A Lowndes County , Georgia , assistant district attorney has ordered a communications company to hand over Internet records after investigators received an anonymous e-mail claiming an ex-schoolmate reportedly confessed to killing Kendrick Johnson . CNN obtained the e-mail and the subpoena on Monday , in response to a state Open Records Act request submitted to the Lowndes County Sheriff 's Office . The anonymous e-mail tip is dated January 27 . The sender of the e-mail does not suggest he or she personally witnessed a confession ; instead , the sender claims to have been told information by somebody who purportedly was aware of a confession in the 2013 death by one of the people implicated in the e-mail . Johnson 's body was found in a rolled-up mat in the Lowndes High School gymnasium on January 11 , 2013 . Investigators with the sheriff 's office ruled his death accidental , concluding that Johnson climbed into the center of the gym mat to reach for a shoe and got stuck . Feds subpoena schoolmates amid probe into teen 's death . According to an incident report provided to CNN by the sheriff 's office , investigators interviewed two of four students identified by name in the anonymous e-mail on January 28 . Both students acknowledged they knew the 17-year-old Johnson but denied any involvement in his death . The incident report does not indicate whether the investigators attempted to speak with the two other students identified in the e-mail . CNN is not naming the students mentioned in the e-mail because none of them has been named a suspect in the death of Johnson . Lowndes County sheriff 's investigators concluded Johnson got stuck while reaching for a shoe at the center of the mat and that his death was accidental . The state 's medical examiner agreed , citing `` positional asphyxia '' as the cause of death . Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson believe their son was beaten to death and officials are `` covering up a murder . '' An independent pathologist , hired by Johnson 's parents , concluded Johnson 's death was the result of a homicide after finding evidence of `` unexplained apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma '' to Johnson 's neck . `` If anybody has any information of a different opinion that they can provide to us , we 're certainly open to looking at that . We 're not closed-minded on this , '' Lt. Stryde Jones , supervisor of the Lowndes County Sheriff 's Office 's Investigative Division told CNN in May . The sheriff 's office has received many public comments regarding Johnson 's death since it closed its case on May 2 . The grand jury subpoena is the first document provided to CNN that suggests the department has acted on any of those public comments . `` Although our case has been closed , if evidence comes forward , specifically testimony , then we 're open to hearing that and certainly we 'll act accordingly , '' Lt. Jones said . Chief Assistant District Attorney Bradfield Shealy issued the subpoena to Mediacom Communications Corporation on January 28 . The New York-based cable , phone and Internet provider was ordered to provide the Lowndes County grand jury with subscriber information associated with the e-mail sent through the Lowndes County sheriff 's office 's website or submit the documents to the district attorney 's office or Lt. Jones before February 26 . According to a Lowndes County Sheriff 's Office incident report , the subpoena was faxed to Mediacom on February 7 . The company intends to comply with the order . However , a Mediacom employee told CNN by phone Wednesday that Mediacom has not received the subpoena . Last week , students from Lowndes High School and nearby Valdosta High School were among those who appeared before a federal grand jury in Macon , as part of the Department of Justice 's investigation into Johnson 's death . The U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia , Michael Moore , launched the federal probe October 31 .
Kendrick Johnson 's body was found in a rolled-up mat in his high school gym . The teen 's death more than a year ago was ruled an accident . CNN obtains an e-mail sent anonymously claiming reports of confession in the death . The anonymous e-mail to the sheriff 's department sparks a subpoena for Internet records .