NASHVILLE, TN - Lauren Johansen, 22, was found savagely beaten to death in her car near her home in Mississippi just days after her boyfriend was released from jail in Nashville. He was on GPS tracking and was located in Mississippi in violation of court orders. This, after serving four months in jail on charges he allegedly kidnapped and brutally beat her for hours in Nashville last year.
Johansen was found beaten to death, wrapped in sheets and garbage bags in her car just days after her boyfriend was released. The suspect, Bricen Rivers, 23, was released on GPS tracking after his bond was reduced from $250,000 to $150,000 according to News Channel 5 Nashville.
The outlet reported via X that the Nashville District Attorney opposed the bond reduction.
"I think the criminal justice system in Nashville failed my daughter and our family," Johansen's father told the outlet.
According to Jennifer Coffindaffer of NewsNation, Rivers "had been behind bars for an unrelated assault when his bond was lowered and he was released despite pleas from Lauren's family not to release him or he would kill Lauren."
Johansen's father Lance Johansen had reportedly pleaded with the court to keep Rivers incarcerated for his daughter's safety.
The Daily Mail reported that the father told reporters, "I sat in the courtroom in Nashville and told the judge that if they let him out, he was going to kill her."
He added, "He had assaulted her — this was probably the fifth or sixth time where they would get into a fight and he would beat her. We would get her away from him for a while, but he would find a way to weasel back in it."
The incident that landed Rivers in jail for four months saw him charged with kidnapping Johansen and beating her for hours while parked in a Nashville parking lot. In December 2023 he was charged with "two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking, and witness coercion."
Court documentation cited by the outlet establishes that Rivers was supposed to live in Davidson County, Tennesee. At the same time, Johansen was brought back home to Mississippi to recover from her serious injuries from the beatings by her family.
Under the terms of his release enacted June 28th, Rivers was not permitted to leave the state. However, Freedom Monitoring Service, the GPS provider, noted his presence in Mississippi and advised him to return to Nashville because the monitor had sent out a "no communication alert" and reportedly needed to "undergo troubleshooting."
The monitoring service contacted Rivers on July 1st and 2nd. First, they attempted to inform him his monitor needed charging, during which he informed them he wouldn't make his July 2nd court date. The second time was on his court date, when the GPS battery failed and they were unable to contact him. His last tracking data had him on a beach near Biloxi, MS.
Johansen was found beaten to death, wrapped in sheets and garbage bags in her car just days after her boyfriend was released. The suspect, Bricen Rivers, 23, was released on GPS tracking after his bond was reduced from $250,000 to $150,000 according to News Channel 5 Nashville.
The outlet reported via X that the Nashville District Attorney opposed the bond reduction.
Bricen Rivers, 23, is the suspect in the death of Lauren Johansen on Wednesday.
— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) July 4, 2024
He recently obtained a lower bond in the Nashville courts days before her death.
The Nashville DA's office said they opposed lowering his bond to the judge.
More here: https://t.co/e9CCIB314u pic.twitter.com/qWjlGDnJOC
"I think the criminal justice system in Nashville failed my daughter and our family," Johansen's father told the outlet.
According to Jennifer Coffindaffer of NewsNation, Rivers "had been behind bars for an unrelated assault when his bond was lowered and he was released despite pleas from Lauren's family not to release him or he would kill Lauren."
Johansen's father Lance Johansen had reportedly pleaded with the court to keep Rivers incarcerated for his daughter's safety.
The Daily Mail reported that the father told reporters, "I sat in the courtroom in Nashville and told the judge that if they let him out, he was going to kill her."
He added, "He had assaulted her — this was probably the fifth or sixth time where they would get into a fight and he would beat her. We would get her away from him for a while, but he would find a way to weasel back in it."
Another case where a judge and the system released a violent offender who murdered.#LaurenJohansen was viciously murdered and mutilated and dumped in a cemetery.
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) July 7, 2024
Her ex-boyfriend was charged with the murder. He had been behind bars for an unrelated assault when his bond was… pic.twitter.com/GTXX4tIc77
The incident that landed Rivers in jail for four months saw him charged with kidnapping Johansen and beating her for hours while parked in a Nashville parking lot. In December 2023 he was charged with "two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking, and witness coercion."
Court documentation cited by the outlet establishes that Rivers was supposed to live in Davidson County, Tennesee. At the same time, Johansen was brought back home to Mississippi to recover from her serious injuries from the beatings by her family.
Under the terms of his release enacted June 28th, Rivers was not permitted to leave the state. However, Freedom Monitoring Service, the GPS provider, noted his presence in Mississippi and advised him to return to Nashville because the monitor had sent out a "no communication alert" and reportedly needed to "undergo troubleshooting."
The monitoring service contacted Rivers on July 1st and 2nd. First, they attempted to inform him his monitor needed charging, during which he informed them he wouldn't make his July 2nd court date. The second time was on his court date, when the GPS battery failed and they were unable to contact him. His last tracking data had him on a beach near Biloxi, MS.
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