The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.
All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages and is intended for a mature
audience.
Listener discretion is advised.
Welcome back everyone.
This is your host, Ali McLaughlin.
And this is your other host, Eli Sulkowski.
And we are back.
This is our official 13th episode.
I may have mislabeled them, but I think they're all in the correct order now.
And we're on the road right now.
We are coming to you from a hotel room in Cincinnati, Ohio, because Eli had some exciting
stuff happen this week.
Yeah, I have a furniture company and I moved some inventory down to our friend's storefront
store called The Generalist.
And I'm selling some furniture there, which is really exciting.
That's The Generalist in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Really cool store.
If you're in the area, please check it out.
It's dope.
There's some really cool cow printed furniture and frames there from Moo Furniture Co.,
which is all from me, Eli Sulkowski.
But you might hear a little hotel noise, maybe a little highway noise.
So I do apologize, but we have set up a really cool fort here to record this for y'all.
So hopefully we're able to keep the distractions and outside noise to a minimum, but just a
forewarning.
So what do you have for us today?
This is cold.
This is a cold case, but this is something that has happened more recently.
So I think this still has, I think all our cases still have a really good chance of being
solved.
But hopefully like Abby and Libby, this will be resolved really soon.
We recorded that episode and then a week later there was a development in the case.
I'm not saying we are responsible for that at all, but maybe we got a little magic, a
little mojo.
So I found a case.
It is a little bit more recent.
It's from 2021, but the leads have run out according to investigators.
So I think this is prime, cold and missing.
So hopefully in recording this, we can generate maybe some more tips and just keep this case
out there, keep the name out there.
So this week we are covering Johnkelian Mathis, but he goes by John John.
So that is what I will be calling him throughout this podcast.
He is 17 years old.
He was born on February 1st, 2004.
And this takes place August 8th of 2021 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
So a little background about John John.
John John is 17 years old at this time and he's about to start his senior year and he's
an incredible student.
All of his teachers had great things to say about him.
He had a 3.25 GPA, very proud, his family is very proud of this.
He was projected to be a graduate scholar at his school and he had been named Mr. Freshman
and Mr. Sophomore, which is really cute.
And it's from everything I could gather and understand about this, it's like something
you had to run for and kind of be elected by your peers.
So two years in a row, he was the Mr. of the school, Mr. Freshman, Mr. Sophomore.
So he was about to start his senior year at Austin East High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.
At his high school, he was part of a West African drummer group.
He was running back of the football team and all of his friends, his family, teachers,
they all talked about the smile that he had.
He always had a smile on his face and an infectious laugh.
He loved to listen to music, skateboard, and he loved doing backflips.
This was a very specific thing that he would do.
And he had started his own t-shirt company in high school, which was called YBC.
So Saturday, August 7th, 2021.
This day is the 35th annual Lonsdale Community Homecoming.
And so this is a neighborhood homecoming.
When I first read this, I thought it was like a school dance kind of homecoming, but it's
just like a big block party.
And hundreds of people attend this event.
There's a lot that goes on during this.
So there's a parade.
It's called the Lonsdale Homecoming Gloria Garner Memorial Parade.
And there's bands and dances and it looks like a really big event.
And then during the day, there are kid activities.
And in the evening, they have live music.
So it's just like a full day, like block celebration that happens, which is pretty cool.
So this is happening all day, August 7th.
And John John was working during the day.
So when he gets off of work, he heads over, because he lives in this neighborhood.
So he heads over to the homecoming celebration to hang out.
So as the celebration was winding down in the neighborhood, people were still there.
They were still hanging out.
And a lot of people ended up gathering in parking lot D of the Lonsdale Homes, which
is right there where the celebration was taking place.
And if you're familiar with Knoxville, this would be the corner of Minnesota Ave and Pascal
Drive.
So the crowd continues to stay there well into the morning hour.
So this is Sunday morning, now of August 8th.
And a fight breaks out in the crowd and shots are fired and three people are hit.
There's Tricia Fisher, who's 29 years old, and Anthony Taylor, who's 25 years old.
And then John John Mathis, who we are talking about, who's 17.
So all of them are rushed to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
And this is ultimately where John John will pass away from his injuries, from his gunshot
wound.
But Tricia and Anthony, they both recover from the shooting.
So John John's the only one who passes away.
The Knoxville Police Chief, Eve Thomas, she said, quote, investigators have determined
that a crowd numbering in the hundreds were gathered when the shooting occurred and a
significant number of those individuals likely directly witnessed the shooting, end quote.
And then as the news of John John's death spread, one of his teachers was quoted as
saying he was in my drum classes.
He played football and he was just great at everything he put his hands on.
He was the one student who always asked questions.
He wanted to be great at everything.
When you were around John John, you knew he was one of those kids that was going to make
it, somewhere, someday.
He affected every teacher he had.
I know he did.
He was just a charismatic, great kid with an amazing personality, end quote.
So the next day, Monday, August 9th, 2021, this would have been John John's first day
of senior year.
And again, to quote the same teacher, to start school out like this after working all summer
with the youth to try to prevent this violence is like a blow to my stomach.
The first day of school was hard.
I've been teaching 17 years and I think yesterday was probably the hardest day I ever had, end
quote.
And on Monday, it's reported that police also begin canvassing the neighborhood for evidence
and talking with witnesses.
I'm not sure if this was happening on Sunday as well because the shooting takes place at
around 1 a.m.
So there's a full Sunday before we get into Monday.
But it's reported for the first time that the police began investigating his death.
And then the next day, that Tuesday, again, this is the police chief, Eve Thomas.
She says, quote, thus far we have received five tips through Crimestoppers and investigators
are looking into that information that has been received.
But we still need more and are urging those who are present to come forward and submit
a tip anonymously.
It is imperative as we seek justice for this senseless act of violence, end quote.
So a week comes and goes, Thursday, August 19th, this is the day of John John's funeral
or as his family and friends call it, his home going celebration.
And it's held at the Greater Warner Tabernacle Church.
And organizers of his home going celebration actually said that they needed a bigger church
because there were so many people that wanted to say goodbye and show respect and love to
the family.
It was standing room only in the church and people were waiting to get in.
Lots of people spoke at his home going celebration.
His coach spoke and said, quote, God gave John John good genetics and God gave John
John talent, but God anointed his smile.
So again, just talking about this infectious smile that he always had on.
And John John's girlfriend also spoke and she said, quote, you turned my darkness into
light and somehow made everything feel all right.
You were there when I had nobody, end quote.
And he was also honored with a dance performance, a drum routine, and his teammates dedicated
his number to his family as well.
And he was number 28.
So that number is dedicated to John John.
On the day of his home going celebration, again, the chief of police says that part
of the blame is on state lawmakers for the increase in guns on the street.
And this is because in 2021, lawmakers made it so anyone 21 and older who can legally
own a gun is allowed to carry it concealed or open without a permit.
I didn't realize that Tennessee had such loose carrying laws.
Texas I know.
Like I expect that, but for whatever reason, just like Tennessee, I didn't think it was
that like loose with it, but it from my standards, you know.
So then that fall, this is August 17th, the football team has their senior night and they,
of course, honor John John as well.
His coach says, quote, his locker is still there.
We've got his jersey, his helmet, his shoulder pads, everything.
We're a family.
We grow together.
We hurt together.
I think recognizing John John helps the grieving process.
End quote.
In November, two teens were charged in a separate case of another teen who was shot and killed.
His name is Stanley Freeman Jr. and Stanley Freeman, he is also a student at the same
high school that John John was at.
And these two teenagers are charged in his murder, but they are also charged with an
attempted murder because on January 19th at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Cherry Street
near a gas station, the two teens fired a gun multiple times.
At that time, no victims were struck by gunfire, but it did hit a nearby car that had John
John sitting in it with an 18 year old girl.
And it's unclear if John John was the target of the shooting or if it was just a random
shooting.
But John John is not hurt in this January 19th shooting, but ultimately he is shot and
killed just eight months later.
But these two teens, they're charged with first degree murder for Stanley Freeman Jr.
and then attempted murder for John John Mathis.
And then just a few months ago, John John's class graduated and John John's family was
able to walk and receive his diploma for him.
And his mom, Koke Boatwright, she says, quote, but now that I have my strength, I'm not looking
at it like John is gone.
Instead, I'm going to make them see my baby more than they've ever seen him.
It's on me to make sure everyone understands and feels this and keeps remembering his life.
I always played the tough role.
This city hasn't seen me cry since I lost my baby.
It's going to be hard, but I'm going to be right there to get his diploma.
He earned that.
He's my first child and he always had my back, end quote.
And John John is one of three seniors who are killed in 2021 from this high school.
Stanley Freeman Jr., who I just mentioned, but ultimately those two teens are charged
in his case and they're still awaiting trial at this time.
Another boy in their high school, Anthony Thompson Jr., he was shot and killed by police
in front of his best friend at school.
And to quote a newspaper, police video of the encounter shows Anthony asking police
repeatedly to wait as they approached him in a bathroom before one officer fired at
him after a gun in the pocket of his hoodie fell out and discharged after it hit the floor.
He was carrying a gun because he was fearful for his safety, end quote.
Ultimately the courts will rule that the shooting is justified.
So John Johns is the only unsolved case from the senior class.
He's one of three in his senior class who was murdered, but ultimately he is one of
six because in 2021, six Austin East high schoolers were shot and killed.
And this is a high school of 642 students and they lost six kids in 2021 to gun violence.
And of those six cases, three of those cases are still unsolved and that's Janaria Mohammed,
Jamerion Gillette, and then John John Mathis, who we are covering today.
And then in Knoxville, Tennessee, teens made up one fifth of all gun violence in the city.
I kept thinking about the kids there and like the trauma of COVID and then like you're losing
classmates at such a rapid pace to like such violence.
I really feel bad for all of these students in this school because they all have to have
been affected by this.
In response to the gun violence, Knoxville Police Department said, quote, we recognize
that people want answers and the victims deserve justice and we want those things as well.
These types of cases take thoroughness and persistence.
Investigators are working carefully and diligently to get answers and justice that we all want,
end quote.
But to date, no suspects have ever been named or are in custody.
There have been several tips received, but investigators have said this several times
that they need more tips.
And if you have any, they ask you to call 865-215-7165 and you can remain anonymous.
You can also go to East TN Valley Crime Stoppers dot org.
That's East TN Valley Crime Stoppers dot org.
Or there's also an app for Knoxville Police called P3 where you can also submit tips.
The sources for today's podcast is East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, WATE, WBIR, Knoxville
Focus, and the Knoxville New Centennial who, the Knoxville New Centennial, I have to say,
they have covered this case the most and that is where I got most of my information from
on this case.
So they have done a really great job reporting it.
Just a shout out to them.
And also, speaking of shout out, we want to give a shout out to our listeners who bought
us a coffee this past week.
Thank you so much.
That was Kathy that bought us a coffee and Maura.
Thank you so much.
It was so cool to get your emails and to hear that you love the podcast and you like listening
to it.
Like, wow, that's so cool.
Yeah, I talked to Mara a little bit, but I texted her.
Mara?
Yeah.
Oh, cute.
We worked together in the past.
Yeah, Mara Kidwell, incredible actress, or actor, mother, actor coach here in Chicago.
She's been on a bunch of stuff.
Amazing person.
Thank you so much.
Amazing person.
Thank you.
And thank you to Cathy, our biggest fan since day one.
You're a real one.
Thank you so much.
And if you want to become a regular name in our household and you want us to gush about
you on the podcast, you can jump over to our Instagram at Cold and Missing, click the link
in our bio and you can buy us a coffee.
There's a link right there that'll take you right to the website.
It's great.
You can also follow us there and you'll get updates on the cases.
We like to post a lot of pictures from our cases.
Eli does a great job with the graphics, so check them out.
They're gorgeous.
Yes, we're also on YouTube.
There's a great little community forming over on YouTube.
We get some lively discussions in the comments section.
So if that's maybe where you like to listen to your podcast or music, whatever, you can
hop over there and follow us there.
But otherwise, wherever you're listening to us right now, make sure you like, subscribe,
five stars, favorite it, whatever your platform.
You know what I'm asking you to do.
I'm asking you to like it, review it, tell your friends about us.
But yeah, we will be back next week.
I hope us recording in a blanket fort in a hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio shows you how committed
we are to this project and how we want to be consistent to bring you episodes every
week.
So share them with your friends because we're going to have more every week coming at you.
So that's all I have.
Thanks, y'all, for listening.
Thank you all and stay safe.