Death of Kendrick Johnson
2013 death in Georgia, United States

On January 11, 2013, the body of Kendrick Lamar Johnson, an American high school student, was discovered inside a vertical rolled-up gym mat in the gymnasium of Lowndes High School, which he attended in Valdosta, Georgia. After a preliminary investigation and autopsy concluded that Johnson's death was accidental, his family had a private pathologist conduct a second autopsy, which concluded that he died from blunt force trauma. On October 31, 2013, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that his office would open a formal review into Johnson's death. On June 20, 2016, the Department of Justice announced that it would not be filing any criminal charges related to Johnson's death.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Death of Kendrick Johnson” is 2013 death in Georgia, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Death, Kendrick and Johnson, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “2013 death in Georgia, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The first chronological checks are 2013 and 2016.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Death of Kendrick Johnson”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Death of Kendrick Johnson primary sources, Death of Kendrick Johnson archive and Death research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Death of Kendrick Johnson”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Death of Kendrick Johnson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.