Photo: Kendrick Johnson Family/GoFundMe
The mother of Kendrick Johnson is sharing graphic photos of her son’s body more than 13 years after he was found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat at his Georgia high school.
The photos show his face bruised and swollen and his hands bloodied. Other images show a plastic bag that his mother says contained his organs.
“My baby’s organs were in that bag beside him!” Jacquelyn Johnson wrote, questioning what happened to them and calling for an investigation.
Johnson was 17 when his body was discovered at Lowndes High School on January 11, 2013.
Authorities ruled Johnson’s death accidental, concluding he died from positional asphyxia after becoming trapped upside down inside the gym mat, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
However, a second autopsy commissioned by his family attributed his death to blunt force trauma, leading his parents to challenge the official findings.
In a Threads post shared Thursday (October 29), Johnson’s mother reflected on the years her family has spent without him, writing, “Almost 14 freaking years without #KendrickJohnson.”
She also accused authorities and other institutions of lying about her son’s death, three days earlier, in a post shared Monday (October 26).
“13 years full of lies from the lowndes county sheriff department in Valdosta ga 13 years of lies from the fbi gbi that funeral home and lowndes high racist school,” she wrote, adding that she would “forever say fuk that school” and accusing people who support it of showing her that “Kendrick didn’t matter.”
In another post, she said she and Johnson’s father would never stop fighting for answers.
“We didn’t ask to be part of no movement. We didn’t ask for this pain. All we wanted was to raise our baby, watch him grow up and live his dreams!” she wrote. “Kendrick Johnson, your mama and daddy ain’t NEVER giving up on you!”
In another post, she questioned what happened to her son’s organs, alleging they were missing and demanding an investigation.
On Wednesday (October 28), she wrote, “Sometime you have to remind these ole ***** what happened at Lowndes hush school and for them to think it’s ok and shit sweet better get ready Friday NO JUSTICE NO PEACE it’s game time b*****s !!”
In a subsequent post, she accused people who support the school of turning their backs on her family.
“They killed my son at Lowndes high school #KendrickJohnson so called friends so called family so called brothers but yet yall support the dam school gtfoh,” she wrote.
Her posts prompted emotional reactions online. One person said, “Children who are Black deserve to grow up. They deserve to be safe, and loved, and cherished, and protected.”
Another person wrote, “Who is still concerned that we don’t have justice for Kendrick Johnson? I’ll start. Me I am very concerned.”
A third person said seeing the photos was heartbreaking and expressed sympathy for Johnson’s parents.
BIN reported in September 2023 that Johnson’s family filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, alleging misconduct.
The U.S. Department of Justice found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges.
WCTV reported in April 2026 that the sheriff’s office considers the case active and offers a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
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