Funeral home that stuffed newspaper into the body of teen who died in gym mat CLEARED of any wrongdoing

• The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found inside a gym mat at his Georgia high school in January 2013
• The death was officially ruled an accident, but the teen's parents continue to fight for a homicide investigation
• When the body was exhumed for a second autopsy commissioned by Johnson's parents, it was discovered the funeral home that handled the body had stuffed it full of newspaper to fill the cavities where his organs were removed for the first autopsy
  
• State regulators have now concluded that, while using newspaper was not the 'best practice', the funeral directors had not broken any laws

By AP REPORTER

Published: 17:16 EST, 18 January 2014 | Updated: 17:53 EST, 18 January 2014

A south Georgia funeral home broke no laws when it used newspapers to stuff the body of a teenager found dead last year inside a rolled up gym mat at his school, state regulators concluded in a report sent to the teen's parents.

The family of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson, of Valdosta, Georgia, filed a complaint with the Georgia Board of Funeral Service last year after newspaper was found in the place of his missing organs when the body was exhumed for a second autopsy.

Johnson's parents, who are still fighting to have their son's death declared a homicide after authorities concluded it was a freak accident, said they were outraged and found the funeral home's use of newspapers to be disrespectful.

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Second autopsy: Kendrick Johnson had already been buried when his death was officially ruled a freak accident, so his parents had his body exhumed for a second autopsy, at which point they discovered his body had been stuffed with newspaper

The funeral home that prepared Kendrick Johnson's body for public viewing and burial by reportedly stuffing his body cavity with newspapers and other filler material to replace internal organs removed during an autopsy did not break state law, the Georgia Board of Funeral Service has concluded

Attorneys for the Johnson family released a letter from the board saying it found Harrington Funeral Home broke no state law.

However, the board also noted that using newspaper to fill a body cavity is not considered a 'best practice' and that other materials are usually 'more acceptable than newspaper', The Valdosta Daily Times reported Saturday.

Roy Copeland, an attorney for Harrington Funeral Home, said its owners were 'certainly happy' with regulators' finding that it did nothing illegal.

Students at Lowndes High School discovered Johnson's body on January 11, 2013, inside a rolled up gym mat propped against the wall beside the bleachers.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded he died from positional asphyxia, meaning his body was stuck upside down and he was unable to breathe.

Warning: Graphic image

The body of Kendrick Johnson was found upside down inside a large gym mat that been stacked against the wall of the high school auditorium. He wasn't found until the day after he is believed to have entered the mat, with his face swollen and disfigured from the blood running to his head

Kendrick Johnson is seen here in a photo from Facebook. His death is still being investigated

Sheriff's investigators concluded Johnson got trapped in the mat while reaching for a gym shoe that had fallen inside.

Johnson's friends said it was typical for them to hide belongings in the large stacked gym mats rather than pay for a locker.

When Johnson was found, one sneaker was on the ground near some of his things, while the other was pressed up against his head inside the mat.

His body was not found until the following day, with the people coming and going from the gym not knowing there was a body inside the mats against the wall of the auditorium.

However Johnson's parents insist someone must have killed him and have pushed to reopen the case.

Kendrick Johnson's family continue to protest the ruling that his death was an accident, one year after his body was discovered in a gym mat

Kendrick Johnson (right) was described as shy and quiet but an excellent football player

Neither parent has returned to work following the discovery of their son's body and they spend each weekday outside their local court house protesting and pleading their son's case.

The U.S. attorney for middle Georgia is reviewing the investigation with help from the FBI.

It's still unclear what happened to Johnson's internal organs after the GBI autopsy.

The GBI has said it returned the organs to the body before sending it to the funeral home.

But the funeral home has said the organs were missing when the body arrived.

Lowndes County Coroner Bill Watson has said many of Johnson's organs were deemed too badly decomposed to be preserved and had to be disposed of before the body was embalmed.