Thursday, March 20, 2014

Kendrick Johnson Confession: Enticing Carrot or Rotten Apple?



 Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots 

The anonymous email being touted by Victor Blackwell on CNN as proof of a confession to murder in the death of Kendrick Johnson has turned out to be nothing more than a cry for attention from a high school student and an "exclusive" for Victor Blackwell.

Update 3/26/2014: Heavily redacted Email Incident report from Lowndes County Sheriff's department:  Page One Page Two 

The email, sent to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department, contained an IP that was traced to a 15 year old high school student, a female. In the email, the girl writes, "My best friend overheard another girl tell her friend that ...."

What she heard was that Kendrick Johnson had been killed by a former friend and classmate at Lowndes High School - insinuating one of the Bell boys.  As I wrote in an earlier blog, KJ was friends with Brian until about the seventh grade. 
Officials ruled Johnson’s death an accident last March, saying the 17-year-old accidentally suffocated after he became trapped in the mat — stacked in the school’s old gymnasium — while reaching for a tennis shoe. Johnson’s parents dispute the findings, insisting their son was murdered.
<snip>“None of the information (in the email) is credible,” Lowndes Sheriff’s Lt. Stryde Jones said Thursday. He said investigators interviewed the sophomore who sent the letter, along with other students referenced in the email.
“There was no malicious intent in the email,” said Jones, adding it’s unlikely any charges will be filed against its sender. “She had heard rumors over and over and felt the need to report it.”
The AJC has reached out to Benjamin  Crump, lawyer for the Johnsons, seeking comment but has yet to receive a reply. [LINK]
January 27, 2014 "Confession Email" re Kendrick Johnson death
Email text: "My bestfriend was at a party Saturday night with [redacted] and was upset about something that[redacted] had said to her so her and my bestfriend started talking and by the end of the night [redacted] had told my friend everything that the whole nation has been worndering for the past year..she told my friend what really happened to Kendrick Johnson....said that about a little over a year ago she had sexual intercourse with Kendrick Johnson (while she was dating [redacted] found out and threatened KJ, KJ told [redacted] to meet him in the old gym after third block and he would have his knife ready [redacted] met KJ and killed him [redacted] has also been heard ADMITTING to killing KJ more than once over the phone.  His brother [redacted] also got drunk at a party on the fourth of July and told many people that [redacted] killed KJ and that he [redacted] was tired of keeping it a secret."
Again, no party.  Brian's girlfriend did not know KJ, she'd only seen him around school.  The girlfriend, according to Stryde Jones, was not even at the party.  All of the students named in the email have been interviewed and charges may or may not be brought...Stryde says one thing, someone else says another.  Remains to be seen.  I have been told there was not a party, there was a pool game between four high school friends, all male.  Fun fact:  Brian and the girlfriend mentioned in this email did not even start dating until four months after KJ died.

There was another boy who was at the pool game and is also being thrown into the mix as a suspect (implied in the "confession" email).  His name is still relatively safe at this point, so we will call him Bob. The FBI are investigating allegations that baby momma thinks Bob killed KJ. I'm told she gave this information to Beau Webster, the family's former private investigator.  The following was posted of her baby around January 14, 2014.  The email was written January 27, 2014.  I'm not saying she was part of the rumor chain, but her boyfriend was mentioned.
Without one iota of evidence that Bob had anything to do with KJ's accidental death, Bob was subpoenaed and went before the Grand Jury.  He was raked over the coals in front of over 20 GJ members and told her needed to take a polygraph, which he did.  I am not privy to the results, but he was a confused mess by the time it was over.  His parents didn't hire an attorney because, to them, and Bob, it was an absurd accusation.  He has an attorney now.  Last night, after throwing her baby daddy under the bus didn't get baby daddy to talk to baby momma, she went to his house and tried to get in.  After banging on the door didn't work,  I'm told she broke a window, but I have no proof or nameable source.

UPDATE:  Since many have decided to out Rahel and Ryan on Twitter, and Rachel sees no reason to keep her private life private, I've decided not to disguise their names here, both are 18.  On her twitter account, the young woman wrote:
Now we have one boy with an alibi not in dispute by anyone but high school kids with a penchant for rumors and a has been writer (Fred Rosen) for Ebonyonline.com., and another boy who has become collateral damage because his baby's momma is pissed off and out for blood.  Only in America.

Crump knew full well eight hours ago, when he posted the following tweet, that the email and the information it contained was not credible.  Crump is sharper than he looks, he knows what's what. Guilty knowledge never stopped Crump, not by a long shot.
The email written on January 27 was written by a teenage girl who, for whatever reason, thought she would stir the pot without checking her sources thoroughly. Benjamin Crump, Chevene King, the Johnson family,  Victor Blackwell, and the HLN/CNN cable news networks, have no excuse for being ethically and morally irresponsible in their reporting on this case.

Adam Floyd's Valdosta Times article on the email
WALB - Sheriff's Department calls email a "hoax"

More on the Kendrick Johnson case

Mar 13, 2014
I don't think I've ever heard of this before, like, are there no other cases in the United States Attorneys office people care about? 478-752-3511. First option: "If you are calling in support of the Kendrick Johnson matter, please ...
Nov 23, 2013
Jackie Johnson, mother of Kendrick Johnson, tweeted today that she is not buying what Ebony Magazine writer. Fred Rosen, is selling. He accuses two white boys of killing Kendrick Johnson based on an investigation by a ...
Oct 12, 2013
Following the Christmas break, school resumed on Jan. 9. On Jan. 10, Johnson disappeared from video surveillance at approximately 1:09 p.m. after he entered Lowndes High School's old gymnasium, according to reports.
Oct 18, 2013
Finally someone is trying to cripple a race-hoax before it goes too far. I wrote a lengthy blog last week concerning the tragedy that was Kendrick Johnson's death. My instincts and good common sense told me, once again, ...

Mar 09, 2014
Last week I interviewed a few people I was put in touch with by someone who is in Valdosta and knew KJ (Kendrick), Johnson until he was in the 7th grade. We will call my source Phillip. Phillip also knew the family of the two ...
Feb 10, 2014
This is the one and only time I am going to post this and I am posting it because Jackie Johnson, the mother of Kendrick Johnson, would never admit her post-autopsy picture had been photo-shopped. Thank you to the person ...
Feb 09, 2014
A few days ago I wrote a blog about the sister of Kendrick Johnson and rumors of bullying she was involved in. Not only Kenyetta Johnson, but most of the Johnson family are targeting a boy they are accusing of "murdering" ...
Feb 13, 2014
The photo I posted a few days ago of Kendrick Johnson just before his autopsy, and 48 hours after his death, was shown to Rev. Floyd Rose, SCLC President in Valdosta, Georgia. Rev. Rose has only seen the photograph ...