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Death of teen found in rolled-up gym mat was accident, report finds
New York Post ^ | January 27, 2022 | Mark Lungariello

Posted on 01/27/2022 8:06:23 PM PST by nickcarraway

A black Georgia teenager found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat at his high school nine years ago was killed in a bizarre accident, a new report concluded.

Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk ruled out any crime related to the 2013 death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson at Lowndes High School in Valdosta.

Paul reopened the case in March in the face of theories that someone killed the teen and officials covered up the truth. “All of the evidence, testimony, interviews, grand jury testimony and even the blunt coercion and intimidation of some persons being questioned does not produce anything to prove anything that would have resulted in the death of Kendrick Johnson,” Paulk wrote in a 16-page summary of his investigation.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: education; georgia; gymmat; lowndes; paulk; valdosta
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1 posted on 01/27/2022 8:06:23 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Bizarre accident. He apparently fell into the center of a rolled up mat


2 posted on 01/27/2022 8:13:04 PM PST by bort
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To: nickcarraway
I broke FR rules and fully read the link and saw the other uniform, rolled up gym mats.

So anyone can see how someone searching for shoes could end up rolled up in a mat and suffocating to death.

**SARC if one cannot figure that out.

3 posted on 01/27/2022 8:17:13 PM PST by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)
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To: nickcarraway

This was a secret fear of mine, ever since I first saw a huge rolled-up gym mat when I was in about fifth grade.

Truly ghastly. Excellent sound absorbing characteristics.


4 posted on 01/27/2022 8:20:18 PM PST by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: Deaf Smith

At least it wasn’t ruled a suicide. More of an accident, like those blacks that they’d find in swamps, wrapped in more stolen chain than they could swim with.


5 posted on 01/27/2022 8:34:49 PM PST by gundog ( It was a bright cold day in April, though and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: nickcarraway

The headline is somewhat misleading when it says “rolled-up gym mat.” It’s important to note the mat was positioned upright. The mats were stacked vertically against a wall. He was found dead, head-first inside the center hole of a vertical mat.


6 posted on 01/27/2022 8:35:57 PM PST by Restless
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To: nickcarraway

What a horrible, horrible thing.

OTOH, mom should just accept it.

This society is hell-bent on always having someone to blame, in this case where apparently no one is. People seem to desperately need to pin blame on something, as if that’s going to change the pain.


7 posted on 01/27/2022 8:42:27 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMV)
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To: Restless

And he stored shoes in this mat? I find that hard to believe.


8 posted on 01/27/2022 8:45:29 PM PST by Shortstop7
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To: Shortstop7

The scenario I envisioned is that he hid the shoes in one end of the rolled-up mat while it was lying horizontally on the floor, then came back and found that the mat had been lifted to an upright position — with the shoes in the end facing down.


9 posted on 01/27/2022 8:55:04 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Mr. Potato Head ... Mr. Potato Head! Back doors are not secrets.")
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To: nickcarraway

Some important info I found in another article that was not included here:
A student at the school said that he shared a pair of Adidas shoes with Johnson, and that after gym class Johnson would always ‘go to the mats, jump up and toss the shoes inside the middle of the hole.’”


10 posted on 01/27/2022 8:57:39 PM PST by Restless
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To: nickcarraway

Did he “test positive”?

O wait...nine years ago.

Maybe for COVID-11?


11 posted on 01/27/2022 8:58:47 PM PST by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: nickcarraway

Similar thing happened to Barney on the Flintstones when he was putting up wallpaper and got rolled up in it. Lucky for him Fred was there to pull him out.

Therefore, I think this is similar, so therefore likely an accident.


12 posted on 01/27/2022 9:03:44 PM PST by BobL (Money is the most important thing in my life.)
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To: nickcarraway

Did he fall into a rolled up mat without anybody along and nobody in the gym?


13 posted on 01/27/2022 9:24:56 PM PST by Jonty30 (I love giving directions, because it is like me tell people where to go and how to get there.)
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To: Alberta's Child

The scenario I envisioned is that he hid the shoes in one end of the rolled-up mat while it was lying horizontally on the floor, then came back and found that the mat had been lifted to an upright position — with the shoes in the end facing down.>>>
And the first thing you do is tip the mat over and get your shoes.
or shit my shoes are in the mat unroll the mat and get your shoes.

no you go on top of the rolled up mat descend down to where the shoes are and then oh... i screwed up. ok let me tip the mat over while i’m upside down so i can get out. It’s wierd enough for me to cry foul play. It’s not like he fell into a hole in a yard.


14 posted on 01/27/2022 9:37:51 PM PST by kvanbrunt2
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To: Steely Tom
This was a secret fear of mine, ever since I first saw a huge rolled-up gym mat when I was in about fifth grade.

Seriously? And what do they call that phobia?

15 posted on 01/27/2022 9:40:18 PM PST by ponygirl (An Appeal to Heaven )
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To: nickcarraway

Mt take. SOme kids rolled him up in the mat. Tipped it up as a prank. he got pissed they made more fun out of it and figured he would get out or the janitor would find he. Didn’t work out that way and they are hiding. THere is no way the mat was rolled up with a hole the size of a body so he could crawl down and get his shoes. His buds need to fess up.


16 posted on 01/27/2022 9:44:43 PM PST by kvanbrunt2
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To: nickcarraway

I have been following this accidental death for eight years. IIRC, the family and black talkers in various places were implying it was a case of white supremacist murder. There is video of the kid, alone, and no one else. Video does not show much, IIRC, but there is no evidence it was anything more than a terrible accident. Note also that on occasion youths have climbed down into chimneys, and are found decades later. Some people are not very bright about what is inherently dangerous.


17 posted on 01/27/2022 10:00:45 PM PST by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team sco uts photo-op locations.)
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To: kvanbrunt2

Saw an investigation documentary on this the other night......appears a couple kids did fess up and got off basically with a few months in juvenile hall. A third was let off entirely.

I doubt this was done to purposely murder the kid and why they weren’t charged so. Whatever the case is it appears it’s been handled and a done deal now.


18 posted on 01/27/2022 10:03:58 PM PST by caww ( )
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To: PghBaldy

“In October 2013 a federal criminal civil rights investigation was announced, leading to interviews with almost a hundred people, but the justice department closed the case in June 2016, saying investigators “found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges”.” -— https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/03/kendrick-johnson-documentary-emmett-till


19 posted on 01/27/2022 10:07:14 PM PST by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team sco uts photo-op locations.)
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To: PghBaldy

” Georgia Judge Richard Porter ordered the Johnsons and their attorney to pay more than $292,000 in legal fees to the defendants, accusing them of fabricating evidence to support their claims.” -— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kendrick_Johnson -— The family wanted money, and apparently fabricated “evidence,” including a photo of the dead kid’s face, after the autopsy.


20 posted on 01/27/2022 10:16:21 PM PST by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team sco uts photo-op locations.)
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