Bricen Rivers, the suspect in the recent murder of Hattiesburg nursing student Lauren Johansen, was denied bond on his first-degree murder charge for a second time at an August 23 preliminary hearing during which a police officer provided testimony stating that Rivers confessed to that crime to a relative, among other new details in the case.
At the hearing, which was held at the Forrest County Correctional Facility, Judge Gay Polk-Payton turned down the bond request from Rivers’ defense team. As such, Rivers – who is accused of beating to death Johansen, who was his ex-girlfriend – will remain incarcerated until his case can be heard by a grand jury.
Testimony was provided by Lieutenant Daniel Benoit of the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department, who laid out a timeline of events for July 2, the day officials believe the 22-year-old Johansen was murdered. Benoit said that shortly after 4 a.m. that morning, footage from security cameras near Johansen’s home on South 11th Avenue in Hattiesburg shows Rivers arriving at her house before leaving and coming back.
Shortly before 6 a.m. – which was later determined by a coroner to be the approximate time of Johansen’s death – Rivers can be seen driving away from the house in Johansen’s car. Footage does not show anyone else getting into the car, nor does it show Rivers placing anything in the car; however, five security cameras were determined to be missing from Johansen’s home.
Benoit said a friend of Johansen’s, who was at her house at the time, told officers that Johansen was at home and alive at least from the hours of 4-6 a.m. that day.
According to the ankle monitor Rivers was wearing at the time – which was necessitated after a previous arrest – he left Johansen’s house and drove through downtown Hattiesburg in the area of Front Street before arriving at Chain Park in Hattiesburg.
A short time later, he drove across the Leaf River and pulled into Petal River Park. Benoit said surveillance footage shows Rivers driving at a normal pace into the park; however, when he left he was driving “more erratically” at a higher speed.
Cadaver dogs later found fibers at Petal River Park, which Benoit said are believed to be from Johansen’s car.
After leaving that park, Rivers made his way to Harrison County.
Later in the day on July 2, Johansen’s father was notified that her Life360 tracker on her phone had been deactivated, and Johansen’s sister said she had not returned home. Her family then reported her missing to officials from the Hattiesburg Police Department.
On July 3, officers tracked Johansen’s car to Wolf River Cemetery in Harrison County, where they observed Rivers running from the vehicle and into the woods. Johansen’s body was found wrapped in her car, wrapped in trash bags and sheets.
Six hours later, Rivers was taken into custody and booked into the Harrison County Adult Detention Center. Benoit said during the manhunt throughout the woods, Rivers confessed to his brother via phone conversation that “I killed the b***h.”
Investigators initially believed that Johansen was murdered in Harrison County, but further evidence led them to believe that she was actually killed in Forrest County. In late July, Rivers was transported from Harrison County to the Forrest County Correctional Facility.
He faces current charges of first-degree murder, grand larceny auto, probation violation, malicious mischief, tampering with physical evidence, and simple assault/domestic violence.
Rivers’ record of assault on Johansen dates back to December 11, 2023, when the couple were on vacation in Nashville, Tennessee. While there, they got into a physical altercation outside a bar, after which Johansen was found alive but with physical injuries inside a car with Rivers in Germantown, Tennessee.
Shortly after that, Rivers, who was determined to have physically assaulted Johansen, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated stalking and one count of coercion of a witness.
A week later, Rivers’ bond was set at $250,000, but was then reduced to $150,000. Inmates are required to post 10 percent of their bond amount to be released from jail, meaning Rivers paid $15,000 for his release.
As part of his bond, Rivers was ordered not to leave Davidson County, Tennessee, and was required to wear an ankle bracelet. He was released from jail on June 24 of this year.
Four days later, Rivers’ bracelet stopped responding.
Johansen’s father – who had previously requested to judge Cheryl Blackburn that Rivers not be released from jail – was notified of that fact. On June 29, Rivers went back to Nashville to be fitted with a new ankle bracelet.
“He was in jail in Tennessee, and was released,” Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims said in a previous story. “There were certain considerations on his release.
“I think there was a mix-up in Tennessee – he got an ankle monitor from a different company and had to go back up. After that, my understanding is – and I don’t know because I haven’t seen the documents or anything from Tennessee – that he was not supposed to leave the state of Tennessee, but ended up here in Hattiesburg.”
During an initial appearance on July 26, Polk-Payton denied Rivers’ bond for the first time on the murder charge. She placed a $20,000 bond each on the grand larceny auto, tampering with physical evidence, probation violation and simple assault/domestic violence charges.
Johansen’s father has repeatedly spoken out against the measures that allowed his daughter’s alleged murder out of jail and back out into the public.
