The sentence for the man convicted of killing his nursing student girlfriend in 2024 has lengthened.
Bricen Rivers, 26, pleaded guilty earlier this week to tampering with physical evidence and desecration of a human corpse in Harrison, Hancock, and Stone Counties, according to District Attorney W. Crosby Parker. These charges come in addition to the capital murder charge Rivers received after changing his plea to guilty in August in Forrest County for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Lauren Johansen.
Rivers’ two added charges total up to the maximum of 13 additional years and will run consecutively with his life without parole sentence he received on Aug. 28 for capital murder.
According to court records, Rivers transported Johansen’s body in her vehicle from Hattiesburg to the Gulf Coast, stopping at multiple locations while her body was concealed. Roughly 31 hours later, deputies with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office located the vehicle at Wolf River Cemetery in Saucier on July 3, 2024.
The investigation reportedly revealed that Johansen’s body was wrapped and concealed in the rear cargo area beneath sheets and blankets. Numerous items of evidence were recovered from the vehicle, including trash bags, plastic sheeting, cleaning supplies, gloves, clothes, a firearm, and Johansen’s debit card.
Officials reported seeing Rivers fleeing the scene into a wooded area. Authorities later apprehended him after an extensive search involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
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The autopsy revealed several extensive blunt-force injuries to her head, including skull fractures, brain injuries, hemorrhage, and neck wounds.
“What was done to Lauren reflects a profound disregard for human life and for the dignity she deserved, both in life and in death,” Assistant District Attorney Haley Necaise Broom said. “There is no sentence and no amount of time that can erase what happened or ease the unimaginable pain her family has endured and will continue to carry. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Lauren’s family, who have shown incredible strength through circumstances that no family should ever have to face.”