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. His case has received renewed attention on social media recently after the charges against the suspects involved were dismissed last week.
Officials ruled Johnson’s death an accident, but Johnson’s parents, Kenneth and Jacquelyn, suspected foul play and filed a $100 million dollar civil lawsuit in 2015, which they later voluntarily dismissed.
They alleged that Kendrick Johnson was encouraged to go to his High School’s old gym by a female student who was left unnamed. Upon his arrival, they believed that two brothers, Brian and Brandon Bell, assaulted Johnson at the command of their father, former FBI agent Richard Bell. They also believed that the assault caused a fatal injury that resulted in Johnson’s death.
The plaintiffs, Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson, claimed that the defendants— Brian, Brandon, and Richard Bell, Chris Prine, Wesley Taylor, The Lowndes County School District, Stryde Jones, Stephen Wesley Owens, Rodney Bryan, Lowndes County, and Dr. Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft—conspired to “cover up the circumstances surrounding Johnson’s death.” They also alleged that the defendants interfered with their access to “both state and federal courts.”
The case was dismissed, and no extension of time to serve was granted.
WE CLEARLY NOT LOUD ENOUGH. THEY DISMISSED #KendrickJohnson CASE YESTERDAY AND NO ONE TALKING AB IT pic.twitter.com/Fk1h6Vro1N
— ely (@strictlydutchh1) July 2, 2020
Don’t forget this 4th of July
Breonna Taylor’s killers still have not been charged
Elijah McClain’s killers have still not been arrested.
Kendrick Johnson’s case has still not been reopened.
— Brianna Mitchell (@mitchell_brii) July 4, 2020
The eldest Bell brother claimed that he was out of town, while the youngest insisted that he was in another part of the school at the time of the incident.
The Lowndes County Sheriff’s office explained that on January 10, Johnson entered the wrestling mat to retrieve a lost shoe and got stuck. This claim was originally confirmed by the state medical examiner Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft, who concluded that the cause of death was “positional asphyxia.”
Unsatisfied with that account, Johnson’s parents had his body exhumed and examined by forensic pathologist Dr. William Anderson in June of 2013. Dr. Anderson concluded that Johnson’s death was a homicide due to evidence of “unexplained, apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma” to Johnson’s neck.
who had Kendrick’s organs and finger/toe nails removed so Kendrick’s time of death could not be determined. School survailence was taken from the school. Kendrick’s school helped cover up this brutal crime. The Johnson family requested for his body to be re-examined
— Niya (@UnderDaBlankett) July 6, 2020
A federal investigation was launched on October 31, 2013, but was later closed due to insufficient evidence.
here’s some information on the Kendrick Johnson case. this is a case that will never sit well with me amongst millions of others. no justice, no peace! #KendrickJohnson pic.twitter.com/miFnSXwNY1
— kary (@cortez_kary) July 4, 2020
Similar to Johnson’s parents, many believe the case was homicide and are seeking justice for the teenager. 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.
Many believe that there is a satisfactory amount of evidence to charge the Bell brothers with the murder of Kendrick Johnson. The Bell brothers have since admitted to their roles in the murder of Johnson, and a formal report was voluntarily given by Ryan Anthony Domek-Hernandez in 2017. However, the brothers still maintain their innocence in official settings and have faced little to no repercussions for their alleged involvement.
Y’all see someone came forward and identified who murdered #KendrickJohnson ? it was the son of a fucking retired FBI agent. fuck america & fuck the state of georgia for taking FOUR YEARS to investigate beyond “accidental” pic.twitter.com/xrKNAUVSg2
— mX. hibiscus (@crim_dellacreme) June 30, 2020
I’m just so done with this country pic.twitter.com/kn0Q3djQ4V
— Smino’s Wifey (@melmel45_) July 5, 2020
all lives arent having knees in the back of their neck until they suffocate. all lives arent being molested and having organs removed and refilled with newspaper and their body rolled up in a gym mat. all lives will matter once black ones do. #BLM #GeorgeFloyd #KendrickJohnson
— Dalton (@Dalton31177853) July 6, 2020
