A 22-year-old nursing student, Lauren Johansen, was found beaten to death and wrapped in a sheet in the backseat of her car, mere days after her father warned a judge that her abusive boyfriend's release from jail would result in her death.
Lauren's mutilated body, wrapped in trash bags and a sheet, was discovered in Wolf River Cemetery. Her boyfriend, Bricen Rivers, recently released on bond after being detained for assaulting her, has been charged with her murder.
Lauren's father, Lance Johansen, had cautioned a Nashville judge about Rivers' dangerous tendencies, referencing a brutal December incident where Rivers had beaten and held Lauren hostage.
"I told the judge that if they let him out, he was going to kill her," Lance Johansen told WLOX. Rivers had allegedly assaulted Lauren multiple times, with the latest incident culminating in her murder.
Rivers, 23, was arrested on July 4 after a six-hour manhunt and is now held on a $1 million bond. Lauren, originally from Gulfport and a University of Southern Mississippi student, was reported missing on July 2 after her sister found their apartment's front door open and their security camera smashed.
The next day, authorities found Lauren's car in a cemetery. Her father, alerted by a disabled location-tracking app, had already feared the worst. "She was brutally beaten to the point she couldn’t see out of either eye when she finally died," he told WLOX.
Lance Johansen criticized the criminal justice system for reducing Rivers' bond from $251,000 to $150,000 after seven months in jail. He condemned the system for failing his daughter, who had been pursuing a nursing degree and had vibrant aspirations.
Lauren's tragic death underscores the severe consequences of domestic violence and the critical need for judicial vigilance in cases involving repeat offenders.
