( CNN ) -- The family of Kendrick Johnson -- the south Georgia teen found dead in his high school gym a year ago -- has filed a lawsuit against the funeral home that handled his remains , alleging negligence and fraud . The lawsuit revolves around what the owner and employees of Harrington Funeral Home in Valdosta , Georgia , knew about the state of the young man 's body . Johnson 's parents were shocked to learn in June , when they ordered a second autopsy , that the young man 's organs were missing and had been replaced with newspaper . An investigation by a state board found that the handling of the body by the funeral home did not violate the law . Roy Copeland , a lawyer for Harrington Funeral Home and its owner , Antonio Harrington , said his client had not been served as of Wednesday and could not comment on something he has not seen . In the lawsuit , filed January 31 and amended Wednesday , the family alleges that not only did the funeral home mishandle the organs , it disposed of them to thwart an investigation into Johnson 's cause of death . `` This lawsuit challenges the morally despicable , fraudulent , unlawful and unfair business practices '' of Harrington Funeral Home , the court document states . Antonio Harrington `` intentionally , willfully and secretly '' desecrated Johnson 's remains , the lawsuit claims . It was a fraud intended to mislead and make it difficult to establish the manner and cause of death , the lawsuit alleges . The Lowndes County Sheriff 's Office has repeatedly stood by its original determination that Johnson died by accident after getting caught up reaching for his shoe that fell inside a rolled-up gym mat . CNN examined the 522-page police file and found that investigators spoke to 111 people , including 18 on the day Johnson 's body was found . But the disbelieving Johnson family pushed in court , leading to a judge 's decision May 1 to grant their request to exhume their son 's body for an independent autopsy at their expense . It was during that second autopsy that the missing organs were noticed . The doctor who carried out that autopsy determined that Johnson suffered blunt force trauma to the right neck and soft tissues , `` consistent with inflicted injury , '' challenging the authorities ' ruling that the death was accidental . The lawsuit alleges that Harrington not only was aware that organs were missing , but `` actively undertook measures to dispose of said organs in an effort to interfere '' with the investigation . Kendrick Johnson footage released ; expert finds it 'highly suspicious '
Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his school gym a year ago . The teen had been bullied for years and the bullying escalated after he came out as gay to friends at school. Family says the funeral home misled it , desecrated remains . Lawyer for funeral home says the suit has n't been served and he ca n't comment now .