard drives containing surveillance footage from Jan. 10 and Jan. 11, 2013, including footage that has not been made available to the public. The lawsuit blames Bell and 37 others, including his father, for the mysterious death of Johnson. 'Finding Kendrick Johnson' Review: A Young Man Forgotten - Deadline Authorities were tight-lipped about whether the Bell brothers were suspects in Kendrick Johnsons death. However, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk announced the re-opening of the case on Tuesday. Theyve been dismissed and ignored, much like the documentary of Kendricks life and death. Thank you for standing with our men and women in blue! Myth #4: Kendrick died of blunt force trauma. The CNN analyst made some glaring errors in his interpretation of the surveillance footage. VALDOSTA, Ga. - The brothers accused in a civil suit of killing Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia teen found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat in his high school two years ago, are suing. In the years since, others have been forced to feel pain of a different sort. All the others were based upon either second or third-hand information. An FBI investigation into the case named Brian and Branden Bell as people of interest. George Zimmerman defense attorneys Don West and Mark OMara were honing in to the deception there was no: 16-year-old, minor child, devastated puppy love interest who Trayvon knew since Kindergarten and was so distraught she was hospitalized on the weekend of Trayvons funeral.