VALDOSTA, Ga., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The family of a Georgia teen who died in his high school gym charges a funeral home removed his organs to thwart an investigation into the cause of death.
Kendrick Johnson's parents amended a lawsuit Wednesday to accuse Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta, Ga., of participating in a coverup, CNN reported. The family filed the lawsuit last week.
Kendrick's body was found last year inside a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta. Investigators said the 17-year-old was killed accidentally after his shoe fell inside the mat and he reached in to retrieve it.
But the Johnsons believe someone deliberately killed their son. When his body was exhumed for a second autopsy, a medical examiner found the internal organs had been taken out and the body stuffed with newspaper.
In their lawsuit, the parents accuse the funeral home and the proprietor, Antonio Harrington, of "morally despicable, fraudulent, unlawful and unfair business practices."
Roy Copeland, an attorney for Harrington, told CNN his client had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.
