Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Wives and Knives a true crime podcast with your hosts Dani & Kelly.
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Yes, hello everybody, did you know that I (K) have a MasterChef Australia obsession? I never know if Dani and I have talked about things in real life or for the podcast or both! But yeah, season 13 started on the 19th of April, and I was restrained, saved up the episodes binged it last night. It’s the only programme I watch with my husband, for a few months we sit in the same room at night.
If you follow Dani or I on social media you will see that she had her own MasterChef or bake-off moment at the weekend when she spent Sunday making an amazing cake for her intended, Friday. Amazing effort & result!!
Speaking of food, we moved recording to Friday night which followed a full workday for us both and we didn’t eat until after we had done. Not a great idea and one we won’t be doing again (the not eating something) because you can hear the low blood sugar, along with the peaks too.
We did however reward ourselves with a very late but very tasty Indian from the local.
We have some new listeners and followers on social media – So Hello everyone. Welcome 😊 x.
So today Dani is telling us about the case of Kendrick Johnson.
Please remember that we mean no disrespect to anyone mentioned in this episode, or across any of the wives and knives platforms.
We have an interest in true crime and related topics and whilst we may offer our own personal views on certain items it is meant to be educational and as light-hearted as possible. The information we present is collated from research gathered from the internet and we reference and credit our sources wherever possible.
Show notes.
This case has recently been reopened, although I heard about it listening to Crime Junkie podcast way back last year. Had you heard of the case?
– Yes, I am aware, because there’s a lot of controversy surrounding it; but interested to hear your take on it.
Like we mentioned back in one of the mini episodes, it’s only this year that the case was reopened. Kendrick's short life actually ended back in 2013 when he was 17. His body was found in his own high school gym, rolled up in a mat.
For me, this case has evolved so much to encompass issues of race, class, and reporting of crime in the media as well as issues surrounding naming of potential suspects and the implications that that has. My own opinion is evolving as well. I was, up until just a few evenings ago, adamant that his death was foul play but now I’m not as sure.
– I got your voice note and you sounded bewildered and dejected mate. Why the turn around?
. Not quite a full 360, not at all but I am interested in all avenues. So I’m going to start off by telling you a little about Kendrick, Kendrick Lamar Johnson was born October 10th, 1995, he was a student at Lowndes high school in Valdosta, Georgia. He was athletic, loved basketball and came from a close family.
On Wednesday, January 9, 2013, School had started again after the Christmas holidays. Lowndes High School has two gyms: an “old” gym and a “new” gym. It’s the old gym that is the focus of the following events.
The old gym houses several large wrestling mats which were in permanent storage in a corner, A few of the mats were stored upright; rolled and propped against the wall.
So these mats, I’ve seen some pictures and they aren’t like the ones I had at school.
Yeah, we’ll put pics in the usual places, but the mats were 6 feet tall and about 3 feet wide.
Many students (including Kendrick) used the rolled-up mats as storage for their things to avoid paying locker fees, apparently this was a normal thing at this school.
During the Christmas holidays, many more cheerleading/wrestling mats were added to the collection in the gym.
I always felt the first day back from the school holidays was fun, a time to catch up with friends you might not have seen for a few weeks.
Yeah, generally always looked forward to going back to see friends. Depends on your experience of school though, I guess.
I get the impression that Kendrick enjoyed school, he was popular and largely well liked. The next day Tuesday, January 10, the school’s CCTV shows Kendrick Johnson walking into the old gym - this is just after lunch at approximately 1.10pm. It seems as though no one follows Kendrick k, and no one else walks into the gym for another three minutes after he entered. It is speculated that he was retrieving a pair of shoes he and another student stored in the mats. Kendrick shared the shoes with this other student, with each boy taking turns wearing them and returning them to the same mat. On that particular Thursday, Kendrick k’s previously accessible mat was now behind several new mats recently moved into the gym.
– okay, so they’re potentially going to be much harder to get to.
Yeah, actually he would usually store his belongings in a vertically rolled mat, but it seems that during the Christmas holidays, when more mats had been brought into the gym, more of them had been rolled and stood vertically.
I have read that Kendrick and his friend usually accessed their shoes by tipping the mat over, get the shoes and then tip the mat back, but because of the extra mats his mat was now behind two other rows of mats, so he climbed on top to get it.
-also is it normal not to have free lockers at high school? I fucking hope they’ve supplied the kids with free lockers now, I mean I don’t want to sound like a twat but if kids are using gym mats to store things in, I have to question why the school bought more of them instead of more lockers that were free? I mean they can’t have used them much can they? Or was it normal to unroll a mat for P.E and have Todd’s work apron and Chloe’s back up pants be there?
Now like I said these mats are huge 6” and Kendrick was 5”10. The corner of the gym where the Mats were stored was covered by cctv, but the images are blurry, and unfocussed.
Kendrick didn’t attend his next class. After school he was supposed to be at a basketball game but didn’t show up and after he failed to come home later that evening, his mum, Jacquelyn Johnson reported him missing.
On the morning of Friday, January 11, Jackie went to the school to inform them that her son was missing. Administration assisted her by printing missing person flyers. At about 10:30 that morning, a few female students were sitting close to the mats filling out a survey. They noticed socks sticking out of one of the upright mats. Thinking it was a joke, a student climbed to look inside and saw Kendrick’s body.
Oh man, that’s terrible. Can you imagine how shocking that must have been...?
With the help of a teacher, the students knocked over the mat and partially pulled Kendrick out head-first, it was clear Kendrick was dead as the smell off vomit blood and decomposition was already strong. The school went into lockdown and Kendrick’s mum was informed that a body had been found. It is believed that Kendrick had been dead in an inverted position for 21 hours.
An investigation was started, and students were interviewed. Two pairs of shoes were found in the mat with Kendrick k. One pair were shoes he had been wearing; they were off his feet, on top of his body, near his feet and legs. Another pair, underneath his body, near his head. The only new blood found at the scene was inside the mat. Some old blood was found on a column near the mats, but it was determined to not be from Kendrick k. Bloody tissues were found in the rubbish bin of the gym girls’ bathroom. Lowndes County tested it and it was found to be female DNA. Blood had dripped from Kendrick onto the floor, pooling around the shoes underneath him but no blood was found on his legs. The sheriff and his detectives spent nearly four months investigating Johnson's death before closing the case in early May.
They ruled his death an accident saying he dove into the mat to retrieve a shoe and got trapped inside, after an autopsy found that he died of "positional asphyxia.” Kendrick k’s family couldn’t believe that this could happen and sited many reasons as to why this wasn’t a tragic accident. They questioned how Kendrick could even fit inside the mat as his shoulders where wider than the centre of the mat he was wedged in. Why was blood found under the shoe at the bottom of the mat but not on the shoe itself, and why was so little evidence collected from the crime scene.
– I’m inclined to go with the family on this one so far, I mean I have similar questions. I think I would struggle to get myself into that position personally, there’s only so much give in those mats. I find it hard to believe.
I Think that with gravity and a bit of momentum he could have got himself into that position and the blood being under the shoe but not on it could have just been the way it pooled. The actual lack of evidence collected seems inexcusable to me but what do I know.
well the coroner’s report is pretty scathing about the crime scene, stating the body had been noticeably moved, the scene had been compromised and there was no cooperation from law enforcement.
- Like I said the parents are livid and in April of 2013 during a public rally, several Johnson family members locked hands and blocked the entrance of the Lowndes County courthouse; They were arrested for civil disobedience. In May of 2013, the Johnsons held a fundraising rally. Over $5000 was raised during the rally and the donors were led to believe that the money raised was to be used for a reward for information of Kendrick k’s murder. The family never set up the reward. Instead, local businessman Roy Taylor gave a $10,000 check for a reward with the stipulation of a 90-day deadline.
In June 2013, the Johnson family arranged for the exhumation of Kendrick k’s body for an independent autopsy to be performed by private pathologist Dr. William Anderson.
It was during this autopsy when it was famously found that Kendrick k’s organs were missing, and his body stuffed with newspaper. I was shocked when I first heard this but filling body cavities with newspaper isn’t illegal and the funeral home worked for free during the burial of Kendrick k. I can only assume they did this because his organs where already so decomposed.
Yeah, it’s not best practice but it’s not illegal.
However the Johnsons still decided to sue the funeral home. During this second autopsy Dr. Anderson disputed the GBI’s findings and determined that Kendrick died of “blunt force trauma, right neck.” He came to this conclusion after finding bruising to Kendrick’s neck. There’s further findings added to the Johnson’s belief that Kendrick had been murdered and forced into the mats. I was so behind this theory Partly due to the unlikeliness of him crawling into the mat himself but also down to the inherent racism that is widely reported to impact the investigations into the death of people of colour. However after much research my faith in Dr. Andersons findings have diminished: Dr. Anderson is now a private pathologist after being fired from the state of Florida for a myriad of unprofessional and unethical actions on his part.
In October 2013, the Department of Justice, agreed to investigate Kendrick’s death once again.
All of this alienated the Johnson family, who wanted to not only state unequivocally that Kendrick was murdered, but to publicly name the boys they believed were responsible.
To be fair the family are angry and in terms of a conspiracy theory, these two are perfect.
Jacquie & Kenneth Johnson accused Brian and Branden Bell of murdering Kendrick and were vocal about this at their rallies and on the Kendrick memorial Facebook page.
They alleged that Brian Bell murdered Kendrick and rolled his body up into the mat. Brian and Branden Bell are the sons of an FBI agent named Rick Bell. Kendrick’s father told the media that Kendrick had been in a fight on a school bus with Brian Bell. According to several friends and classmates, the two reconciled shortly after. However at the time of Kendrick k’s death, surveillance video, a teacher and all of Brian’s classmates place Brian in a classroom nowhere near Kendrick Johnson, and the time of Kendrick k’s death Branden Bell was on a trip with his wrestling team to attend a tournament.
One of the most perplexing things, to me, about Kendrick k's death is that the school’s CCTV is missing an hour - and that is what keeps me suspicious.
Apparently, this could be down to the cameras being connected to different servers but I’m not so sure.
The CCTV is interesting because it was motion sensor triggered am I right? So it wasn’t recording constantly. but despite that it is still problematic. So CNN hired an expert to forensically analyse the video, a guy called grant Frederick’s who is a U.S. Justice Department consultant and contract instructor for the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He examined over 290 hours of material from inside and outside the gym.
What's certain, based on video from a camera outside the gym, is that numerous students walked into the gym during the hour and five minutes that the cameras weren't recording, but it's not clear whether that was sufficient to activate the cameras' motion sensors.
And the hard drive containing the cctv videos was delivered to the sheriff’s office, Have the police actually been to the school and checked the actual surveillance, take Grant Frederic along for the ride.
If a crime was committed and the cctv was tampered with to protect the perpetrator then many people must know what really happened.
To increase publicity for the case the Johnsons chose to release images of Kendrick after he had passed away. There’s quite a few shocking photos of Kendrick out there and honestly when he was removed from the mat, he looked awful. As all the blood had ran to his head, he looks swollen and in pain. However the photos most widely publicised was actually taken after the autopsy when the skin from his face had been cut and removed and just placed back on his skull.
I went into this case so sure that it was a cover up - I’d heard that he was found in a mat he couldn’t have fitted in to, I believed there where suspects that had links to law enforcement and I knew there was missing cctv - but my own recent research has dispelled some of those former beliefs as rumour and now I’m stuck.
It’s horrific to thin that it could have been an accident, that Kendrick thought he would be able to reach his shoes if only he crawled in a little further. Then he went too far, that he couldn’t get out, that the mats where so thick they muffled his screams - the thought of it is terrifying. Maybe his parents are desperate to have someone to blame for the tragic loss of their son. I honestly don’t have a clue what I thin or feel. Kendrick deserves to be at peace and however he died it’s a tragedy and it’s still going on. On March 5th, 2021 just last month the case was officially reopened. With the support of Kendrick k’s parents there will once again be a full investigation into his death. What do you think Kel?
Well, it is a tough one. I agree with what you just said. It is horrific that this could have been an accident. It’s also disappointing to read the alleged motivations of the family. I too have had to ask myself some questions and really look at this again. I’m still not convinced. And I do worry that because of the Johnson’s behaviour, they’ve made some accusations and are facing serious legal fees because of it, is it distracting from something, is something major being missed?
Because I do still have questions,
I watched the walk-through video, I had to see the mats, because I feel like the way it’s described is that there’s a large unmovable/secure space. But in reality, mats will have some give and the material of the inside would have had some traction surely? There really doesn’t look like there is space, and one thing I couldn’t find out is if they ever tried a reconstruction? Do you remember Phoebe Handsjuk? They proved that it was possible, tremendously hard, and unlikely but possible. Has someone tried to see how far they can safely get into one of those things, like a controlled experiment by the police? Don’t go trying it out there for fucks sake. Because When rolled up, the mat left a 14-inch hole in diameter in the center. Johnson’s shoulders measured 19 across and he was five feet, ten inches tall.
Police very quick to rule it an accident – after 24 hours. Why the rush? A readiness to close a case that to the us and no doubt the rest of our listeners will find perplexing.
You touched on the lack of evidence taken in, again why? There was a hoodie and some orange and black gym shoes in the gym.
I am of course going to have to throw in a theory here, so okay the guys who were accused by the family, unless there is a very well-orchestrated cover up in play there, I think we can say they have been ruled out.
Kendrick is said to have been popular, doesn’t mean he didn’t have an enemy he didn’t really know about or acknowledge; Kendrick’s routine was well known due to his varied sports career. What if someone didn’t enter the gym but was already there waiting for him? they argued and killed Kendrick.
I hope that the outcome of this - whatever it may be, is conclusive enough to put this case to bed. For the sake of everyone involved. I worry that the parents are too intent on finding someone to blame and equally I worry that they are right, and this is a huge cover up and those responsible are free.
Sources.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/Kendrick k-johnson
YouTube - Georgina Marie - Kendrick Johnson https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/justice-department-closes- investigation-death-Kendrick k-Johnson http://www.coloradonewsday.com/national/21566-Kendrick k-johnson- death-blood-streaks-an-abandoned-sneaker-and-more-grisly-
scene-pictures-suggest-17-year-old-athlete-found-dead-in- wrestling-mat-may-have-been-murdered.html.
www.walb.com/story/24542760/reward-for-information-in-Kendrick Johnson-case-goes-unclaimed.
Https:// www.wsfa.com/2018/11/16/third-autopsy-results-show-non- accidental-damage-boy-found-dead-rolled-up-gym-mat/
https://www.scribd.com/document/393417220/Affidavit-in-Kendrick Johnson-Case#from_embed.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/45div4/ Kendrick k_johnsons_death_is_not_an_unresolved/
http://www.re-newsit.com/2014/02/real-talk-from-rev-floyd-rose-on.html
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FUODOHaFLXJM%2Fhqdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUODOHaFLXJM&tbnid=klZwAh67MCvNxM&vet=12ahUKEwj4t4fznJ_wAhUCwIUKHXAKDVMQMygDegUIARCrAQ..i&docid=k_2QwlfiYvE3LM&w=480&h=360&q=kendrick%20johnson%20mat&ved=2ahUKEwj4t4fznJ_wAhUCwIUKHXAKDVMQMygDegUIARCrAQ
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