Suit filed by parents blaming classmates in son's gym mat death
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The parents of a Georgia teenager found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat two years ago have filed a lawsuit accusing classmates of killing him at school in a case that was covered up by school officials and investigators.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson of Valdosta names 38 defendants, including three Lowndes High School classmates it says attacked Johnson on Jan. 10, 2013. Sheriff's investigators concluded the teenager died in a freak accident after becoming stuck upside down in the mat. No criminal charges have been filed.
Leigh Touchton, a former Valdosta NAACP president who has closely followed the case, says allegations in the lawsuit filed Monday are outrageous and unfounded.
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Federal authorities are still conducting their own investigation launched in October 2013.