The strange death of Kendrick Johnson

Kendrick Johnson was 17 years old when he was found dead inside a rolled up wrestling mat in his school's gymnasium.

What happened to Kendrick?

Kendrick was found on 11th January 2013 headfirst in the centre of a rolled up upright wrestling mat in his high school gym. His body was discovered by students that had climbed up to the top of a cluster of mats that are 6ft tall and 3ft wide. The autopsy that was carried out by Georgia Bureau of Investigation ruled that Kendrick had died from Positional Asphyxia (a position that prevents a person from breathing). They claim that Kendrick fell into the mat while looking for a pair of shoes and died as he was unable to get back out. Three students told investigators that it was very common for students to store their shoes behind or under rolled up mats. One student at the school said he shared a pair of Adidas shoes with Kendrick and after gym class he would always go the mats, jump up and toss the shoes inside the middle of the hole.

In November 2013, 290 hours of CCTV footage from 35 cameras that covered the gym area was released to CNN following a court request. A forensic analyst enlisted by CNN found that the tapes from 2 cameras are missing an hour and 5 minutes of footage while another set was missing two hours and 10 minutes of footage. The cameras are motion activated and that mat area was believed to be outside of the camera range. 2 cameras that covered the entrance of the gym showed a student entering the gym before Kendrick and some students standing near by to the entrance. Kendrick's family believe the camera footage was edited as a part of a cover up.

Questions about Kendrick's death

Kendrick's shoulders measured 19 inches across, how could he fit inside an opening that was only 14 inches across.

The shoes found near Kendrick's body were splattered with red matter however the authorities said it wasn't blood and it was not collected as evidence.

Kendrick received death threats via Facebook saying he would end up in a body bag but the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office said there was no connection.

Kendrick was not alone in the gym when he went to retrieve the shoes from the mat. How did nobody notice him get stuck?

The shoe under Kendrick's head had blood pooling around it, but none on it, which would be impossible if it were there being dripped on as claimed.

Kendrick was supposedly getting the spare pair of shoes meaning his arms would be above him but when he found his arms were along side his body?

Personally i do not believe that he could have fallen into the mat given the size of the opening, even if he did how did the mat stay upright? What happened to Kendrick is a mystery and unfortunately for his family i do not know if this will ever be solved. Maybe it was all an accident? Maybe it wasn't but i cannot see how he got himself inside the centre of the mat. Also, his shoes were off his feet when he was found and one sock was partially off his foot, how did his shoes come off?