Man accused of murdering ex-girlfriend after release from Metro jail denied bond

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend days after being released from the Metro jail has been denied bond in a Mississippi court room.

Bricen Rivers was arrested in Nashville in December 2023 after allegedly beating his then-girlfriend, Lauren Johansen.

He spent seven months in the Metro jail before a series of mistakes led to him being released without a functioning ankle monitor.

Rivers is accused of immediately going back home to Mississippi and killing Johansen. Her body was found in the back of a car. Her father, Lance Johansen, described the body as “brutally mutilated.”

Johansen, 22, was a college student at Mississippi University, working toward her degree as a registered nurse.

Rivers was denied bond on a first-degree murder charge. He received a $20,000 bond on a grand larceny charge and a $20,000 bond on a tampering with evidence charge, according to News 2’s sister-station, WJTV.

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 Rivers killed Johansen in Forrest County. She was found deceased in the back of a car in Harrison County.

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

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