Thursday, March 13, 2014

Kendrick Johnson: Georgia; Grand jury subpoenaes former classmates and their parents as federal investigators continue to probe teen's death; CNN.


STORY: "Fed's subpoena Kendrick Johnson's schoolmates amid probe into teens death,"    by reporters Victor Blackwell and Devon M. Sayers, published by CNN on March 13, 2014;

GIST: "Kendrick Johnson's former schoolmates and their parents have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating the Georgia teen's 2013 death, according to sources with knowledge of the subpoenas. Among those seen entering the federal courthouse in Macon on Thursday were current students at Lowndes High School and current and former students at Valdosta High School, also located in Lowndes County. Thursday's development comes four months after the feds launched an investigation. Johnson's parents have said the original probe was mishandled by local authorities. ........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. Johnson's parents have called the official story a "coverup" and said they believe their son's death was a homicide. A separate autopsy commissioned by the family attributed the 17-year-old's death to "apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma."........Asked during a January interview if he found the feds' involvement encouraging, Johnson's father, Kenneth Johnson, said, "We really won't feel anything until justice comes for Kendrick. We're glad they're here, but my feelings won't be there until we get justice for our son." His wife, Jacquelyn Johnson, said the FBI interview left her hopeful. "They answered a lot of questions about a lot of what we had heard," she said. "I felt better because it's another set of eyes looking into the case.""

The entire story can be found at:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/13/justice/kendrick-johnson-schoolmates-subpoena/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
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