Authorities Investigation into Kendrick Johnsons Case Sufficient

In October 2013 a federal criminal ... closed the case in June 2016, saying investigators “found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges”. The Johnson family also pursued various civil lawsuits without ...

In a scathing report recently obtained by CNN, the coroner in the case of a Georgia teen found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat blasted how the initial investigation was handled. Authorities say Kendrick Johnson fell into the mat and suffocated while trying to retrieve a sneaker.

On June 20, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that they would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death, stating, "After extensive investigation into this tragic event, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone or some group of people willfully violated Kendrick Johnson's civil rights or committed any other prosecutable federal crime."

The federal investigation was extensive, lasting nearly three years before the DOJ announced its conclusion in June 2016. The agency stated it found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any person or group willfully violated Kendrick Johnson’s civil rights or committed any prosecutable federal crime.

The case gained national attention ... a special investigator to review the case, focusing on new evidence and allegations of mishandling by local authorities....

Federal authorities ultimately provided no answers in 2016 when they closed their investigation into whether Johnson’s civil rights were violated. The Justice Department released a statement saying investigators "found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges." In 2021, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk opened the investigation again due to public scrutiny of the case.

CNN also obtained what they are calling a “scathing report” written by the coroner in the Johnson case, claiming the evidence at the crime scene was compromised and information for his investigation was withheld. Authorities have claimed that the 17-year-old fell between mats trying to reach for a sneaker, but Johnson’s family suspects that the boy was murdered.

Sheriff Ashley Paulk knew or should have known producing his patently false 16-page investigation synopsis concerning KJ’s injuries and death was against the law, implicated himself and the agency in a multitude of crimes, and exposed himself and the agency to criminal and civil liability under federal and state fraud and civil rights laws.

The Johnsons also got the FBI involved. The Department of Justice and the FBI · investigated the murder and determined that there was not enough evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” that someone had killed Kendrick.