[Megamel29]

Originally Posted by diamondsmiles ↗

Why were there two pair of shoes?

I would have taken the white ones. They always look nicer and cleaner to me

From the pictures it looks like one pair of shoes in the mat and then two other shoes that don't match each other.

[Megamel29]

Kendrick Johnson case: Video expert finds surveillance footage ‘highly suspicious’

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...icle-1.1526344

There were four cameras installed inside Lowndes County High School’s gym when Georgia teen Kendrick Johnson walked inside this January.

According to family members, none of these cameras explain how or why the 17-year-old’s body was found rolled up inside a wrestling mat the next day.

In fact, a CNN video expert said he was “highly suspicious” of the surveillance footage that the school district handed over.

CNN obtained 290 hours of footage from 35 cameras stationed around the gym after filing suit. After forensic video analyst Grant Fredericks poured through the video, he told CNN that the files had been “altered in a number of ways” and that he was “missing information.”


The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is insisting that they did not change the videos and that the teen’s death was an accident. They claim Johnson died when he was reaching for a shoe that had fallen into one of the mats.

But Fredericks disagrees.

"Those files are not original files," said Fredericks, who has worked as a consultant for the U.S. Justice Department and as a contract instructor for the FBI’s National Academy. "They're not something investigators should rely on for the truth of the video.”

The Johnson family had raised concerns that the videos didn’t have any timestamps. The footage is reportedly jumpy and blurred.

“Either the cameras did this on their own or a human being interacted to make these cameras do these things," said the Johnsons’ attorney Chevene King.

However, Fredericks said that these irregularities could easily be explained. The gym had motion-triggered cameras, which is why the students in the footage would erratically disappear and reappear. The blurry splotches could be explained by an out-of-focus lens. And Fredericks was able to find a time stamp.

What really concerned Fredericks was that some of the video seems to be missing.

In total, Fredericks said that Johnson showed up in about 18 minutes of the footage. The teen walked into school at 7:31 a.m. He was last seen at 1:09 p.m., entering the gym.

One pair of cameras was missing about an hour and five minutes of footage. They started up again at 1:09 p.m., after Johnson walked into the gym. There was another gap in two more cameras—both missing about two hours and 10 minutes each. These cameras resume recording at 1:15 p.m. and 1:16 p.m.

"I can't tell you whether there was no information recorded in the digital video system or whether somebody made an error and didn't capture it or whether somebody just didn't provide it," Fredericks said.

Lowndes County police said that it took them several days after Johnson’s death to obtain the footage. A detective saw the video the day that the teen was found. He asked the school’s information technology officer to make a copy. It was delivered five days later.

"Right now, what they've done, is they've left it up to the school district as to what it is they want to provide to the police, and I think that probably is a mistake," Fredericks said. "You don't want somebody who might be party to the responsibility to make the decision as to what they provide the police."

The sheriff’s office is maintaining that the case is closed. But Johnson’s family hasn’t given up the fight.

"We are Kendrick Johnson," his mother, Jacquelyn Johnson, said. "That's my child, and we're going to fight until it's all over, until we get the truth. That's all we've ever asked for -- was the truth about what happened to Kendrick Johnson."

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[DiamondSmiles]

By Kate Brumback,
The Associated Press

December 11, 2013

ATLANTA — During a rally at the state Capitol Wednesday, lawyers for the family of a Georgia teenager found dead at school inside a rolled-up gym mat called on the governor to order a coroner's inquest.

The body of 17 year old Kendrick Johnson was found January 11, and sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident. Johnson's parents insist someone must have killed him.

Johnson's parents and their lawyers were among about 20 speakers who addressed a crowd of roughly 200 people gathered for a "Who Killed K.J." rally on the steps of the Georgia Capitol.
Other speakers included Martin Luther King, III, state lawmakers and various others. Another rally is being planned in Valdosta on January 11, the anniversary of Johnson's death.

A coroner's inquest is necessary to change the official cause of death from accident to homicide so that it can be properly investigated, said Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Johnsons. He also represents the parents of Trayvon Martin, the teen shot and killed in Florida.

"Gov. Deal is aware that federal authorities, including the U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI, are looking into the case and we'll await their report to determine if further action is needed," Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said in an email after the rally. "Certainly, if another investigation is called for, the governor would be open to that."

Johnson, a three-sport athlete, was found dead on January 11 in a rolled-up wrestling mat in his high school gym.

U.S. Attorney Michael Moore in October said he was conducting a formal review of the evidence in the case. He said if there's sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal civil rights investigation, he will ask the FBI to conduct it.

Authorities have said they suspect Johnson became trapped trying to retrieve a shoe that fell into the center of the large, rolled mat. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded that he died from positional asphyxia, meaning his body got stuck in a position in which he couldn't breathe.

Johnson's family had his body exhumed over Summer so they could get a second opinion from a private pathologist. Dr. William R. Anderson in an August report said he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. He concluded the teenager died from blunt force trauma near his carotid artery and that the fatal blow appeared to be non-accidental.

A lawyer for Johnson's parents filed court papers in October requesting that a judge order a coroner's inquest. The judge overseeing that case has said he'll wait to decide whether to order one until the U.S. attorney's office completes its review.
Crump says federal investigations take can take too long and that Johnson's parents have already waited 11 months and need answers.

"We cannot wait on the federal government to do what the state government in Valdosta is supposed to do," he said.

Lawyers for the family on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Georgia secretary of state's office against Antonio Harrington, the owner of Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta. When Johnson's body was exhumed for a second autopsy, some of his organs were missing and his body cavity was filled with newspaper, and the family claims Harrington misled them about the condition of his body or mishandled the body.

An attorney for the funeral home, Roy Copeland, did not return phone messages seeking comment Tuesday and Wednesday. Copeland has previously said Johnson's organs were missing when the body arrived at Harrington. He also defended the use of newspaper as being in keeping with standard embalming practices of filling body cavities with materials like sawdust or cotton.

Jacquelyn Johnson, second from left, the mother of Kendrick Johnson, the south Georgia teenager found dead inside a rolled-up wrestling mat in his school, is embraced by Monique Mosely, left, as Johnson's daughter Kenyetta, right, stands by following a rally, Wednesday, December 11, 2013, in Atlanta.

David Goldman / AP


Kendrick Johnson of Valdosta, Georgiaa, is seen in an undated photo released by the family. Johnson, a three-sport athlete, was found dead on January 11 in a rolled-up wrestling mat in his high school gym.

Courtesy of Johnson family

[JohnFrash]

Thanks for the update. I am so intrigued by this story.

[Sharon]

Interesting case

On a side note:

When I used to do routine post mortem dissections, all organs were removed for pathological exam. The PM consent form does state that tissue and organs may be retained for examination. Often whole organs were kept if they were of medical interest.

On reconstruction, I stuffed the cranium with cotton wool, the body cavities with paper towels and remaining organs went in a bin bag put back into the lined body. Any absorbent material can be used - even newspaper. It is there to simply absorb leaks from whatever liquids remain. Seems bad taste but stops the head & torso incision sites and orifices oozing!

[DiamondSmiles]

AP

January 19, 2014

VALDOSTA, Georgia — A south Georgia funeral home broke no laws when it used newspapers to stuff the body of a Valdosta teenager found dead last year inside a rolled up gym mat at his school, state regulators concluded in a report sent to the teen's parents.

The family of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson of Valdosta filed a complaint with the Georgia Board of Funeral Service last year after newspaper was found in the place of his missing organs when the body was exhumed for a second autopsy.

Johnson's parents, who are fighting to have their son's death declared a homicide after authorities concluded it was a freak accident, said they were outraged and found the funeral home's use of newspapers to be disrespectful.

Attorneys for the Johnson family released a letter from the board saying it found Harrington Funeral Home broke no state law. However, the board also noted that using newspaper to fill a body cavity is not considered a, "best practice," and that other materials are "more acceptable than newspaper," The Valdosta Daily Times reported Saturday.

Roy Copeland, an attorney for Harrington Funeral Home, said its owners were, "certainly happy," with regulators' finding that it did nothing illegal.

Students at Lowndes High School discovered Johnson's body January 11, 2013, inside a rolled up gym mat propped against the wall beside the bleachers.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded he died from positional asphyxia, meaning his body was stuck upside down and he was unable to breathe. Sheriff's investigators concluded Johnson got trapped in the mat while reaching for a gym shoe that had fallen inside.

Johnson's parents insist someone must have killed him and have pushed to reopen the case. The U.S. attorney for middle Georgia is reviewing the investigation with help from the FBI.

It's still unclear what happened to Johnson's internal organs after the GBI autopsy. The GBI has said it returned the organs to the body before sending it to the funeral home. But, the funeral home has said the organs were missing when the body arrived. Lowndes County Coroner, Bill Watson, has said many of Johnson's organs were deemed too badly decomposed to be preserved and had to be disposed of before the body was embalmed.

Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson stand next to a banner on their SUV showing their late son, Kendrick Johnson. AP Photo: Russ Bynum____

[invertigo]

Originally Posted by diamondsmiles ↗

It's still unclear what happened to Johnson's internal organs after the GBI autopsy. The GBI has said it returned the organs to the body before sending it to the funeral home. But, the funeral home has said the organs were missing when the body arrived.

We're never going to find out what really happened with all this finger pointing. I can understand why the parents are frustrated.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by invertigo ↗

We're never going to find out what really happened with all this finger pointing. I can understand why the parents are frustrated.

Me, too!

Something is weird. This happened in the US, not some third world country!

And how did he die? How did he get inside the mat?

By all accounts, he was a healthy, strong teenager.

[Zambini]

Originally Posted by invertigo ↗

We're never going to find out what really happened with all this finger pointing. I can understand why the parents are frustrated.

Poor parents, not only did they lose a child but they also have to contend with this BS

[Pigeon]

Originally Posted by Megamel29 ↗

"Those files are not original files," said Fredericks, who has worked as a consultant for the U.S. Justice Department and as a contract instructor for the FBI’s National Academy. "They're not something investigators should rely on for the truth of the video.”

The Johnson family had raised concerns that the videos didn’t have any timestamps. The footage is reportedly jumpy and blurred.

“Either the cameras did this on their own or a human being interacted to make these cameras do these things," said the Johnsons’ attorney Chevene King.

Originally Posted by Megamel29 ↗

What really concerned Fredericks was that some of the video seems to be missing.

In total, Fredericks said that Johnson showed up in about 18 minutes of the footage. The teen walked into school at 7:31 a.m. He was last seen at 1:09 p.m., entering the gym.

One pair of cameras was missing about an hour and five minutes of footage. They started up again at 1:09 p.m., after Johnson walked into the gym. There was another gap in two more cameras—both missing about two hours and 10 minutes each. These cameras resume recording at 1:15 p.m. and 1:16 p.m.

Originally Posted by Megamel29 ↗

"Right now, what they've done, is they've left it up to the school district as to what it is they want to provide to the police, and I think that probably is a mistake," Fredericks said. "You don't want somebody who might be party to the responsibility to make the decision as to what they provide the police."

It seems obvious the school is in on it, so why aren't the police being more forceful to obtain the footage?