Lauren Johansen, a 22-year-old nursing student from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was discovered brutally beaten to death and wrapped in a sheet in the backseat of her car on July 3, 2024. Her body was found at Wolf River Cemetery in Harrison County, just days after her father had cautioned a judge that her boyfriend would kill her if he were released from jail.
Johansen’s father, Doctor Robert “Lance” Johansen, an orthopedic surgeon, had pleaded with a Nashville, Tennessee judge to keep Bricen Rivers, 23, in custody following a December 2023 incident where Rivers was charged with aggravated kidnapping for brutally beating and holding Lauren hostage while the couple was on vacation in Nashville. Despite the warnings, Rivers was released on a reduced bond just days before Lauren’s death.
“You saw the result when he beat her 100 times in December, so think about what he did when no one was there to help,” Lance Johansen told the media. “In the Nashville courtroom, I warned the judge that releasing him would result in her death.”
Lauren Johansen was reported missing on July 2 by her sister, who discovered their Hattiesburg apartment with the front door wide open and the security camera destroyed. Later that day, Lance Johansen was notified that Lauren’s location-tracking app, Life360, had been turned off. Concerned, he reported her missing to the Hattiesburg Police Department. The following day, officers located Lauren’s car in a nearby cemetery with her body inside.
“She was essentially beaten to death. Her face and head were smashed in, and she was so brutally beaten that she couldn’t see out of either eye when she finally died, with multiple holes in her head,” Lance Johansen told the media. “I assisted the coroner in lifting her body out of the car. It was completely mutilated.”
Records indicate that numerous conditions outlined in a court order for Rivers’ release were not adhered to, which her father claims allowed Rivers to leave Nashville, travel to Mississippi, and murder his daughter. Davidson County Chief Deputy Criminal Court Clerk Julius Sloss admitted this week that his office made an error in communicating with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office about the proper procedure for Rivers’ release.
Rivers’ bonding company also stated that it was unaware of the complete conditions of his release because the clerk failed to provide them. The clerk, however, argued that it is the bonding company’s full responsibility to know and understand the conditions before signing. Due to these communication failures, Rivers was released from jail on June 24 on his own instead of into the custody of a bonding agent, as ordered, and the release happened later than the court had mandated.
When a bonding agent picked Rivers up that same day, he was taken to the wrong GPS monitoring company—one that had been established just seven days earlier—and this company was not informed that Rivers was restricted from leaving Davidson County until several days later when it received the court order with bond conditions for the first time.
The suspect, Bricen Rivers, was arrested on July 4 following a six-hour manhunt and is now facing a murder charge, being held on a $1 million bond. Rivers had a history of violent behavior towards Lauren, with multiple instances of assault. The criminal justice system’s failure to heed the warnings has been a focal point of criticism from both the family and victim advocates.
Diane Lance, director of the Metro Office of Family Safety, expressed her horror at the system’s failure. “I’ve been in this field my entire career. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a murder as brutal as that one,” she told Fox 17. “In my view, the criminal justice system failed Lauren and her family, and it’s deeply unfortunate.”
The case has sparked outrage and a call for reforms in how domestic violence cases are handled, particularly regarding bail decisions and monitoring of offenders. Victim advocates have highlighted the need for judges to take domestic violence more seriously and to ensure that high-risk offenders are kept behind bars or closely monitored.
“I believe the criminal justice system in Nashville, Tennessee, let down my daughter and our family. The world shouldn’t operate like this,” Lance Johansen remarked. “She was incredibly beautiful and very smart. Her dreams and aspirations were enormous. Everything she did and touched was remarkable.”
Rivers’ bond was initially set at $251,000 but was later reduced to $150,000 by Judge Cheryl Blackburn despite the clear and present danger he posed. Rivers had been in jail for seven months before his release. During his December arrest, police found Lauren badly beaten, trying to escape a rental vehicle as Rivers reached for a firearm.
In the days before her death, Lauren Johansen was focused on her studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she was pursuing a nursing degree. Described as intelligent and ambitious, Lauren dreamed of making a significant impact in the healthcare field.
