By Kaitlin Housler | Tennessee Star
A father is pleading for change to Nashville’s criminal justice system after his daughter was murdered by her ex-boyfriend just days after he was released from the Davidson County Jail.
The father’s daughter, Lauren Johansen, was brutally murdered last week by her 23-year old ex-boyfriend Bricen Rivers who was at the Davidson County Jail for seven months after he was accused of kidnapping and beating Lauren in December 2023 when they visited Nashville on vacation.
Rivers was released from jail after Judge Cheryl Blackburn (pictured here) reportedly agreed to reduce his bail from $250,000 to $150,000.
The Johansen family had an agreement with Rivers’ defense attorney to be contacted if there were any changes to Rivers’ status, and, if he were to be released, that he would be fitted with a GPS ankle monitor.
However, those terms were not met, according to the father, Lance Johansen.
“They let him out and didn’t tell us, and didn’t put the ankle monitor on him. They just let him walk out of jail,” Johansen said to WLOX.
After being released from the Davidson County Jail on June 24, Rivers traveled to Johansen’s residence in Mississippi where he allegedly kidnapped Lauren and her vehicle, drove to a cemetery, and brutally beat her to death before wrapping her in a sheet.
Rivers fled from law enforcement into a wooded area near the cemetery and was incarcerated hours later following a brief manhunt.
Dispute Rivers’ release from jail on June 24, Lance Johansen said he did not receive a voicemail from the District Attorney’s office until July 1.
That voicemail, obtained by WLOX, reads:
This is Bailey calling from the district attorney’s office in Nashville. Bricen Rivers was released from custody. 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.
Lance Johansen said the voicemail was essentially a notice that Rivers was on his way to kill his daughter.
“What that voicemail says is that man is on the way to kill your daughter,” the father said.
Lance Johansen told WSMV that he believes his daughter would still be alive if Rivers had an ankle monitor on, per the agreement set before his release.
“If he had an ankle monitor on and things were done properly, I think there is no way possible this could have happened,” the father said.
Lauren Johansen’s case similarly mirrors the case of Marsalee Ann Nicholas, a young woman who was stalked and murdered in 1983 by her ex-boyfriend. After his arrest for the murder, the man was released one day later on bail and continued to stalk the Nicholas family – who was not notified by the judicial system of the man’s release.
Tennessee state lawmakers are currently on track to pass a constitutional amendment called Marsy’s Law to expand the rights of crime victims in the Volunteer State.
The amendment, introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly as HJR 94, passed the House unanimously last year and, in February, passed the Senate by a 27-3 vote.
In order for the amendment to become enshrined in the Tennessee Constitution, HJR 94 must pass both the House and Senate in back-to-back legislative sessions by two-thirds votes, and, in that case, be presented to Tennessee voters on the statewide ballot in 2026.
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Bricen Rivers” by Metro Nashville P.D. and “Lauren Johansen” by Lauren Johansen.
