Family Claims Cover Up In Football Star's Death

Standing in front of the George County Courthouse, Billey Joe Johnson, Jr.'s family makes yet another plea.

"I'm pretty sure there is somebody out there that knew a little bit about what happened in this situation that could help us," says Johnson's sister.

Two weeks after a Grand Jury determined the 17 year old football star accidentally shot himself during a traffic stop, his family insists there is more to the story.

"He wasn't killed where they say he was," says Annette Johnson, Billey Joe's mother. "They killed him somewhere else, I don't know where."

The Johnson's won't say who they think killed Billey Joe, but they have previously pointed fingers at the George County deputy who pulled him over. They've also dropped hints that race was the motive.

"He has too many years of experience with a shotgun to just all of the sudden, leaving a young white girls house, supposedly running a red light or a stop sign then accidentally shooting himself. It doesn't add up," says Veronica Fairley, who insists the District Attorney's office and the Sheriff are covering up her cousin's murder.

The George County Sheriff's Office turned the case over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation on day one, and after hearing from 30 witnesses and examining 65 pieces of evidence, a Grand Jury determined Johnson died from an accidental self-inflicted gun shot wound.

"I have no reason to doubt my officer, none what so ever," says Sheriff Garry Welford.

At the request of the family, District Attorney Tony Lawrence has handed the evidence to the FBI, but there is no word on whether the federal agency will get involved. In the meantime, the Johnson family says they will go to the state capitol next week hoping to get someone's attention.