Georgia parents might have to pay $850,000 to those they accused of killing their son

Aug 21, 2016

The parents of Kendrick Johnson, the 17-year-old student at Lowndes High School in Valdosta who was found dead in a rolled up gym mat, may have to pay over $850,000 in legal fees to those they accused of killing him and covering up his murder.

Kenneth and Jacqueline Johnson dropped the civil suit they had brought against their son’s teammate, police officers and state officials earlier in the year. On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Richard Porter decided to grant the requests from defendants to have at least part of their lawyer fees covered by the Johnsons.

The defendants in this case include a pair of teenage brothers as well as 37 others that they claim were involved in the alleged killing and the cover-up. A judge will decide on Monday how much of the $850,000 bill the grief-stricken parents will have to pay.

Kendrick was found dead in a gym mat that had been propped against a gym wall in January of 2013. There was a subsequent investigation in which it was determined that the incident was a freak accident. His parents refused to believe this.

They claimed that their son was murdered by one of his football teammate with whom he had fought back in 2011. They claim that the teen stayed upset for two years before enlisting his brother to help him kill Kendrick.

Investigators do not think that is what happened. They remain firm that Kendrick climbed into the gym mat to get a pair of shoes when he got stuck and suffocated. He was found a day later when students saw his feet sticking up over the edge of the rolled up mat.

When the first autopsy came back saying that he died of positional asphyxia, the family had his body exhumed and had a second one done. The second autopsy concluded that he died from a blow to the neck. It was at that time that the Johnsons filed a $100 million civil suit against 39 people.

In March, the Johnson family dropped their suit, and in June, the Justice Department closed their over two-year investigation with no further explanation as to what may have actually happened that day.