Sources say feds subpoenaed Kendrick Johnson’s schoolmates

Sources close to the investigation say Kendrick Johnson’s schoolmates and their parents have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the Georgia teen’s 2013 death.

Kendrick Johnson’s schoolmates subpoenaed

According to CNN, among those entering the Lowdens County Courthouse on Thursday were current students at Lowndes High School and current and former students at Valdosta High School, also located in Lowndes.

This development comes after the feds launched an investigation into the mysterious death of Kendrick Johnson.

Johnson’s parents have said the original probe was mishandled by local authorities. The FBI has interviewed several of Johnson’s former schoolmates, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Investigation

Johnson’s body was found in a rolled-up mat in the Lowndes High School gymnasium on January 11, 2013.

Investigators with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office ruled his death accidental, concluding that Johnson climbed into the center of the gym mat to reach for a shoe and got stuck.

State officials later concurred that Johnson’s death was accidental and listed his cause of death as “positional asphyxia,” or suffocation by his own body weight.

But Johnson’s parents have called the official story a “coverup” and said they believe their son was murdered. A separate autopsy commissioned by the family attributed the 17-year-old’s death to “apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma.”

Source : CNN, First Coast News