VALDOSTA – Rick and Karen Bell have refiled their $5 million dollar lawsuit against the publisher of Ebony magazine for alleged libelous and slanderous statements about their sons in articles covering the Kendrick Johnson case.

The refiled suit is nearly identical to one the parents dropped in September. The defamation suit was refiled Tuesday in the Middle District of Georgia and claims Johnson Publishing Company acted negligently when it published a series of articles written by “true crime” author Fred Rosen between August 12, 2013 and April 9, 2014.

The articles claimed Kendrick Johnson, whose body was found at Lowndes High School in January 2013, was murdered. Johnson’s body was found upside down in a vertically-stored athletic in the school’s old gym. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-old’s death accidental. The Johnson family insists their son died of foul play.

Rosen used the pseudonyms Chris and Clark Martin to name the sons of a Valdosta FBI agent as possible suspects in a November 19, 2013 Ebony.com article. The Bells claim in their suit that, despite the pseudonyms, it was obvious the article was referring to their sons, who were then threatened with “bodily harm and ostracized” by students at LHS and received threats through social media.

The Bells’ suit claims Johnson Publishing and Rosen made no effort to verify the brothers’ alibis before the articles were published.

The Bells are seeking at least three million dollars in compensatory damages for the alleged libelous statements made in the series of articles. The suit also seeks at least one million dollars for alleged slanderous statements Rosen made during media interviews. The Bells are also seeking one million dollars in punitive damages, alleging Johnson Publishing and Rosen falsely accused them of a conspiracy to cover up a murder.