Michael Moore, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, said Thursday that federal authorities will investigate the circumstances behind the death of Kendrick Johnson, a teenager whose bloody body was found inside a rolled-up gym mat at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia on January 11, CNN reported.
The Johnson family had long suspected that the 17-year-old was murdered and someone tried to cover up evidence in the case, news reports said.
"I will follow the facts where they lead. My objective is to discover the truth," Moore said, CNN reported.
"We're happy that a fresh pair of eyes I starting to look at Kendrick's Case. We're just waiting on the truth to really come out," the victim's father said to CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday.
The announcement comes just a day after a judge granted the Johnson family as well as CNN access to surveillance images and investigative files, which are pertinent to the case. A 15-minute video and nearly 700 photographs taken by sheriff's investigators show Johnson's body clad in jeans and layered orange and white shirts, news reports said.
"We appreciate Mr. Moore's interest in these tragic circumstances and applaud his urging of the community to come forward with facts and evidence rather than feelings or opinions, no matter how sincere they may be. While Sheriff Prine has every confidence that his office's investigation was handled with the necessary diligence to assure that all leads were examined and exhausted, he welcomes the U. S. Attorney's further review of the case," said attorney James Elliot.
"Lowndes County Coronor Bill Watson said he has not made a decision yet on whether to open a coroner's inquest into the death. That would be the first step in reclassifying the death to something other than accidental to allow a fresh investigation into the circumstances," CNN reported.
A 'Justice for Kendrick Johnson Facebook page has already been created.
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