The parents of a Georgia teen whose death was ruled a freak accident have filed a new wrongful death lawsuit in federal court.
Classmates of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson found his body inside a rolled up gym mat on January 11th, 2013 at Lowndes High School. Despite local, state and federal investigations that have not resulted in charges, Kendrick’s parents believe that someone killed him.
“We will not let them silence us about our son’s murder. I know my son wouldn’t have tried to crawl into the mat,” Jacquelyn Johnson during an appearance on Roland Martin’s radio show, according to New York Daily News.
The new lawsuit, filed Aug. 17, states that one of Kendrick’s teammates, his older brother, and other accomplices, contributed to fatally assaulting Kendrick. The lawsuit also alleges that the two brothers, who are white, held a grudge against Kendrick for a fight they had a few years ago.
The document further stated that the brother’s FBI agent father collaborated with the local County Sheriff and school’s superintendent to “illegally cover up the true cause of death.”
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice announced in June that they had closed their investigation without filing criminal charges.
“After extensive investigation into this tragic event, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone or some group of people willfully violated Kendrick Johnson’s civil rights or committed any other prosecutable federal crime,” DOJ officials said in a released statement.
