22-Year-Old Beaten Until Her Face Literally Came Off - After Ex-Boyfriend Was Mistakenly Released From Jail

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

Mississippi is mourning a young woman after her abusive ex-boyfriend tracked her down and brutally beat her to death.

Earlier this month, 22-year-old Lauren Johansen met an evil fate after her ex-boyfriend Bricen Rivers, 23, was mistakenly released from jail. Yes, you unfortunately read that right. You see, Bricen was arrested back in December of 2023 after reportedly beating Lauren while on vacation in Nashville. For that reason, Lauren’s loved ones did not want her abuser to be let out of jail because they feared her life would be in danger.

However, seven months after his December arrest, he was let out on bond. Lauren’s father Dr. Lance Johansen spoke to WLOX earlier this month revealing an official from the “district attorney’s office in Nashville” called him to inform him that Bricen had been let out of jail. He said:

“He was supposed to report straight to a GPS company and be put on a GPS monitor and he was not to leave Davidson County. But as soon as he was released, he did not report to that GPS monitoring company, and he has not been heard from. I wanted to make sure Lauren is safe.”

He texted his daughter about it, but said her response didn’t sound like her, so he went to check her location on the Life360 tracking app and saw that it had been turned off. He reported her missing to Hattiesburg police shortly after, and eventually was able to locate her car via OnStar in “the middle of a cemetery.” Eerily, that was the moment that he knew “she was dead.” He told the news station:

“When we got there, her car was in the middle of the cemetery and she was in the back of the car wrapped up in sheets and trash bags. She was basically beaten to death. Her face was smashed in, her head was smashed in, she was brutally beaten to the point she couldn’t see out of either eye when she finally died and there was multiple holes in her head. I helped the coroner lift her body out of the car. It was just mutilated.”

How utterly devastating.

In another interview with WDAM over the weekend, the grieving father provided more horrifying details of the condition she was found in:

“He beat her so badly that her skull and her face pretty much became fractured from the rest of her body. He basically beat her until the front of her head came off. No human being deserves to have this happen to them.”

Holy s**t…

That poor young woman. What an inhumane and sickening fate to meet. Bricen has since been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, grand larceny auto, and tampering with evidence. He faced Forrest County Judge Gay Polk-Payton on Friday, where he was denied bond.

A Davidson County Criminal Court clerk admitted to WDAM that mistakes were made regarding Bricen’s release earlier this month. And while it’s too late to save his daughter, Dr. Lance feels some relief knowing that the 23-year-old is behind bars:

“Well, I already feel some relief knowing that that he’s in this detention facility. So, this is some justice for me. And I’m confident that he’s never going to see the light of day again. This man’s not done killing people, and if he has a chance, he’ll kill somebody in in jail.”

How horrible. Our hearts go out to all of Lauren’s loved ones and we hope to see Bricen face the law to the fullest degree. Rest in peace, Lauren.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/

[Images via Lauren Johansen/Instagram & Harrison County Sheriff’s Office]