Kendrick Johnson

from The "undersold" history of America

Back of the Bus

Case reopened with new evidence of possible confession

Kendrick Johnson went to school on January 10th, 2013 ready for a basketball game later that night. He did not show for the bus and never got to play in that game. The next day, when students noticed socks sticking out of a rolled up wrestling mat, they found his bruised and bloodied body. An investigation began and eventually it was determined to be an accidental death. Officials said that Kendrick was attempting to retrieve a pair of shoes commonly stored in the mat, slipped, and got stuck upside down, suffocating to death with nowhere to move. The family of Johnson did not believe this version of the story and think their son was intentionally murdered. Over the following 8 years, the family continued to fight to discover the truth to what happened.

April 9, 2013 Family claims he was murdered May 2, 2013 Death officially ruled an accident October 13, 2013 FBI starts investigation

January 11, 2013 Body found in wrestling mat September 3, 2013 Second autopsy shows blunt force trauma

New investigations began, undiscovered details emerged, lawsuits took place, and additional autopsies were performed in the search to resolve this mystery. The second autopsy of Kendrick Johnson revealed that the cause of death was from blunt force to the neck. Even with new details, a 30 month investigation by the FBI ending in 2016 concluded there was insufficient evidence to rule the death intentional. In 2018, a third autopsy showed that trauma was between the neck and abdomen and the family wanted the case reopened. They eventually got their wish in March of 2021, when a new investigation began.