No Federal Charges in Death of Teenager Found Dead Inside of Gym Mat

MACON, Ga. (TheBlaze/AP) -- The Justice Department said Monday there will be no federal charges in the death of a Georgia teenager found inside a gym mat.

"The Department of Justice announced today that the independent federal investigation into the 2013 death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson in Valdosta, Georgia, found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges," the department said in a statement.

Kendrick Johnson (Image source: WMGT-TV)

More from the DOJ, via WMGT-TV:

Kendrick Johnson’s body was found in a rolled-up gym mat inside Lowndes High School on January 11, 2013. Nearly four months later, on May 2, 2013, the GBI Medical Examiner issued her autopsy report, concluding that Kendrick died from “positional asphyxia” – essentially, that he became entrapped upside-down in the rolled-up mat and had suffocated. The Medical Examiner ruled Kendrick’s death an accident. Shortly thereafter, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office closed its investigation.

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