FORREST COUNTY, Miss. ( WHLT ) – Bond has been denied again for the man accused of killing a Mississippi woman.

Bricen Rivers has been charged with first-degree murder, grand larceny and tampering with evidence in Forrest County. The case has been turned over to the Forrest County grand jury.

During Rivers’ court appearance on Friday, Lt. Daniel Benoit testified that investigators with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office spoke with Rivers brother, who told investigators that Bricen confessed that he killed Lauren Johansen.

According to prosecutors, Rivers stole Johansen’s vehicle, tried to clean it to hide evidence, and took her body across county lines.

Investigators said new evidence suggested that Rivers killed Johansen in Forrest County. She was found deceased in the back of a car in Harrison County.

Rivers, who was Johansen’s ex-boyfriend, allegedly beat her to death on July 2. Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims said investigators are looking for surveillance video along South 11th and South 10th Avenue in Hattiesburg, as well as the Highway 42 bypass into Petal.

Rivers’ bond in Harrison County for a drug trafficking charge in 2022, as well as kidnapping and stalking charges in 2023, were previously revoked.

Rivers is being held at the Forrest County Jail.

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