commentary by Patrick H. Moore
Update: Despite proclaiming Kendrick Johnson’s death “accidental” approximately 18 months ago, in the last few months, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office has conducted interviews with around two dozen current and former Lowndes High School wrestlers who were on the team on January 10, 2013, the day Johnson disappeared, before being found dead in the rolled up gym mat the following day. The investigation appears to center around one of the wrestling team members, who reportedly confronted Johnson and told him “it ain’t over” regarding a confrontation Johnson had with the former student’s younger brother. This individual is not, however, technically a “target” or a “person of interest” at present. For a detailed update on the case, go to Local, fed probes into gym mat death continue.The Federal re-investigation of Kendrick Johnson’s gym mat death is also still ongoing.
In an online article, Christina Coleman of Global Grind provides NINE suspicious facts that cast doubt upon the “official” explanation of how Georgia teenager Kendrick Johnson died. Although each of these clues are not necessarily conclusive when viewed in isolation, when considered as a group, the evidence of a cover-up, or at the very least a concerted effort to not find the truth, becomes overwhelming.
As a sort of analytical exercise, I will rate the strength of each piece of evidence when viewed in isolation. A 10 means powerful evidence of foul play, while a 1 means little evidence of the same. Naturally, many of you may disagree with my ratings.
1) The Gym Mat — Rating: 9 to 10
Kendrick Johnson measured 19 and 1/2 inches across the shoulders. How in the world could he fit himself (unless he was stuffed into the opening by another party) into an opening that was only 14″ in diameter? Furthermore, if he had fallen in and gotten stuck reaching to retrieve his shoes, his legs would be sticking out. The sheriff’s office claims that Kendrick fell headfirst into the mat.
2) The Blood Spatter — Hard to rate. Perhaps a 6 or an 7…
There were blood spatters on a nearby wall and a bloody tissue near the bathroom that did not belong to Kendrick. The wall samples tested inconclusive (whatever that means). The authorities have stated that forensic testing does not support a struggle or a fight. Lt. Stryde Jones stated that since there are 3,000 students at the school, the chances of determining whose blood it is are slim.
3) The Shoes — Rating: Perhaps a 6. The evidence of a coverup is strengthened by the fact the “red matter” was never evaluated.
A pair of shoes splattered with “red matter” were found on the floor outside of the rolled-up mat in which Kendrick was stuck. The authorities, in their off-hand manner, claimed the “red matter” wasn’t blood and never had it tested.
4) The Sweatshirt — Rating: Same as above. A 6. The fact the evidence was ignored is cause for suspicion.
A sweatshirt found nearby also appears to have been speckled with blood. Naturally, it too was not included in the evidence.
5) The Fight — Rating: 6 or 7.
Although Kendrick has been described as a kind, smart and responsible teenager with no enemies, he did get into a hassle with a senior varsity athlete when he was a freshmen. Kendrick reportedly got the best of the senior in a bout of verbal jousting and was then attacked by the senior but little damage was done. The authorities reportedly tried to question the senior after Kendrick’s death, but through his parents, he stated that he preferred not to make a statement. The surveillance video reportedly does not show the boy in the gym at the time of Kendrick’s death.
6) The Death Threat — Rating: This is a perfect 10 which may explain why it was ignored by the detectives. How many people are in on this coverup, anyway?
Kendrick’s best friend, 16 year-old Soloman Arrington, reported to the authorities that he received threats on Facebook mere hours after he learned that Kendrick was dead. Soloman’s mother told media that the message stated that her son would “end up in a body bag.” She reported this information to a detective from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office but, according to Soloman’s mother, he was singularly disinterested.
7) The Second Autopsy — Rating: Another perfect 10.
The County Medical Examiner performed the initial autopsy and reported that Kendrick died of asphyxiation, which of course supports the notion that the teen fell into the rolled-up gym mat and smothered. However, after obtaining the court order to have Kendrick’s body exhumed and re-examined in May of this year, Dr. William Anderson, a private pathologist hired by the family, discovered that Kendrick’s death was caused by “unexplained, apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma,” not from asphyxiation. In other words, someone hit him really hard.
Dr. Anderson also reported that he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Kendrick’s neck.
8) The Body and the Missing Organs — Rating: Yet another perfect 10.
The second autopsy also revealed that Kendrick’s body had been stuffed with newsprint and old magazine pages where his internal organs should have been. The GBI (Great Bodily Injury) spokesperson, Sherry Lang, said the actual internal organs were placed in Kendrick’s body before it was sent to the funeral home. Funeral home’s owner Antonio Harrington stated that his firm never received the teen’s organs, and claimed they were “discarded by the prosector.” It would have been helpful if Harrington had reported this before Kendrick was buried the first time.
9) The Video — Rating: An 8 or 9 but hard to rate.
Police claim that the surveillance video which was released on Wednesday has not been edited. However, the video is full of gaps. One clip shows Kendrick in the gym. A second clip shows him walking in and then running out of the frame. In both clips students suddenly appear with no indication how they got there. A third clip, which shows students playing in the gym, and the mats where Kendrick’s body was found, is blurry and does not show the top of the gym mats.
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One doesn’t need to be a conspiracy theorist or to otherwise stretch things to be pretty darned sure that a coverup is in place. Since a Federal investigation is now underway, you can be certain that the “county boys” are beginning to sweat a little. One friend of All Things Crime Blog suggested in a tweet that the connections between the sheriff’s department and the school authorities should be carefully examined.
If one assumes that a cover-up is in place, a position I am certainly leaning toward (along with millions of other Americans), the question become “why?” Who is trying to protect whom? If there is a conspiracy in place to coverup the truth about Kendrick’s death, the participants would seem to include — at a minimum — law enforcement officials, school authorities and the Medical Examiner’s office.