Father pleads for daughter’s ex-boyfriend not to be released from prison. Days later, her mutilated body is found in a car

A young woman’s father said he asked a judge not to release her ex-boyfriend from prison, warning he would “kill her” if he did.

The judge did not heed his warnings.

Five days later, the 22-year-old’s mutilated body was found in her own car. Police believe her boyfriend was responsible.

Lauren Johansen, a University of Southern Mississippi student who was working toward a nursing degree, was found dead Thursday in a vehicle parked in the middle of a cemetery in Harrison County, Mississippi.

Her beaten, bloody remains were wrapped in garbage bags and hung over the back seats.

Now her ex-partner, 23-year-old Bricen Rivers, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

Rivers was released on bail just five days before Johansen’s death.

Nashville Metropolitan Police first arrested Rivers on Dec. 12 on a charge of aggravated kidnapping, according to charging documents.

Johnasen’s father, Lance Johansen, accused Rivers of holding his daughter hostage and beating her while the couple was on vacation in Nashville, Tennessee, he said. WLOX News.

It has not been confirmed whether Rivers’ arrest was related to this alleged incident.

Rivers’ bail was originally set at $250,000, according to the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office.

However, a few months later, Judge Cheryl Blackburn significantly reduced the fine to $150,000.

“I sat in the courtroom in Nashville and told the judge that if they let him out, he would kill her,” Johansen, a respected orthopedic surgeon, told the outlet.

On Monday, the father received a disturbing voicemail from the district attorney’s office warning him that Rivers had been fired and could not be found.

“They let him out and didn’t tell us anything, they didn’t put a bracelet on him. They just let him walk out of prison,” Johansen said.

Rivers was supposed to go to a GPS company to get an ankle monitor, a source with the district attorney’s office said. He was also told to stay in Davidson County.

“But immediately after his release, he did not report to the GPS monitoring company and there was no contact with him,” the office worker told the father in the recording obtained by the agency. WLOX News.

“I wanted to make sure Lauren was safe,” he added.

Johansen immediately tried to call his daughter, but she didn’t answer. After receiving a text message from her phone, he noticed that there was something wrong with the response.

Early Tuesday morning, the student’s family tracking app was down and his youngest daughter, who lives with her sister, said she was not at home.

The front door to their home was forced open, security cameras were destroyed and her car was gone.

The family reported her missing to Hattiesburg police, who then located the vehicle, making the tragic discovery.

“I knew he was dead,” Johansen said.

The distraught father said that “her face was crushed, her head was crushed, she was brutally beaten”, adding that there were “many holes” in her head.

Rivers reportedly fled when officers arrived and was arrested after being found in the woods several hours later.

Prison records obtained by Law&Crime show that Rivers was arrested and posted $1 million bail shortly after midnight on July 4.

Independent reached out to Nashville Metro Police, the Hattiesburg Police Department, the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office and Judge Blackburn for comment.