VALDOSTA, Ga., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A Georgia family said new evidence shows their teenage son didn't die in an accidental suffocation but was killed in the gym at his high school.
Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found wedged between wrestling mats in his Valdosta, Ga., high school gymnasium in January. Lowndes County sheriff's investigators ruled Johnson's death an accident, saying he'd accidentally become stuck while reaching for a lost sneaker and suffocated.
Now, CNN reported Wednesday family members, who paid for a second autopsy, have obtained crime scene photos that raise new questions about the circumstances surrounding Johnson's death.
One photo shows blood on the wall of the gym that investigators said did not belong to Johnson. Sheriff's investigators, who consider the case closed, said it wasn't fresh blood so they didn't consider it part of the evidence in the case.
Another photo shows a hooded sweatshirt and sneakers in the gym soaked in a substance. Investigators said they didn't collect the items as evidence because there was no apparent connection to the case but Johnson's father, Kenneth, questioned why investigators didn't attempt to determine whose clothes they were and question the individuals about what they saw.
"They know something happened in that gym, and they don't want it to come out," he said.
Previously, the family-sponsored autopsy revealed blunt force trauma to Johnson's neck, something the official autopsy did not find.
A private investigator working with the family agreed the case appears to be a homicide.
"I don't believe this was an accident. I think this young man met with foul play," said Harold Copus, a former FBI agent now working as a PI in the Atlanta area.
So far, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department has refused to change its finding of accidental death.
