Federal Prosecutor to Review 17-Year-Old Georgia Teen’s Death

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The Valdosta Daily Times / Adam Floyd / AP

Jacquelyn and Kenneth Johnson, center left and right, parents of Kendrick Johnson, the Georgia teen found dead inside a rolled-up wrestling mat at his school, walk with their attorneys on Oct. 10, 2013, at the Lowndes County Judicial Complex in Valdosta, Ga.

The case of a Georgia teen whose body was found rolled up in a wrestling mat in his high school’s gym will be reviewed by a federal prosecutor.

U.S. Attorney Michael Moore announced Thursday that he will conduct a review of the facts and evidence concerning the death of Kendrick Johnson, 17, who was found dead Jan. 11, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. He said that if he finds enough to warrant a criminal investigation, he will request one from the FBI.

At the time Johnson’s body was discovered, Lowndes County sheriffs concluded that it was a freak accident, but his family insisted that the boy, who lived in Valdosta, was killed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that he suffocated after becoming lodged in the mat while looking for a shoe. But a private pathologist found that he died from cardiac arrest after being struck in the face.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered authorities to release all surveillance videos that were reviewed by investigators on the case.

[AJC]