$500k offered by sheriff for information on Kendrick Johnson’s death

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Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk has offered $500k of his own money in response to the outcry about a recent report released regarding the 2013 death of Kendrick Johnson.

Mysterious death

After numerous theories and new evidence presented by Johnson’s parents, Paulk reopened the investigation into the teens death.

In his 16 page report, Paulk said he spent hours poring over information and documents, and concluded Johnson’s death was a “weird” accidental death.

Seeking answers.

Questions over Kendrick’s death began on Jan. 11, 2013, the moment he was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat, which was standing upright in a corner of the gym. His sock-covered feet were sticking out and there was blood found on his shoe located nearby.

For years, Kendrick’s family fought for answers.

When authorities ruled Kendrick’s death accidental, surmising he had fallen into the opening at the center of the mat and suffocated, the Johnsons conducted an independent autopsy of their own, which determined he was a victim of foul play.

Johnson’s family has rejected Paulk’s recent report and said they plan to vehemently fight to seek answers.

On Saturday, Kendrick’s mother Jacquelyn and her family gathered in downtown Valdosta to protest Paulk’s findings, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

“They can always try and do what they want, but I’m going to stay in their face,” Jacquelyn stated in a Facebook live stream, the paper reported.

$500k reward offered

On Monday, Sheriff Paulk decided to offer his own money as a reward to anyone who provides any information leading to an arrest and conviction.

“After the release of my synopsis of the federal files on the Kendrick Johnson case, his parents have called me a liar and continue to state that Kendrick was murdered,” he wrote, according to the paper.

“Because of these statements, I am personally — with my own funds — offering a reward of one-half million dollars … to anyone who comes forward with information that results in the arrest and conviction of a person for the alleged murder of Kendrick Johnson at Lowndes County High School.”