NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Bricen Rivers was adamant.
While suffocating his then-girlfriend Lauren Johansen in the car in Nashville, he was simultaneously asking her questions while he beat her for an hour.
"If you move at all tonight, I swear to God you’re not going to wake up tomorrow," Rivers said in an audio recording Johansen collected on her phone.
This recording came from the Rivers vs. Johansen case file in the Davidson County Criminal Court. This is the first time these materials have been made public since we have followed the case. This incident was thrust into the spotlight after Rivers made bond in Nashville late June and then became the primary suspect in beating Johansen to death days later.
Watch our story on the latest in the player above.
Rivers and Johansen were a Mississippi couple who traveled to Nashville on vacation when their night turned violent in December. While the couple was leaving downtown, they got in the car where police said Rivers began hitting the victim as he was driving and took her phone. Rivers eventually stopped the car in a parking lot where the assault continued, causing her to almost lose consciousness.
"I suggest you cooperate and calm down. I literally scheduled marriage counseling for us. Do you realize that?" Rivers told Johansen to the noises of her trying to breathe. "Bite me bitch, I dare you."
From that night, Rivers was charged with two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking and witness coercion.
Photos of Johansen in the hospital showed dried blood caked into her blonde hairline, with so much of her hair stained red from the blood. One of her eyes was completely swollen shut with another only barely able to open. Her lips were battered and bruised.
Rivers made his bond in Nashville after Judge Cheryl Blackburn lowered the amount. Days after leaving jail, Mississippi authorities said they chased him from a car, where they found Johansen's dead body. He is now charged with criminal homicide in Mississippi for her death.
It's not clear what will happen with the case in Nashville, particularly in light of Rivers' GPS tracking system failing to notify the court he violated his bond agreement by leaving Davidson County.
What's in Johansen's audio recording
There are four pieces of key documentation in Rivers' case file here in Nashville, which Judge Cheryl Blackburn made available for inspection only. That means we were allowed to see the file, but only take notes — no recordings or photos.
Johansen recorded part of the attack on her phone. That audio revealed what Rivers said to her and her struggle to breathe through the 11 minutes recorded.
"Your head’s swoll' up like a f—g bowling ball," Rivers said. "Explain to me why you did that tonight. I want an explanation."
Court records showed the couple's fight started because Johansen had talked to another man at the bar. Rivers then goes on to accuse Johansen of having sex with the man in the bathroom, while she is screaming and sobbing on the recording.
Through those 11 minutes, Rivers seemingly taunted Johansen with graphic language all while the recording depicted through her gasps and cries.
Help! Help! I can’t see at all," Johansen said near the end of the recording. "Baby, I just want to go home."
The recording abruptly shut off.
Somewhere between it ending, Metro police arrive on the scene to find a blue car with the windows fogged up.
Metro police body camera video showed Johansen using her hands to bang on the passenger side window for help. The officer tugged the door open, and she ran outside into the cold night in just her underwear.
Officers then placed Rivers in handcuffs. During the process, Rivers was calm and followed police commands before they put him in the back of an MNPD SUV.
Rivers calls Johansen from jail
Only days after what happened in Nashville, Rivers called Johansen from jail, according to audio recordings in the case file.
The jail recording between the two demonstrated Rivers was ready to come back home to Mississippi and be with Johansen again. He also told Johansen what she needed to say if someone else called her about the case. Per the arrest affidavit, Johansen didn't want to press charges, but police said they had enough evidence to do so.
Johansen said she was worried that the only statement that would matter is what she told police the night Rivers was arrested.
"I remember bits and pieces, and I am kind of worried they will take that as my official statement," she told Rivers on the call. "So I am like confused. There was a whole lot going on.
"Just tell them, this is what happened," Rivers told her in response. "If they ask about any outside influences, say no."
Rivers told Johansen to let investigators know he wanted to join the military and that any prosecution in the case would squander his ability
to do so. He said he wanted to leave jail and join the Air Force.
"Say that a military career will straighten him out," River said. "Say that probation and classes will help a lot. I have never really had a chance. You already know what to do, baby. If they put them on file or standby, I will go to them. They accept people with cuts on their hands and s—t."
Johansen and Rivers ended the call saying they loved each other.
In December 2023, Rivers was charged with two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking and witness coercion. This stemmed from an incident while he and the victim were vacationing downtown, where he got angry.
While the couple was leaving downtown, they got in the car where police said Rivers began hitting the victim as he was driving and took her phone. Rivers eventually stopped the car in a parking lot where the assault continued, causing the victim to nearly lose consciousness.
Metro police said they were contacted and told Rivers was holding Johansen hostage. When officers found the couple, Johansen was banging on the car window and screaming for help. Officers said Johansen had a laceration to her head, her eye swollen shut and the vehicle had blood spattered at the front, per court records. Officers told the court they searched the vehicle and found a pistol covered in blood on the floorboard. Police described Johansen as "distraught." They found her covered in blood with only her underwear on.
Additionally, police said they also found two rocks in the car covered with blood, and that Rivers said the 9mm Smith and Wesson belonged to him. Court records indicate Rivers had blood on his hands and face, but didn't appear to be injured. No photographs were taken of Rivers at the scene.
She told police and paramedics Rivers got mad because she was talking to another man and the beating had lasted an hour. Photos were taken of her body as evidence. She told police that she had been screaming for help at any car that passed by but he covered her mouth, according to court records.
We know getting help may seem daunting, scary and complex. Below are some jumping-off points in your county.
All counties: Morning Star Sanctuary - (615) 860-0188 / Nurture the Next - (615) 383-0994 / The Mary Parrish Center - (615) 256-5959 / YWCA Nashville - (615) 983-5160
Bedford / Coffee County: Haven of Hope - (931) 728-1133
Cheatham County: Safe Haven of Cheatham County - (615) 681-5863
Cannon County: Cannon County S.A.V.E - (615)-563-6690
Clay County: Genesis House - (931) 525-1637
Davidson County: Family & Children Services - (615) 320-0591 / Family Safety Center - (615) 880-1100 / Jean Crowe Advocacy Center - (615) 862-4767
Dickson and Hickman Counties: Women Are Safe (931) 729-9885
Giles County: The Shelter, Inc. - (931) 762-1115
Grundy County: Families in Crisis, Inc. - (931) 473-6543
Houston / Montgomery Counties: Urban Methodist Urban Ministries Safehouse - (931) 648-9100
Maury County: Center of Hope - (931) 840-0916
Robertson / Sumner / Wilson Counties: HomeSafe Inc. - (615) 452-5439
Rutherford County: Domestic & Sexual Assault Center - (615) 896-7377
Williamson County: Bridges Domestic Violence Center - (615) 599-5777
