Maryanne Gaffney-Kraft, regional medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said findings from the crime scene, investigator reports, forensic testing, witness statements, scene photographs and coroner's findings all pointed to accidental death. }, "https:\/\/embeds.go.ione.nyc" ); Brian and Branden Bell produced alibis, backed up by witnesses and video surveillance footage, showing they were nowhere near the gym where KJ was last seen Jan. 10, 2013. The grisly discovery was made by two sisters, daughters of the Superintendent . Jacquelyn Johnson, mother of Kendrick, during a moment while filming the documentary. What Happened in The Kendrick Johnson Case? This is a muddy, confusing, and complicated case, made all the more difficult by the involvement of people, like Bell, who were minors at the time of Johnsons death. According to Brandon Bell, Brian Bell had told Ryan that if he did not keep quiet and help him move Kendrick Johnsons body, his father, who isRick Bell, who is a retired F.B.I. But were going to try to parse the developments and explain what has happened with the case. Download theGrio today! The familys third autopsy supported the results of the second and that Johnson died of non-accidental trauma to his body,Atlanta Black Starreported. Thank you.. He wrote The Defender: Manute Bols Journey from Sudan to the NBA and Back Again, a multimedia e-book published by The Atavist. They blamed the sons of a former FBI agent, and a federal probe was opened. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. Jordan Ritter Conn is a staff writer for Grantland. Johnson's parents filed a $100 million wrongful death suit against the brothers on Jan. 15, 2015, but dropped it on March 2, 2016. Over the years, the Johnsons have publicly implicated brothers Brian and Branden Bell in Kendrick's death. So Anderson sent the slides to other pathologists, who came to the same conclusions. Many speculations were raised on who killed him. In their 2015 lawsuit, the Johnsons claimed that the Superintendent of Schools and the then-sheriff were acting on Rick Bells behalf. Lowndes County Sheriffs Office said an unidentified man admitted to producing the fraudulent audiotape which he initially claimed contained Brian Bell confessing to Kendrick Johnsons murder. Brandon Bell, who is both a student at Valdosta High School and the brother of Brian Bell, had got drunk at a party on July 4 of 2013 and told people that Brian Bell killed Kendrick Johnson, the petition alleged. A few weeks later, at a motel in Hahira, deputies tracked down the man who provided the recording. Download our newest episodes now! However, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said their investigation revealed that the Bells do not have a second cousin. Sheriff Ashley Paulk told WALB News 10 the officers received 17 boxes of documents along with computer towers and hard drives of data and information that had been collected during previous investigations. It goes on to note that After Kendrick Johnsons mother and father [Kenneth Johnson]did a second autopsy on him, they had found out that his death was NOT accidental and he had died from blunt force trauma to the upper neck on the right.. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. Brian Bell's current location is unknown. The Johnsons insists their son died of foul play. Tape of man's confession to killing Kendrick Johnson, rolling in mat The Johnsons and Pollock said they want the documentary to inspire anyone with information to speak up. "It was looking out for the young man. He blames Moore, the U.S. attorney, for allowing the case to drag on and says several black leaders in the community have backed away from support of the Johnsons. The two had been disciplined for a fight that took place on abus coming home from an away football game in 2011, when both were Lowndes High football players. According to the funeral home that processed the body after the FBIs autopsy, they never received Johnsons internal organs from the coroner; the organs were destroyed through the natural process. "Jimbo was upset about it," McPherson says. Johnsons family was told the audiotape contains Brian Bells voice, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. One of the brothers had checked out prior to Kendrick entering the gym for a state wrestling tournament. He referred questions about the sheriffs questions to the Johnsons new attorney, Clint Rucker. Kendrick Johnson case to be reopened 8 years after his death - Yahoo News Last month, the parents of Kendrick Johnson filed a $100 million lawsuit against 38 defendants, including Bell, his brother and their father, Richard Bell, an FBI agent. Kendrick found dead on a gym mat at Lowndes High School in January of 2013. After three autopsies and an accidental death ruling, Kendrick Johnson The answer to that might be as simple as this: Winston is potentially the No.1 overall pick of the NFL draft, while Bell, according to Rivals.com, is the nation's 47th-best linebacker in his class. In fact, he was missing from all of the social media platforms. I recently became aware of a statement made in Florida in 2017, by Ryan Hernandez, who was/is friends with Brandon Bell (brother of Brian Bell and son of former FBI special agent Rick Bell) his statements declare that Brian Bell killed Kendrick Johnson and Ryan Hall was with Brian Bell at the time, it states that Brian called his father, who . A big wave happens because of the depth under the wave. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. All rights reserved. Investigators seize phones of FBI agent and sons who were Kendrick Where is Charlie Tan now, and what happened to his mother and brother? We pulled the class attendance records, Lowndes County sheriffs deputy Stryde Jones told the AJC. Rose, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council for Valdosta-Lowndes, originally helped raise money for the Johnsons. Mitch Credle is a brave man to whistleblow as he has, Pollock said. Chevene B. Having just turned 17, . Now, it seems government agents may be investigating . Is that Brian Bell in the back corner of the "Say It Ain't - Reddit WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! Branden and Brian maintain they arentracist, but friends told reporters their social media presence allegedly showed racially insensitive tweets. Kay Ivey: The Opposite Of Woke Is Ignorance, Life After The White House: Sasha Obama Will Graduate From College This Year, Tennessee Republicans Heard In Leaked Audio Crying About Being Called 'Racist'. Did Authorities Cover-Up Kendrick Johnson's Mysterious Death - Medium The Defender: Manute Bols Journey from Sudan to the NBA and Back Again, New Developments in the Case of Kendrick Johnson, The End of the Hoop Dream: A Journey to the Extreme Fringe of International Basketball. Where Is Brian Bell Now? Is He in Jail in Kendrick Johnson's Murder Those findings, Anderson, Pollock and the Johnson family said, were ignored by Georgia law enforcement officials. In an interview with the Valdosta Daily Times, Karen Bell, the mother of Brian and Brandon Bell, described the lawsuit as frivolous and without merit., While the Bell brothers are defendants in the civil suit brought by the Johnsons, no law enforcement official has named either of the Bellsas criminal suspects. Bill Paxton Death Cause: How Did He Die; His Obituary What Happened To Him? For a much more detailed look at the initial investigation, read Grantlands 2013 story. "I have players who have gone on to Division I and play in the NFL, and Brian is right there with the others as far as talent," McPherson says. FBI Agent's Sons Deny Involvement In The Death Of Kendrick Johnson Keep in mind that Brian Bell was apprehended for Kendrick Johnson's murder after police recovered his fingerprints on a gym mat on which the body had lain. 8. Their father, Rick. iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height ); Brian and Branden said they tried to grieve like the rest of their classmates, but were shocked to find out they were being accused of his death. Second, both of the Bell brothers, along with their father, are named in a wrongful death suit filed by the Johnsons. Acrimony has spilled onto the Internet and social media. Required fields are marked *. Georgia police have revealed that a supposed confession tape tied to the 2013 death of high school athlete Kendrick Johnson, whose body was found wrapped in a gym mat, is a fake, Crime-Online reports.. Giving false statements, Paulk said. The case of Kendrick Johnson is being reopened. Brian and Branden Bell are being investigated over the death of Kendrick Johnson, who was found dead on January 11, 2013 Jonson's body was in a rolled-up gym mat at his Georgia school His. The Johnsons and their counsel were forced to pay the defendants more than $292,000 in legal expenses because the lawsuits against the 38 individuals were eventually withdrawn. He didn't play in 2012 as a sophomore but came to McPherson after that season and said he wanted to play again. Like in the case of LaVena Johnson, the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson have been ignored by mainstream. } The mysterious death of a Black high school wrestler in 2013 is the subject of Finding Kendrick Johnson a new documentary out Friday and the boys family is hoping its release could lead to people with information coming forward. I will be making a quick video either today or tomorrow on my Youtube channel about this magnificent victory. Please check your email for confirmation from us. They then hired a private coroner who determined the cause of death to be a result of blunt force trauma to the upper neck on the right. Where is Jason Worley now? Only Kendrick Johnson.. Nora Eakin, the parent of a student at Lowndes High School and a teacher's assistant, said she has talked to other parents about the tone and atmosphere of the grand jury proceedings and they described the questioning by G.F. "Pete" Peterman III, assistant U.S. Attorney, as aggressive and accusatorial. Johnsons parents accused Brian Bell, Branden Bell, and a friend of murdering their son in a wrongful death case.