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<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-50f3b3302befa60dcc2d19c05cb2e67d" style="color:#820909;font-size:14px">WARNING: Contains graphic images</h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4ccd0f4686c687f076b3ecc4d83c21ab" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>Bricen Rivers was released from remand custody in a violent assault case, only to be accused of murder days later </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5c799bdb45b5c6231880641ceae8bcff" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>Judge Cheryl Blackburn lowered bond Bricen Rivers from $250,000 to $150,000 even after seeing images of the brutal beating he inflicted on <strong>Mississippi student Lauren Johansen that led to gruesome injuries</strong> </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7f03025787d210c016aaf01b053fd984" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>Rivers, 23, spent seven months in jail for the barbaric attack and was released on June 24, only to beat Lauren to death on July 3 </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-bed30b7f1f05fb9e4934728cbcf9d686" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>In the assault case, nursing student Lauren Johansen, 22, was pistol-whipped and beaten to a pulp by &#8216;psychopath&#8217; ex-boyfriend, Bricen Rivers on Dec 11 </strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0275c4893a042cad72426077c615f540" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>Rivers flew into a jealous rage during a night out in Nashville, last December<strong> clubbed Johansen with a pistol and pulled out chunks of her hair, after he accused her of sleeping with a bartender</strong></strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-64289bf3571eb2c92fad2953acf0d5c2" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>Nine days after he posted bond, Johansen was found beaten to death in Gulfport, Mississippi &#8211; Rivers was arrested on suspicion of murder</strong></h1>



<h1 class="wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-69e3edfcb148c57c7a83ba6acb110168" style="color:#230202;font-size:14px"><strong>Rivers is back in custody<strong>, charged with murde</strong>r and booked into the Harrison County jail early Thursday, where he remains on a $1million bond</strong></h1>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lauren-Johansen-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464503"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Graphic image: [right], <strong>brutal injuries </strong>suffered by Mississippi nursing student Lauren Johansen&#8217;s after she was beaten by ex-boyfriend Bricen Rivers in December </strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Disturbing images have emerged of the horrific are the gruesome injuries inflicted on nursing student Lauren Johansen by the &#8216;psychopath&#8217; ex-boyfriend. The was suspect was arrested and charged in that case, still the man allegedly, would go on to kidnap and murder her &#8211; after a judge lowered his bond paving the way for his release.<br>Johansen was pistol-whipped and beaten to a pulp by warped Bricen Rivers, 23, after he flew into a jealous rage during a night out in Nashville, Tennessee, last December.<br>The 22-year-old student survived the violence but photographs taken afterwards, reveal her petite body riddled with bruises and her face so bloody and swollen she was barely recognizable.<br>Lauren&#8217;s wounds were cataloged by her dad, Dr. Lance Johansen. The 58-year-old surgeon was desirous that the courts see the harm his daughter&#8217;s assailant was capable of inflicting, as he awaited trial on kidnapping and stalking charges.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bricen-Rivers-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464505" style="width:843px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Bricen Rivers [photo], spent seven months in jail for the barbaric December attack that left Lauren Johansen an bloody mess. Rivers was released in June. Nine days later Lauren was beaten to death</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dr Johansen, a respected orthopedic surgeon and father-of-four was so worried for his &#8216;wonderful, kind&#8217; daughter&#8217;s safety that he attended the preliminary hearing to warn a Davidson County judge that Rivers would &#8216;finish the job&#8217; if he ever got out of jail.<br>Despite the dad&#8217;s concerns, Judge Cheryl Blackburn, later decided to lower the alleged attacker&#8217;s bond from $250,000 to $150,000, paving the way for his June 24 release.<br>Nine days after the suspect posted bond and walked free, Lauren was found beaten to death in Gulfport, Mississippi. Rivers was arrested on suspicion of murder in Lauren&#8217;s death.<br>&#8216;You can see what happened when he hit her 100 times back in December so just imagine what he did to her when nobody was around to save her,&#8217; the grieving father said, fighting tears.<br>The heartbroken dad added: &#8216;I realize people have rights but you can&#8217;t just let loose a wild animal.<br>&#8216;They knew he was a psychopath; they knew he was going to kill her if he got out. I warned them how this was going to play out and they went ahead and did it anyway.&#8217;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lance-Johansen-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464506" style="width:749px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Respected surgeon Lance Johansen [photo], who said his daughter was &#8216;hit over 100 times&#8217;, pled with the judge not to let Rivers out of jail, warning it was highly likely that Rivers would &#8216;finish the job&#8217; if he ever got out of jail</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bubbly, popular Lauren grew up in Gulfport where she started dating Rivers, the star player on his high school football team.<br>Their relationship was plagued by violent episodes and by the time she headed off to the University of Southern Mississippi she was determined to call it quits.<br>Her family claim &#8216;obsessed&#8217; Rivers stalked her on and off for years, breaking into her apartment and starting fights with any men she tried to date.<br>They were shocked to learn late last year that Lauren had reconciled with Rivers and gone on vacation with him to Nashville, a decision Lance puts down to his daughter suffering from &#8216;battered woman syndrome&#8217;.</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><img style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lauren-Johansen-injuries-4.png" alt="This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Lauren-Johansen-injuries-4.png"><br><strong>Lauren <strong>Johansen</strong> was &#8216;severely beaten, [image]. Her eye was swollen shut and she also had a severe laceration to her forehead,&#8217; according to cops. Her dad claims Rivers hit her 100 times </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lauren-Johansen-injuries-8.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464519" style="width:842px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>On December 11, Rivers clubbed Lauren Johansen with a pistol and pulled out chunks of her hair, after he accused her of sleeping with a bartender. Shocking images show Lauren&#8217;s face, bloody and swollen from the attack that she was barely recognizable </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lauren-Johansen-injuries-7.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464520" style="width:842px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The wounds were documented by the victim&#8217;s dad, Dr. Lance Johansen, who wanted to show the courts how much of a danger and threat Rivers posed to his daughter as he awaited trial on kidnapping and stalking charges</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The pair played Topgolf and attended a museum before Rivers flew into a drunken rage on December 11 and accused Lauren of having sex with a bartender, according to a police report.<br>Rivers snatched Lauren&#8217;s phone so she couldn&#8217;t call for help and drove to a parking lot where he allegedly clubbed her with a pistol and pulled out chunks of her hair.<br>He held her captive inside the vehicle for an hour until his mom, Chelsa Rivers, overheard screaming in the background on a call to her son and tipped off cops to their location, according to court filings.<br>Officers arrived to find &#8216;traumatized&#8217; Lauren in just her bra and panties, screaming and banging on the window for help and calling for her father.<br>She was &#8216;severely beaten, her eye was swollen shut and she also had a severe laceration to her forehead,&#8217; according to cops.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lauren-Johansen-and-Bricen-Rivers-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464521" style="width:792px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The Johansen family have claimed that &#8216;obsessed&#8217; Rivers stalked her on and off for years, breaking into her apartment and starting fights with any men she tried to date</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A gun was found on the floor of the couple&#8217;s rental car which can be seen spattered with blood. <br>Lauren and Lance attended a preliminary hearing on December 18, where he testified that his eldest daughter had been &#8216;hit over 100 times&#8217; and he feared for her life if Rivers ever got to her again.<br>The gun-obsessed abuser languished in jail for four months before his lawyers filed a motion in March asking Judge Cheryl Blackburn to reduce his bond.<br>While Judge Blackburn noted in an April 3 order there was a &#8216;high likelihood of conviction&#8217; due to police body camera footage and audio recordings from inside the car.<br>Nonetheless the judge concluded that a &#8216;bond of $150,000 is appropriate in this case&#8217; noting that &#8216;it does not appear that Mr. Rivers has any prior criminal history.&#8217;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Cheryl-Blackburn-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464509" style="width:842px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Despite the pleas by Lauren and her dad that Rivers remain behind bars, Judge Cheryl Blackburn would ultimately agree to lower is bond, noting that &#8216;it does not appear that Mr. Rivers has any prior criminal history&#8217;</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Records show that Rivers was arrested in January 2021 in Hancock County, Mississippi for DUI.<br>He was also arrested in October 2022 for auto burglary in nearby Harrison County and again in December 2022 for possession and trafficking of a controlled substance.<br>Although the Davidson County District Attorney&#8217;s Office contested the reduced bond, at the time it didn&#8217;t flag up any prior arrests.<br>He said this was because Assistant District Attorneys working the case were not aware of any criminal convictions and that arrests that did not result in convictions wouldn&#8217;t be considered evidence of prior criminality.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bricen-Rivers-assaulted-Lauren-Johansen-in-this-car-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464530" style="width:776px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>The horrifying assault unfolded on December 11 after Rivers flew into violent rage while the two were in a car and drove to a parking lot where he allegedly clubbed her with a pistol and pulled out chunks of her hair</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bricen-Rivers-assaulted-Lauren-Johansen-in-this-car-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464531" style="width:837px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>A gun was found on the floor of the couple&#8217;s rental car which can be seen spattered with blood, following the December attack </strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Judge Blackburn who presided over the December attack proceedings has been on the city&#8217;s bench since 1996, was expected to retire in 2021 after suffering a stroke but stayed on and won re-election a year later.<br>Authorities face further questions over exactly how Rivers was monitored after his family paid $15,000 to secure his release via a company named Brooke&#8217;s Bonding.<br>Judge Blackburn&#8217;s order, which was signed by the defendant, said he was barred from leaving Davidson County and should be &#8216;placed on electronic monitoring&#8217;.<br>Freedom Monitoring Services, the company involved in keeping tabs on Rivers, didn&#8217;t appear to know he was supposed to stay in the Nashville area, however, according to reporting by News Channel 5.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bricen-Rivers-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464532" style="width:824px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>After Rivers [photo], was remanded in custody for seven months, before his attorney convinced Judge Blackburn to lower his bail from $250,000 to $150,000. His relatives paid the $15000 bond and he was released &#8211; He then allegedly, found his ex and &#8216;finished the job&#8217; </strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The local accommodation lined up for Rivers reportedly, fell through and he went back to Mississippi to live with family instead.<br>Lance wasn&#8217;t notified that Rivers was at large until June 28 and it wasn&#8217;t until July 2 that a hearing was hastily convened to figure out what had happened. By then it was too late.<br>At 4:01am that day Dr Johansen got an alert saying Lauren was disconnected from Life360, a phone app that he and his wife Tamela used to keep tabs on their eldest child Lauren, her and her siblings Kylar 16, and 14-year-old twins Katelyn and Christian.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lauren-Johansen-and-Bricen-Rivers-2-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464550" style="width:900px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>On July 3, the mutilated body of Johansen [right], was found wrapped in sheets and garbage bags in the back seat of her car at the Wolf River Cemetery in Gulfport, Mississippi. Suspect Rivers, [left], prosecutors said: &#8216;knew they were going to throw him back in jail for violating the order and he wouldn&#8217;t get out for the next 20 years. He had nothing to lose so he came for her&#8217; </strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the time Katelyn Johansen was staying over at her big sister&#8217;s Hattiesburg home. She awoke to find the front door open, her animals in the yard and the security camera tossed into a bush.<br>A day later police traced Lauren&#8217;s Chevy to an isolated cemetery outside Gulfport where they located her body in the back, wrapped in sheets and trash bags.<br>Rivers fled into the woods but the shaven-haired brute – who claims to be a US Marine Corps veteran on social media &#8211; was tracked down at 11:30pm after an almost nine-hour manhunt.<br>&#8216;We realized early on that the subject still had his cell phone on him,&#8217; Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley said.<br>&#8216;So undercover officers were able to, through text message, have Rivers believe that he was corresponding with a friend, and we were able to lure him out of the woods.&#8217;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Bricen-Rivers-6.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464526"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Judge Blackburn in December order said that it appears Rivers had no priors, but records and mugshots indicate Rivers was arrested in January 2021 in Hancock County, Mississippi for DUI [left] and again in December 2022 [right], for possession and trafficking of a controlled substance</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rivers was booked into the Harrison County jail at 1am Thursday, where he remains on a $1million bond, charged with murder.<br>&#8216;It all came to a head because of this new court date,&#8217; The DA&#8217;s office said through a spokesperson.<br>&#8216;He knew they were going to throw him back in jail for violating the order and he wouldn&#8217;t get out for the next 20 years. He had nothing to lose so he came for her.&#8217;</p>



<div class="wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4fc3f8e1 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tennessee-vs-Bricen-Rivers-in-Lauren-Johansen-murder-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464534" style="width:688px;height:auto"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tennessee-vs-Bricen-Rivers-in-Lauren-Johansen-murder-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-464536" style="width:739px;height:auto"/></figure>
</div>



<p class="has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Judge Cheryl Blackburn initially set Rivers&#8217;s bond at $250,000, only to later slash it to $150,000, paving the way for his June 24 release</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dr. Lance Johansen helped the coroner remove his daughter&#8217;s traumatized body from the back of her car.<br>Although he is yet to hear the official cause of death, Johansen says, as an experienced physician, he doesn&#8217;t need one to know Lauren was savagely beaten, mutilated and made to suffer.<br>&#8216;My daughter was a wonderful, kind person. She had so much compassion and love for others, there wasn&#8217;t a mean bone in her body,&#8217; he added.<br>&#8216;All I can do to honor her memory is try and stop this happening to someone else&#8217;s daughter or granddaughter. Lauren would have hated that more than anything.&#8217;<br>Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday and mourners who wish, can donate to the family&#8217;s <a class="" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/animal-lover-brutal-murder-fulfilling-laurens-final-wishes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GoFundMe </a>page here. </p>

Domestic violence case grows to murder charge after lowered bail bond led to release of ‘stalker ex-boyfriend’ Bricen Rivers, earlier charged with the ‘brutally beating’ of Mississippi student Lauren Johansen
