VALDOSTA – On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that no charges would be brought as the result of the federal investigation into the death of Lowndes High School student Kendrick Johnson, and a family who has been the target of rumor and speculation in the case issued a statement calling the announcement “overdue.”
Johnson’s body was found upside down in a vertically-stored gym mat at Lowndes High School in January 2013. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-old’s death accidental, theorizing that he became trapped in the mat while reaching for a pair of shoes. The Johnson family have insisted their son died of foul play.
The bizarre death has been investigated by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, the Valdosta-Lowndes Regional Crime Lab, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshal Service and the Department of Justice.
On Monday, a DOJ statement indicated their was “insufficient evidence” to warrant federal charges and that the nearly three-year investigation into Johnson’s death had come to a close.
The family of FBI agent Rick Bell issued a statement following the DOJ’s announcement. Bell, his two sons and 35 state and local officials were accused in a $100 million civil suit filed by Johnson’s parents of either directly causing or covering up the cause of their son’s death. The suit was later dropped.
“We welcome the long overdue and expected closing of the DOJ/grand jury investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson. As we have stated from the beginning, our sons had no involvement in Johnson’s tragic death,” stated the release from the Bell family.
Widespread suspicion fell on the Bell brothers following the publication of articles on Ebony.com written by “true crime” author Frederick Rosen. The articles used psuedonyms but pointed to the Bell brothers and accused the two of conspiring to kill Johnson.
The Bells have since filed a $5 milllion defamation suit against Frederick Rosen and Johnson Publishing, which owns Ebony Magazine.
“We look forward to vindicating our reputations in the defamation lawsuits we have filed against Johnson Publishing (Ebony Magazine) which published defamatory stories by Fred Rosen and which played a major role in bringing about this DOJ investigation,” stated the Bell family’s release.
Next month, the lawyer’s representing the Bells will be joined in court by other former defendants in the $100 million civil suit filed by Johnson’s parents. The defendants are seeking nearly $900,000 in lawyers’ fees from the Johnsons.
