A missing Nashville, Tennessee, woman's body was found at a Mississippi cemetery days after her abusive ex-boyfriend was bonded out of jail.
Lauren Johansen, 22, was found dead on Wednesday in her own car, "mutilated" and wrapped in sheets and trash bags after her family reported her missing.
Johansen's Family Reported Her Missing After Her Location-Sharing App Showed No Activity, Her Security Camera was Destroyed
Johansen's 23-year-old boyfriend, Bricen Rivers has been arrested and charged with one count of homicide and a bail of $1 million. Johansen's father said he texted Lauren and received a response that didn't sound like her. Then, in the early morning hours of July 2, he saw that the tracking feature on Lauren's Life360 location sharing app was no longer active.
He also received a call from his younger daughter who was living with Lauren. She said that Johansen was not home, the front door was left open, and their security camera was destroyed.
Police found Johansen after a call for a welfare concern at a local cemetery. Upon arrival, deputies encountered Rivers running from a vehicle into the woods in the area. Mississippi agencies located Rivers in the woods several hours later and arrested him.
Johansen's Family Says They Were Not Notified of Rivers' Release from Custody
According to Johansen's family, Rivers was recently let out on bond in Nashville in the last few days. The family spokesperson said Johansen and her family weren't notified of River's release in Nashville. They said the system failed Johansen.
The family noted that Rivers was asked to report to a GPS company to be put on a GPS monitor following his release. However, he did not report to the GPS monitoring company.
"We opposed the reduced bond that was ordered by Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn," said Steve Hayslip, the spokesperson for the Nashville District Attorney's Office. "We do not have anything to do with bond conditions. Those are imposed by the judge and overseen by community corrections."
Rivers was Previously Arrested for Assaulting, Kidnapping and Stalking Johansen
Rivers was arrested charged in December with two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking and witness coercion. This stemmed from an incident while he and the victim were vacationing downtown, where he got angry.
Metro police said the victim called them and told her family Rivers might kill her. The victim's family called dispatch from out of state to relay what was happening.
While the couple was leaving downtown, they got in the car where police said Rivers began hitting the victim as he was driving and took her phone. Rivers eventually stopped the car in a parking lot where the assault continued, causing the victim to nearly lose consciousness.
Officers worked with the victim's family to obtain her location in North Nashville, where the couple's rental car was found at an intersection. Metro police said officers could hear the victim banging on the vehicle as she tried to escape the attack.
While she was able to get out of the car upon officers' arrival, police said Rivers was seen reaching for a firearm in the back seat, but authorities were able to interrupt him. He was then taken into custody. The department did not name the girlfriend at the time, but WLOX identified her as Johansen.
His original bond was $251,000, according to police records. However, that bond had been lowered to $150,000 inside Judge Blackburn's court. Records show Rivers was arraigned in April, and his last court date was July 2.
