STORY: "Kendrick Johnson update: Conflicting accounts of what happened to Ga. teen's organs after gym-mat death," by reporter Stephanie Slifer, published by CBS Atlanta on November 4, 2013.
GIST: "On January 11, 2013, 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found dead inside a rolled-up wrestling mat in his Valdosta, Ga. high school gym. Authorities called his death a freak accident, saying he fell head-first into an upright mat and became trapped. The case was closed, but Johnson's family insists he was killed. A federal prosecutor has announced he is reopening the case. But the mystery of how Johnson died is only one part of this bizarre story. When a judge agreed to exhume Johnson's body over the summer, a private pathologist not only determined he died of blunt force trauma to his neck, but also that his organs were missing and his body had been stuffed with newspaper. How and why did this happen? Who is responsible? And could the strange state of the body affect further investigation of Johnson's death? It turns out, the answers to these questions are far from clear. Despite some media reports that only two entities had custody of Kendrick's body after his death, CBS News' Crimesider has confirmed at least four entities - the Valdosta-Lowndes Regional Crime Laboratory, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), a third-party transport company, and the Harrington Funeral Home - handled the teen's body.........Dr. Gregory Schmunk, the president of the National Association of Medical Examiners and chief medical examiner for Polk County in Des Moines, Iowa, told Crimesider he "very much doubts" the organs were disposed of during the autopsy. "It's very unusual for the medical examiner to have done that," Schmunk said. "I have spoken with people involved [in the case] and I really don't think this happened at the medical examiner's office.""
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57610656-504083/kendrick-johnson-update-conflicting-accounts-of-what-happened-to-ga-teens-organs-after-gym-mat-death/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
