Bricen Rivers, the man indicted on charges of grand larceny auto, tampering with physical evidence and capital murder of his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Johansen, filed for a motion on Wednesday morning to be transported to Flowood for a psychological evaluation. Circuit Judge Michael Reed granted the motion.
Rivers was indicted back in February for the charges following the alleged murder of Johansen in July of 2024. He had previously been jailed on two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated talking and one count of coercion of a witness in Nashville. Rivers and Johansen were discovered by law enforcement in a vehicle where Johansen had been severely beaten. Metro Nashville officers reported that Rivers was also in the vehicle and was attempting to reach a firearm in the back seat when the pair were found.
Rivers was released from jail on June 24, 2024, under the condition that he would be required to wear an ankle monitor and remain in Davidson County, but the monitor was not calibrated to ensure that he would not leave the county. Johansen’s neighbors’ security camera footage shows Rivers on Johansen’s property on the day of the murder, July 2, 2024.
Johansen’s body was found in the back seat of her vehicle in Harrison County on July 3, Rivers was located later the same day hiding in a wooded area and he was arrested and transported to Forrest County jail to await trial.
