The man accused of murdering a Southern Miss nursing student has been relocated from a correctional facility on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to the Forrest County Adult Detention Center.
Bricen Rivers, 23, is facing murder charges for the death of Lauren Johansen, 22, back in early July after authorities found the victim’s dead body in the trunk of a vehicle parked at Wolf River Cemetary in Pass Christian. Prior to police discovering Johansen’s body, law enforcement spotted a man later identified as Rivers fleeing the scene into a wooded area. A manhunt then ensued with the suspect being captured and locked up.
Though Johansen was caught in Harrison County, investigators believe the actual murder took place outside of the coastal region. Due to the revelation, Harrison County District Attorney W. Crosby Parker deemed it necessary for Rivers’ case to be handled in the Pine Belt county where the suspect allegedly killed the victim.
“Due to the hard work and collaborative effort of law enforcement departments in Forrest County, it has been determined that Forrest County is the appropriate jurisdiction,” Parker stated.
A paperwork error in Davidson County, Tennessee, where Rivers was locked up for beating and kidnapping Johansen last December, allowed the suspect to bolt to Mississippi without being thoroughly tracked by authorities. Davidson County Chief Deputy Clerk Julius Sloss owned up to the fact that a mistake made by a county employee enabled Rivers to flee unsupervised.
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The admission of fault by the county came after Johansen’s father publicly stated that he believed his daughter’s death was preventable based on how Rivers’ release was executed.
Rivers now faces three charges related to the victim’s death, with the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office leading the investigation. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
