They released him on bond. He beat her to death.

Ana Garcia (0:00)

A word of warning. This podcast explores graphic and disturbing stories and includes some strong language. It therefore may not be suitable for our young listeners or other folks who may find it disturbing. Hello and welcome to True Crime News The Podcast, covering high-profile and under-the-radar cases from across the country every week. I'm your host, Ana Garcia. Our case this week, a father's warning to the court, if you release this monster, he will kill my daughter, and he did.

It's a heartbreaking case that I traveled to Mississippi to cover.

Dr. Lance Johansen (0:34)

If you all let him out, he's going to kill her.

Ana Garcia (0:38)

The desperate words of a loving father pleading to anyone who would listen.

Dr. Lance Johansen (0:43)

They caught this man red-handed about the killer. What more proof do you need?

Ana Garcia (0:48)

Not much because the killer has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But this all could have been avoided if someone had just listened to this father.

He will be joining me in just a few minutes. We're recording this on Friday, September 11th of 2026 Today is the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. Nearly 3,000 people were killed. We cannot forget. Today's murder is one of the most violent and disturbing cases I have ever covered. A conviction and life sentence are still not enough for one Mississippi family who had their precious daughter taken from them with a level of brutality I have not seen. The killer drove around with her dead body in the car for days while he tried to figure out how he was going to get away with this one. Well, he didn't. 22-year-old Lauren Johansen was beaten to the point that she was unrecognizable, her face gone.

Her obsessive and violent ex-boyfriend was captured at the scene with Lauren's blood all over him in July of 2024

25-year-old Bricen Rivers was arrested on the spot. At the time of the murder, Bricen was a fugitive from the state of Tennessee. He was wanted for taking off while out on bail. The reason he was in jail in Tennessee was for savagely beating Lauren in December of 2023 in Nashville. This is a part of my interview with Lauren's father, Dr. Lance Johansen.

Dr. Lance Johansen (2:33)

She told me that there was two groups of friends that went there, and that he was with the other group, but she didn't know he was with the group.

Ana Garcia (2:41)

Bricen was with Lauren and became jealous after she talked to another guy in a bar. Then Dr. Johansen's phone rings.

Dr. Lance Johansen (2:49)

Maybe 1.3 in the morning, Bricen's father said that Bricen is trying to kill Lauren.

Ana Garcia (2:54)

But how does he know that Bricen is trying to kill your daughter?

Dr. Lance Johansen (2:57)

They were in the car, and he was talking to his mother while he was beating on Lauren.

Ana Garcia (3:03)

Shocked, Dr. Johansen used a location app to find her, immediately giving cops the coordinates in Nashville.

Dr. Lance Johansen (3:10)

The officer that got her out of the car said that he was on top of her beating her. There was blood everywhere.

Ana Garcia (3:16)

When Nashville cops finally locate Lauren's car, they find her with ex-boyfriend Bricen Rivers.

Dr. Lance Johansen (3:22)

He was going to kill her that night.

Ana Garcia (3:26)

Responding officers see a severely beaten Lauren running away from the car. She's extremely emotional and asking for her father, who is driving seven hours to Nashville.

Dr. Lance Johansen (3:38)

If they hadn't got there, she would have been dead.

Ana Garcia (3:43)

Based on these photos taken by Lauren's father, she could have been killed that night. With Bricen locked up in Nashville on kidnapping and assault charges, and a high bail of $250,000, which his family could not afford, the Johansen family felt safer, and Lauren would have time to recover from this traumatic beating back home in Mississippi.

But before we get to the night of the murder in 2024, a little history and some context on how things got this bad, and how violence and domestic abuse would lay down a roadmap to murder. Lauren and Bricen met years earlier in high school. The prom was their first real date. Dr. Johansen never liked Bricen.

Dr. Lance Johansen (4:33)

He got her hooked on drugs when she was in high school, and she went from a straight-A student to not making good grades. We had to work really hard to get her off of drugs.

Ana Garcia (4:44)

The hard work paid off. Lauren got back on track after dumping Bricen. He was arrested for drug possession in DUI. She started to focus on a career in nursing.