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Family Bewildered by 'Vague' Findings in Son's Gym Mat Death

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A family spokesman says the parents of a Georgia teenager found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat are bewildered by the Justice Department's decision to close a lengthy investigation while releasing only a "vague" account of its findings.

Spokesman Marcus Coleman said Tuesday that the parents of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson "haven't really learned anything new" about their son's 2013 death after meeting Monday with federal prosecutors in Macon.

The Justice Department said in a news release Monday that its 2 ½ year investigation into Johnson's strange death didn't turn up enough evidence for a federal criminal prosecution. A U.S. attorney's spokesman, Mike Tobin, declined to comment Tuesday on whether the findings support or contradict local investigators' conclusion that Johnson died in a freak accident.

Johnson's parents have long insisted their son was slain.

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