Linebacker Recruit in Ga.

[DONW]

Tech should offer this guy. He's definitely not guilty of murdering anybody. http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaa...Ni?ocid=SMSDHP

[cscollis]

If the report is accurate, I would still want to know more before offering a scholly to Bell. When multiple police agencies agree the death was a accident, I would go with accident. Especially in todays culture with race being hypersensitive. If the kid had anything to do with it, someone would have turned him in. Feel sorry for the parents that lost their child but it seems they are determined to convict anybody for the accident.

[Cory]

..

[Geaux Dawgs]

That kid needs to get out of Georgia.......at least that area. Ruston would be a nice fit for him.

I do agree the "he went into the rolled up mat to get his shoes" is weak at best.

[Cory]

As someone with pathology training, I think the story sounds a little fishy. There are some very obvious red flags in both autopsy reports. The cause-of death seems to be riddled with inconsistent flaws and vague language. As far a murder investigation is concerned, it just seems like sloppy work. Here are my concerns:

Blunt force trauma was mentioned, but asphyxia was deemed the official cause-of-death. Asphyxia takes place when the brain is deprived of oxygen via compression of the neck's blood vessels. A general rule of thumb is that it takes approximately 4.4 lbs of force to compress the jugular veins and 11 lbs of force is needed to compress the carotid arteries. These thresholds are very easy to reach; few people realize that the weight of the head alone (10-12 lbs) is enough to cause asphyxiation (without support of neck muscles). Asphyxiation typically takes place in three primary forms (hanging, ligature strangulation, and manual strangulation), but Johnson's alleged cause-of-death was a very unique form of asphyxia called "positional asphyxiation". Here's what's odd. Victims of positional asphyxiation are often times on their stomach (infants found dead in cribs with their faces down and their nose/mouth blocked). It can also occur when someone is being restrained with his or her stomach down (this is the type of asphyxia that possibly took place in last year's Erik Garner incident). In my opinion, Johnson's official cause-of-death is not consistent with the injuries sustained. The report essentially says that Johnson fell head first and was knocked out by the fall, which in turn prevented him from repositioning himself in a way that would reestablish the flow of oxygen. That said, if the victim landed head first with enough force to render him unconscious, the first autopsy report would not read "a single blow or pressure to the head or neck". His neck would have sustained OBVIOUS damage, and when they say trauma to the head what they should really say is trauma to the brain (coup contusion), which would be located on the superior aspect of the victim's brain (if he fell headfirst). However, if he was assaulted and received blunt force trauma via a single blow, it would have more than likely been apparent with a contusion on the anterior, posterior, of sides of the brain, because this is where they are usually found. Also, it's almost impossible to hit the brain and the neck in a "single blow" so this casts doubt on the second autopsy as well. When you consider a spin on the first autopsy report and contemplate the possibilities of a fall in any regard, the story still falls short of explaining Johnson's injuries. If the victim landed on his back, the odds are great that the blow would have been absorbed by various portions of his body, which could temporarily expel the residual air from his lungs, but it would be unlikely to kill the guy or render him unconscious. If the victim landed on his stomach, this injury would not be consistent with blunt force trauma to the neck and there would be signs of trauma to the face (point of impact). Nothing can be confirmed with certainty without viewing the body, but this case definitely has foul play and conflicts-of-interest written all over it. Rest assure, you are not getting all the facts in this article; their are way to many holes in the story. It sounds like Johnson probably had an altercation with someone and was later placed where they found him. This is not to say that Bell had anything to do with it, but I strongly believe someone did.

Tech needs to stay as far away from this thing as possible. It screams bad press.

[Dogsince65]

No presumption of guilt or innocence but we really do not need the publicity- distraction that this would cause. Remember, I am old fart so just my thought

[Dogsince65]

As someone with pathology training, I think the story sounds a little fishy. There are some very obvious red flags in both autopsy reports. Both reports sound unreliable at best. Here are my concerns:

Blunt force trauma was mentioned, but asphyxia was deemed the official cause-of-death. Asphyxia takes place when the brain is deprived of oxygen via compression of the neck's blood vessels. A general rule of thumb is that it takes approximately 4.4 lbs of force to compress the jugular veins and 11 lbs of force is needed to compress the carotid arteries. These thresholds are very easy to reach; few people realize that the weight the head alone (10-12 lbs) is enough to cause asphyxiation (without support of neck muscles). Asphyxiation typically takes place in three primary forms (hanging, ligature strangulation, and manual strangulation), but Johnson's alleged cause-of-death was a very unique form of asphyxia called "positional asphyxiation". Here's what's odd. Victims of positional asphyxiation are often times on their stomach (infants found dead in cribs with their faces down and their nose/mouth blocked). It can also occur when someone is being restrained with his or her stomach down (this is the type of asphyxia that possibly took place in last year's Erik Garner incident). In my opinion, Johnson's official cause-of-death is not consistent with the injuries sustained. The report essentially says that Johnson fell head first, was knocked out by the fall, which in turn prevented him from repositioning himself into a position that would allow him to breath. That said, if the victim landed head first with enough force to render him unconscious, the autopsy report would not read "a single blow or pressure to the head or neck". His neck would have sustained OBVIOUS damage, and when they say trauma to the head what they should really say is trauma to the brain (coup contusion), which would be located on the superior aspect of the victim's brain (if he fell headfirst). However, if he was assaulted and received blunt force trauma via a single blow, it would have more than likely been apparent with a contusion on the anterior, posterior, of sides of the brain, because this is where they are usually found. Also, it's almost impossible to hit the brain and the neck in a "single blow". Furthermore, if the victim landed on his back, the odds are great that the blow would have been absorbed by various portions of his body, which would temporarily expel the residual air from his lungs, but it would be unlikely to kill the guy or render him unconscious. If the victim landed on his stomach, this injury would not be consistent with blunt force trauma to the neck and there would be signs of trauma to the face (point of impact). Nothing can be confirmed with certainty without viewing the body, but this case certainly has foul play and conflicts-of-interest written all over it. It sounds like Johnson probably had an altercation with someone and was later placed where they found him. This is not to say that Bell had anything to do with it, but I strongly believe someone did.

Tech needs to stay as far away from this things as possible. It screams bad press.

I posted before reading your post--sorry-- I agree with your opinion 100%

[DONW]

Bell had nothing to do with Johnson's death. The Johnson's accusations are based on Bell and Johnson having a fight on the bus 4 years aqo when they were both 13 years old. Why would Bell want to kill Johnson 4 years later? Bell was in class when it happened, so he's cleared. Could the bump on Johnson's head come from sliding in that hole head first and hitting the floor? Sounds very possible to me. Bell was not a racist because he got along with his black teammates just fine. The Johnsons are trying to make it a race case, but, even the black preacher is supporting Bell after he looked at the evidence. I wouldn't have a problem at all offering Bell a scholarship.

[Beaver-Dog]

What a shame that Bell loses a scholarship because of a false claim by distraught parents. I think even less of Florida State than I did before and that wasn't much. Hope this kid can get an offer somewhere.

[latech]

From the comment section of this article.
Brian Bell's father is a FBI agent.

"I live just a little North of Valdosta and what this article does not tell you is that all of the footage from the surveillence camera in the gym was accounted for except for the most important part. The part showing the time he died and who may or may not have been in the gym when he died. They also did not talk about the picture with what appeared to be blood on the wall. Neither does this article tell you that when the Johnson family went for a second opinion concerning cause of death the family to their horror found out their sons organs had been removed and he was stuffed with newspaper. Sloppy reporting job done by this article to make it look like this family has no basis for a law suit, clearly they do."

[DONW]

From the comment section of this article.
Brian Bell's father is a FBI agent.

"I live just a little North of Valdosta and what this article does not tell you is that all of the footage from the surveillence camera in the gym was accounted for except for the most important part. The part showing the time he died and who may or may not have been in the gym when he died. They also did not talk about the picture with what appeared to be blood on the wall. Neither does this article tell you that when the Johnson family went for a second opinion concerning cause of death the family to their horror found out their sons organs had been removed and he was stuffed with newspaper. Sloppy reporting job done by this article to make it look like this family has no basis for a law suit, clearly they do."

What evidence do they have to indict Bell?

[Cory]

From the comment section of this article.
Brian Bell's father is a FBI agent.

"I live just a little North of Valdosta and what this article does not tell you is that all of the footage from the surveillence camera in the gym was accounted for except for the most important part. The part showing the time he died and who may or may not have been in the gym when he died. They also did not talk about the picture with what appeared to be blood on the wall. Neither does this article tell you that when the Johnson family went for a second opinion concerning cause of death the family to their horror found out their sons organs had been removed and he was stuffed with newspaper. Sloppy reporting job done by this article to make it look like this family has no basis for a law suit, clearly they do."

I would take everything that is said on that thread with a grain of salt. Those comments are riddled with embellished and inconsistent statements. Their are too many contradictions for everyone to be right, and if everyone isn't right, who's to say the majority of them aren't wrong?

As far as the newspaper-filliing is concerned, you have to understand that this is the nature of performing a second autopsy. Occasionally, I'll have a student ask me if they can observe one. It's not uncommon for them to get sick, pass out, and leave horrified. Unlike surgery (a slow and delicate procedure), autopsies are rough and brutal. Every major internal organ system in the chest, abdomen, head (brain/eyes), and groin are removed for inspection. When you're the pathologists that's asked to perform the second autopsy you have to go back through everything that has already been taken out and hope that it's all there (it's the worst). If you're getting the body after it's already made it to the funeral home (which sounds like what happened), that's a whole other kettle of fish. If someone dies of natural causes they are typically buried with their organs. However, if their body is was part of an ongoing medical-legal investigation (forensic autopsy), I can certainly see a situation where the organs would remain at the ME office for further inspection while the parents planned their son's funeral.

Second autopsies are rare and often times unexpected, so after the initial autopsy is complete, the body goes to funeral home and the morticians do their best to make the body presentable. Obviously, you want to remember the deceased as they were, not how they currently are. If the organs are at the ME office, the chest and abdominal cavity will have a sunk-in appearance. Therefore, the morticians has to recreate the individual's build. This can be done with all sorts of fillers (cotton is commonly used). If the body has been embalmed, it has been drained of blood so it's not like the second pathologist opened up the body and found globs of bloody newspaper. Furthermore, if the second pathologists bothered to read the report prior to starting the autopsy he or she would have probably knew what to expect prior to reexamining the body. I will admit that the use of newspaper-filling is uncanny, but it's really not a horrifying ordeal. To my knowledge, it's not illegal. You'd be surprised at what morticians have to do in order to get a body ready for a funeral. I've heard of instances where they have literally rebuilt people faces from wax, so an abdomen full of newspaper actually seems quite minor.

[HogDawg]

As someone with pathology training, I think the story sounds a little fishy. There are some very obvious red flags in both autopsy reports. The cause-of death seems to be riddled with inconsistent flaws and vague language. As far a murder investigation is concerned, it just seems like sloppy work. Here are my concerns:

Blunt force trauma was mentioned, but asphyxia was deemed the official cause-of-death. Asphyxia takes place when the brain is deprived of oxygen via compression of the neck's blood vessels. A general rule of thumb is that it takes approximately 4.4 lbs of force to compress the jugular veins and 11 lbs of force is needed to compress the carotid arteries. These thresholds are very easy to reach; few people realize that the weight of the head alone (10-12 lbs) is enough to cause asphyxiation (without support of neck muscles). Asphyxiation typically takes place in three primary forms (hanging, ligature strangulation, and manual strangulation), but Johnson's alleged cause-of-death was a very unique form of asphyxia called "positional asphyxiation". Here's what's odd. Victims of positional asphyxiation are often times on their stomach (infants found dead in cribs with their faces down and their nose/mouth blocked). It can also occur when someone is being restrained with his or her stomach down (this is the type of asphyxia that possibly took place in last year's Erik Garner incident). In my opinion, Johnson's official cause-of-death is not consistent with the injuries sustained. The report essentially says that Johnson fell head first and was knocked out by the fall, which in turn prevented him from repositioning himself in a way that would reestablish the flow of oxygen. That said, if the victim landed head first with enough force to render him unconscious, the first autopsy report would not read "a single blow or pressure to the head or neck". His neck would have sustained OBVIOUS damage, and when they say trauma to the head what they should really say is trauma to the brain (coup contusion), which would be located on the superior aspect of the victim's brain (if he fell headfirst). However, if he was assaulted and received blunt force trauma via a single blow, it would have more than likely been apparent with a contusion on the anterior, posterior, of sides of the brain, because this is where they are usually found. Also, it's almost impossible to hit the brain and the neck in a "single blow" so this casts doubt on the second autopsy as well. When you consider a spin on the first autopsy report and contemplate the possibilities of a fall in any regard, the story still falls short of explaining Johnson's injuries. If the victim landed on his back, the odds are great that the blow would have been absorbed by various portions of his body, which could temporarily expel the residual air from his lungs, but it would be unlikely to kill the guy or render him unconscious. If the victim landed on his stomach, this injury would not be consistent with blunt force trauma to the neck and there would be signs of trauma to the face (point of impact). Nothing can be confirmed with certainty without viewing the body, but this case definitely has foul play and conflicts-of-interest written all over it. Rest assure, you are not getting all the facts in this article; their are way to many holes in the story. It sounds like Johnson probably had an altercation with someone and was later placed where they found him. This is not to say that Bell had anything to do with it, but I strongly believe someone did.

Tech needs to stay as far away from this thing as possible. It screams bad press.

The use of "paragraphs" is allowed here on BB&B. In fact, I would go as far as to say their use is encouraged.

[latech]

I would take everything that is said on that thread with a grain of salt. Those comments are riddled with embellished and inconsistent statements. Their are too many contradictions for everyone to be right, and if everyone isn't right, who's to say the majority of them aren't wrong?

As far as the newspaper-filliing is concerned, you have to understand that this is the nature of performing a second autopsy. Occasionally, I'll have a student ask me if they can observe one. It's not uncommon for them to get sick, pass out, and leave horrified. Unlike surgery (a slow and delicate procedure), autopsies are rough and brutal. Every major internal organ system in the chest, abdomen, head (brain/eyes), and groin are removed for inspection. When you're the pathologists that's asked to perform the second autopsy you have to go back through everything that has already been taken out and hope that it's all there (it's the worst). If you're getting the body after it's already made it to the funeral home (which sounds like what happened), that's a whole other kettle of fish. If someone dies of natural causes they are typically buried with their organs. However, if their body is was part of an ongoing medical-legal investigation (forensic autopsy), I can certainly see a situation where the organs would remain at the ME office for further inspection while the parents planned their son's funeral.

Second autopsies are rare and often times unexpected, so after the initial autopsy is complete, the body goes to funeral home and the morticians do their best to make the body presentable. Obviously, you want to remember the deceased as they were, not how they currently are. If the organs are at the ME office, the chest and abdominal cavity will have a sunk-in appearance. Therefore, the morticians has to recreate the individual's build. This can be done with all sorts of fillers (cotton is commonly used). If the body has been embalmed, it has been drained of blood so it's not like the second pathologist opened up the body and found globs of bloody newspaper. Furthermore, if the second pathologists bothered to read the report prior to starting the autopsy he or she would have probably knew what to expect prior to reexamining the body. I will admit that the use of newspaper-filling is uncanny, but it's really not a horrifying ordeal. To my knowledge, it's not illegal. You'd be surprised at what morticians have to do in order to get a body ready for a funeral. I've heard of instances where they have literally rebuilt people faces from wax, so an abdomen full of newspaper actually seems quite minor.

Thanks for educating me on this matter, Cory.

[Dixonfor6]

I would take everything that is said on that thread with a grain of salt. Those comments are riddled with embellished and inconsistent statements. Their are too many contradictions for everyone to be right, and if everyone isn't right, who's to say the majority of them aren't wrong?

As far as the newspaper-filliing is concerned, you have to understand that this is the nature of performing a second autopsy. Occasionally, I'll have a student ask me if they can observe one. It's not uncommon for them to get sick, pass out, and leave horrified. Unlike surgery (a slow and delicate procedure), autopsies are rough and brutal. Every major internal organ system in the chest, abdomen, head (brain/eyes), and groin are removed for inspection. When you're the pathologists that's asked to perform the second autopsy you have to go back through everything that has already been taken out and hope that it's all there (it's the worst). If you're getting the body after it's already made it to the funeral home (which sounds like what happened), that's a whole other kettle of fish. If someone dies of natural causes they are typically buried with their organs. However, if their body is was part of an ongoing medical-legal investigation (forensic autopsy), I can certainly see a situation where the organs would remain at the ME office for further inspection while the parents planned their son's funeral.

Second autopsies are rare and often times unexpected, so after the initial autopsy is complete, the body goes to funeral home and the morticians do their best to make the body presentable. Obviously, you want to remember the deceased as they were, not how they currently are. If the organs are at the ME office, the chest and abdominal cavity will have a sunk-in appearance. Therefore, the morticians has to recreate the individual's build. This can be done with all sorts of fillers (cotton is commonly used). If the body has been embalmed, it has been drained of blood so it's not like the second pathologist opened up the body and found globs of bloody newspaper. Furthermore, if the second pathologists bothered to read the report prior to starting the autopsy he or she would have probably knew what to expect prior to reexamining the body. I will admit that the use of newspaper-filling is uncanny, but it's really not a horrifying ordeal. To my knowledge, it's not illegal. You'd be surprised at what morticians have to do in order to get a body ready for a funeral. I've heard of instances where they have literally rebuilt people faces from wax, so an abdomen full of newspaper actually seems quite minor.

Wow.. Thanks for that info