Teenager's family still searching for answers after his body was found rolled up in high school gym mat

The family of a teenager found dead upside down on a gym mat have said they will never give up hope of finding out what happened.

On January 11, 2013, 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his high school gymnasium in south Georgia.

Insider reported at the time that the gym mat was found leaning against the back wall of the Lowndes High School athletic facility.

It took investigators just 24 hours after Johnson's body was found to conclude that his tragic death was an accident.

However, Johnson's family continued to search for answers, refusing to accept that the teenager's death was accidental.

And in May 2022, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation.

Last year, Johnson's parents filed a lawsuit against several law enforcement agencies, and his father Kenneth said at a news conference last September, “We shouldn't have to be the plaintiffs and the investigators.”

Meanwhile, mother Jacquelyn added: “It's painful. It's hurtful. It's a shame that we had to fight for ten and a half years.”

In 2022, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk released a summary of the case, stating, “Anyone who looks at this case objectively would know that it would be impossible to conceal evidence due to the involvement of so many agencies and investigators.”

“The FBI states unequivocally in its investigation that there was no cover-up or conspiracy.”

Paulk added: “I am sure there will always be a contingent that believes foul play was involved. I encourage everyone to study ALL of the evidence in this case before forming an opinion.”

In 2018, Johnson's body was exhumed for a second autopsy, the results of which showed the cause of death to be “apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma.”

But the case did not end there, as the case was reopened once again in 2021.

However, Johnson's death was again ruled accidental, despite his family believing he was murdered and the true cause of death being the subject of a major “cover-up”.

After the complaint was filed last year, Johnson's father said one example of what the family considers false information was law enforcement's claim that there was no trauma or major bruising on his son's body.

“A retired surgeon testified that they had not seen anything remotely resembling Kendrick's body in over 43 years, based on their experience with autopsies,” the family said at the time.