The parents of Kendrick Johnson, the teen who was found dead and wedged inside a rolled-up gym mat in his Georgia high school, got one step closer to getting some answers.
Michael Moore, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced on Thursday that he is committed to finding out the truth behind the death of the 17-year-old on Jan. 11, 2013, in the Lowndes High School gym, CNN reports. The announcement comes a day after a judge ruled that surveillance video from outside the gym would be released to the family.
The county sheriff's office had concluded that the teen died while trying to retrieve a sneaker. But that explanation hasn't sat well with the family, who hired a lawyer and a private investigator.
According to CNN, the family lawyer has raised civil rights concerns questioning whether the predominantly white county sheriff's office truly did a thorough investigation of the crime scene.
Moore, who reviewed all of the evidence collected by authorities and the family's investigator, ruled that there is enough to warrant a formal investigation. "I will follow the facts wherever they lead," Moore said. "My objective is to discover the truth," CNN reports.
Read more at CNN.