“I will fight as long as I have to to uncover what exactly happened to Kendrick Johnson,” said the teen's father, wearing a T-shirt that read: 'Kendrick Johnson didn’t roll himself up into no mat.”
’s body was found in a wrestling mat Jan. 11, 2013, in the Lowndes High School gym in Valdosta, Georgia. State and local law enforcement officials ruled the death an accidental asphyxiation, saying Johnson died after he climbed into a rolled-up mat to retrieve his sneakers.
“I will fight as long as I have to uncover what exactly happened to Kendrick Johnson,” said his father, Kenneth Johnson, wearing a T-shirt that read:"Kendrick Johnson didn’t roll himself up into no mat.”Paulk, the sheriff, could not immediately be reached for a response Thursday. A coach placed the mat in a horizontal position, “exposing the upper half of the torso," according to the sheriff's report.
Seven people testified that students, including Johnson, often stored shoes or other items inside the mats, according to the sheriff's report. One student testified that they would go down into the mats to retrieve the items, according to the report. Another said he and Johnson had stored their shoes in the mat in the past and would retrieve them by tipping the mat.
In September 2018, Anderson added an addendum to his report to include"blunt force trauma, right thorax" after the body was exhumed a second time. Paulk also addressed claims that two students may have been involved, as well as conflicting accounts of Johnson's missing organs.