Medical examiner confirms disputed finding; SJSU student died by suicide

SAN JOSE – Authorities have reconfirmed that San Jose State University student Gregory Johnson Jr. died by suicide in the basement of his Sigma Chi fraternity house more than 13 years ago.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office determined Johnson’s Nov. 22, 2008, death to be a suicide. His parents, however, have challenged that ruling, saying their son was not suicidal. As a result, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office asked Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Michelle Jorden to re-examine the investigation and provide an opinion as to the cause and manner of death.

The SJSU Police Department, which investigated the case, turned over its entire file to Jorden, according to the district attorney’s office. The file included crime lab reports and written submissions by Johnson’s family detailing why they disputed the cause and manner of death.

Jorden ultimately reached the same conclusion as Dr. Glenn Nazareno, the forensic pathologist who performed Johnson’s autopsy. Nazareno, who has since died, noted ligature marks on and injuries to Johnson’s neck and concluded the manner of death was suicide, caused by ligature hanging, according to the district attorney’s office.

“Based on my review of the autopsy and investigation, the cause of death is hanging, and the manner of death is suicide,” Jorden said in a Nov. 2 letter to Assistant District Attorney Brian Welch. “This investigation along with the scene re-enactment confirms Mr. Johnson Jr. was capable of a suicidal hanging based on height and weight comparison, reconstruction of items and measurements performed at the scene.”

In addition to maintaining their son was not suicidal, Johnson’s parents have said he did not leave behind a suicide note and could not have killed himself in the manner described in the autopsy report.

“Although authorities described the cause of death as a ‘suicide,’ no one could explain, rationalize or logically reason how a 6-foot-2-inch tall man of superior strength could have hung himself from a basement ceiling that was less than 6 feet high,” said Gregory Johnson Sr. and Denise Johnson in a 2015 federal civil rights complaint.

Instead, Johnson’s parents have said they believe their son was the victim of a hate crime. At the time of his death, he was Sigma Chi’s only Black member. The claim led hundreds of protesters last year to call on the university to shut down the fraternity. Protesters also alleged a cover-up in a march to SJSU President Mary Papazian’s home in April.

The complaint filed by Johnson’s parents was dismissed the same year it was filed.

According to Jorden, the “hanging occurred as an incomplete suspension based on the height of Mr. Johnson, scene measurements and initial medical examiner-coroner investigative report in November 2008, which captured the original position of the body when found.”

Calls made to phone numbers listed for Johnson’s parents were not immediately returned.

In a 2010 letter to the United States Senate, Johnson’s mother also raised concerns about trauma to her son’s head. Jorden said a 6-inch “crack” on the back of Johnson’s head possibly occurred during the autopsy or funeral home preparation. In Santa Clara County, medical examiner-coroners examine brains during autopsies and the process involves making incisions to the scalp and skull that can be seen and felt.

Jorden also addressed Johnson’s mental state at the time of his death.