EP. 157: IRAQ - The Murder (?) Of LaVena Johnson 01:36:59

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One of the most selfless things you can do is fight for your country. That's why they say freedom isn't free.

We Americans have the lives we do because of the countless men and women who have selflessly put their lives on the line to fight for our rights. And the story we have for you today is about someone who did just that. In 2004, 18-year-old Lavina Johnson was freshly graduated from high school when she decided that she was going to join the US Army. That hadn't always been the plan for her life.

But after 9/11, she knew that that's what she was meant to do. So the following year, she was deployed right in the heart of war-torn Iraq. Lavina was fully prepared to serve her country, a country she trusted to honor and protect her and return. However, in July of 2005, Lavina was found dead under suspicious circumstances. The army ruled her death a suicide.

But when her family finally got to see her body that was covered in injuries, they knew without a shadow of a doubt that their daughter didn't kill herself. So we are going to walk you through Lavina's story, the Army's response, and her family's own investigation into her tragic death. So this is the mysterious death of Lavina Johnson.

I'm Courtney Brown. And I'm Colin Brown. And you're listening to our new series, Murdered Americans. ♪♪

Lavina Lynn Johnson was born on July 27, 1985, in Florissant, Missouri. Her parents, Linda and John Johnson, had already had three boys, so they were excited to finally welcome a little girl into their lives. Then, two years after Lavina's birth, they had another girl that they named Lakeisha, and they truly were one big happy family. Lavina absolutely loved her role as big sister.

Her parents said that wherever they went, she was always watching over Lakeisha, making sure she was okay. And that's the kind of person she would be throughout her entire life. Later on, Lavina, who her parents nicknamed Squeaky, would be described as sweet, helpful, and soft-spoken. When Lavina was just four years old, she discovered a love for music and started singing in the church's choir.

Then in elementary school, she approached her parents one day and told them that she wanted to learn how to play the violin. So that's exactly what she would do. Throughout the years, Lavina perfected her violin skills and she loved it. Her little sister, Lakeisha, also had a love for music. She played the flute and together they would do these little concerts for her family. Now, one thing everyone said about Lavina was that she had a big heart.

and she absolutely loved animals. The thought of eating them was heartbreaking to her. So at just 11 years old, she became a vegetarian.

a dietary choice she continued until her death. It was also around this time when she became a dues-paying member of PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. But at the age of 14, Lavina was a student at the Hazelwood Central High School, and she still had that loving and compassionate spirit.

She joined high school programs that focused on diversity issues, and she made it a point to make her high school a safe space for everyone. Lavina also donated her clothes to people in need, participated in the American Heart Association walks, and she volunteered at homeless shelters whenever she could. So as you can see, she truly was a special girl who made the world a better place.

Lavina also did well in school. She was an honor roll student and played violin for her school's orchestra. Her teachers would go on to describe her as upbeat, positive, and a hard worker. The chair of the math department, Sonia Land, who tutored Lavina in geometry, would later say, "Even if she didn't do well on a test, she would just say she would try harder on the next one. She was one of those kids that would work harder than anyone in the class."

lavina's high school principal frank smith would later reiterate how upbeat and charming lavina was saying you knew that this was a special young lady who was willing to get out in our society and make things happen she was focused on what she did but i couldn't tell you if she's got five a's or five b's it was her personality that was the winner even if she had a problem with the class she would just say mr smith i'll work it out that's the type of child she was

Now, Lavina had always dreamed of one day becoming a movie producer, but on September 11th, 2001, the nation watched in horror as terrorists hijacked airplanes and killed nearly 3,000 Americans. It was the worst terrorist attack in US history, and it was devastating for our entire country.

Afterwards, the US would go to war with Iraq and many young people all over the United States decided to enlist. In May of 2004, just a few days before her high school graduation, Lavina sat her parents down to have a very real and difficult conversation. And she started that conversation by asking about her college fund.

You see, her parents had been saving up to send both Lavina and her sister off to college, but they didn't have the money ready just yet. However, they told Lavina not to worry. Her dad even said he was prepared to keep working as long as he needed to so that he could see them through their education.

But Lavina offered up another idea. She told her dad, "I know I've always wanted to go to college in California and one day become a film producer in Hollywood, but I've had this idea that maybe I can join the army for a few years, and then I could go do all of that afterwards." Now, as soon as Lavina said this aloud, she could see the reservation in her parents' eyes. But in her mind, it was the only thing that made sense.

Not only does the Army teach you life skills and discipline, but Lavina had a deep longing to serve her country after 9/11. Even further, veterans have great benefits like the GI Bill,

which will help pay for college once you leave the army. So if Lavina enlisted, she could get her college paid for a few years down the road. And all of the money her parents had saved up could go to her sister's college fund, which just shows how selfless Lavina really was. Now, when her father heard this, he was not very supportive.

John had actually served in the military and after his service, he went to college and got his doctorate in psychology. He worked for the Department of the Army and their drug abuse program.

So he, of all people, knew what the military was like. And from his own experience, he did not want his daughter to join. In fact, when Lovina said this, John responded with, quote, Absolutely not. But it really wasn't up for discussion. Lovina didn't sit her parents down to ask their permission. She had already made up her mind.

She was an adult who could make her own decisions and she was going to join the army.

Her mother, Linda, even tried convincing her that she didn't have to do this. They could afford to send her off to college. Linda later said, "My husband had set up everything for all of our children to go to college, so it wasn't something that she had to do. It was something she felt she wanted to do." Her father, John Johnson, was not excited about Lavina's choice, but he also recognized that there wasn't much he could do to change her mind. Throughout her life, Lavina was the type of girl where, when she made up her mind, there was no stopping her.

it was a trait he loved about his daughter she was strong-willed and determined something every parent wants for their child dr johnson affectionately referred to lavina's determined spirit as a trait of the carter women his wife's maiden name he admired that when the women in his family set their hearts on something they pursued it with unwavering determination

Lavina had clearly inherited this trait. Once her young heart was set on something, there was little that could deter her. So, in September of 2004, three months after graduating high school, Lavina was officially enlisted in the Army and stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky for basic training. Army Specialist Terry Summers, who worked with Lavina at Fort Campbell, was impressed with her and later stated, "I saw her as the kind of person who would move up the ranks.

A couple weeks into her training, Levina would sit down and write out a letter to her parents. Dear parents, first off, let me start by saying sorry. My letter isn't too great. I don't have a lot of experience in this area, so I'll just start off with the first week.

I was so nervous when I got off the bus. The drill sergeant started giving us a countdown, telling us we had 30 seconds to get our asses off the bus, and he didn't stop cursing. They made us line up with our eyes forward, mouths closed, and body still. I tried to remain calm because I had already mentally prepared myself for our rude welcome, and it just got worse from there. It didn't matter where we were standing in rocks or concrete.

we still had to drop and do push-ups. They will make us hold the position for a really long time, and they will say up, and then wait a while, and then say down. Some girls already started to burst into tears, and I knew that was nothing to what was ahead of us. And mom, I know you'll be acting all emotional and teary-eyed when you get this, but cheer up. It shouldn't be too long before I get to use the phone again. Love, Lavina."

So, as you can see, Lavina's life in basic training was significantly different than her life back home. It's 10 whole weeks of structure, discipline, and hard work. On a typical day, the soldiers will wake up at 4.30 a.m., and they'll have 30 minutes to get dressed, make their beds, and get ready before they have to report for formation by 5 a.m. The physical training is from 5 to 6.30 a.m., and it's hard. There's weightlifting, push-ups, sit-ups, planks, running, you name it.

And the entire time, you have drill sergeants watching your every move to make sure you're not slacking. But according to GoArmy.com, drill sergeants are not here to break you. Their goal is to build you up, help you find your inner strength, and teach you to succeed in both the army and everyday life. Now, after the physical training, the soldiers will go eat breakfast and then change into their uniforms. And from there, they'll do additional training with their drill sergeants. Lunch is typically at noon, followed by even more training. Then you eat dinner.

after that you go back to the barracks to clean and only then do you have a little bit of personal time before lights are out at 9 00 pm typically you're sleeping on a bunk in a room with a bunch of other people and by 4 30 a.m the next morning you're repeating the entire cycle over again for 10 whole weeks soldiers will go through this strenuous training and it is not easy

In fact, for some people, they will go through this training just to realize they are not cut out for the army. But by the time Lavina made it through basic training, she was ready to start serving her country. By then, the US was about a year and a half into the Iraq War, and soon enough, Lavina would be making her way out to the Middle East. But first, in early 2005, she came back to Missouri to see her family.

And when she walked through the door, there was a huge banner that read, Welcome Home, Lavina. By then, her parents still weren't very happy about her decision, but they were doing what they could to be supportive of their daughter's dream. They also knew it would only be a matter of time until she was flying out to Iraq, so they wanted to soak up every last second with her before she had to leave.

During this trip home, Lavina also met up with her old math teacher, who said, She was really proud of herself. She was telling me about the fact that she was happy with her decision to join the military and was excited about it.

In May of 2005, Lavina packed up her things and said goodbye to her old life. Soon enough, her parents and siblings were tearfully hugging her, having no idea that this would be the very last time they would ever see their daughter again. It was a bittersweet moment, watching Lavina walk away that day. They were so proud of her for all the hard work that got her to this moment, but they were also afraid.

For any parent, I'm sure sending your child off to fight for our country isn't easy. But at the end of the day, they found peace knowing this is exactly what Lavinia wanted. And with that, she boarded a plane bound for Balad, Iraq. Soon after she arrived, she sat down to write a letter to her parents. Dear family, I guess I'll start by telling you about my trip. First of all, they put us in first class and gave everyone pillows and blankets. It was so great.

but it was a really long flight and I couldn't sleep much. When we finally landed in Iraq, we were all talking about how we still didn't feel like we were outside of the United States. They have a PX store and an internet center, a pizza hut, a subway, and a Burger King. I just see it as a way for them to make a profit off of us and make us spend all of our money.

But I'm only spending my money on necessary things. I'm learning a lot of new things though. Last night, a couple of people taught me how to play spades. Now I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything, but I was slowly getting it. That's all I really have for now, but I'll call in the next couple of days. Love, Lavina. P.S. It's really hot here, but the nights are beautiful.

lavina's first couple of days in iraq were busy she and the other soldiers immediately went into training and the days were long it was also in the middle of summer so the heat was sweltering it was a bit of an adjustment getting used to life in the middle east but lavina was making it work and like always she made time to sit down and write another letter to her parents to my parents

We had to go through three long hot days of training. Most of the time we had to wear these very uncomfortable bulletproof vests and helmets. I'm surprised nobody passed out, even though we all felt like it most of the time. We had to get up at 3 o'clock in the morning and we never had time to eat before we had to start running around. We all lost our appetite because it was so hot.

The tents we stayed in were okay, but a few people had to sleep on the floors because they didn't remember to bring their own cot. But that's what I did. Then I was so mad at myself for not having a camera when we drove by a couple of herds of camels. I didn't even know camels came in different colors. After the three days were up, I had a lot of minor injuries.

I had a couple of burns on my face because when somebody's shooting next to you, the empty bullets hit you and they're so hot they burn your skin. Then I ended up banging my leg because me and this other guy were the unlucky ones who had to ride in the back of a five-ton truck in the hot sun. All day we had to keep climbing up and down and the heavy bulletproof vest didn't make it any easier. But in the long run, I guess it wasn't that bad.

As you can tell, Lavina was trying her best to stay optimistic, something she always did. Even though it was tough, she still found beauty in things like camels and the night sky. She was making the most of her time there. And even better, she had recently found a church to attend. Here's the next letter she sent to her parents.

"My dear family, last week I went to the first military church service. I went with this female sergeant who was talking to me about it. It's funny when I think that only at this service will you see a bunch of different uniforms and guns. The service was nice and the people were really friendly. First there was a small group singing. Then they welcomed the visitors and everyone greeted you with handshakes and hugs. And then the preacher started his sermon.

It didn't last long, but I'm glad I went. Three days ago, I spotted this black scorpion that was in our tent. Then yesterday, I spotted another scorpion. And a bunch of us got our cameras out to take pictures. Other than that, there's not much more to tell. And happy birthday, Dad. Try to relax on the day that your presence is celebrated. Even though I think you should be celebrated every day. Love, Lovina.

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Now, during Levina's time here, amongst all of her other duties, she was also tasked with working at the base's communications center. But one day in July, when she was able to call her parents, she told them about an unsettling incident that occurred there.

According to Lavina, on July 14th, she was closing up the communication center when she noticed a group of male soldiers lingering inside. She said she politely asked them to leave since she was closing up for the night, but they wouldn't. And it wasn't until a general intervened when the soldiers finally left the building.

Lavina told her parents that she was very disappointed with how the incident played out. The men clearly weren't listening or respecting her because she was a woman. And then to make matters worse, the general came up to her and said that her soft-spoken manner was the reason the soldiers had not taken her seriously. Now, when her dad, Dr. Johnson, heard this, he was upset.

He felt like what the general told her was inappropriate and he even told his daughter, "Livina, listen, I don't like the way that sounds. I don't see why a general needs to be talking to a private." Dr. Johnson also didn't like that there were men just lingering around where she worked, refusing to leave. It unsettled him, so he encouraged his daughter to go to her commanding officer and request a battle buddy.

A battle buddy is essentially a partner assigned to a soldier. They help each other out with daily military tasks, they provide company to each other, and they also support each other through tough times, which is great to have in such a stressful atmosphere. The idea of a battle buddy is to have someone to lean on, which keeps everyone safer, it eases people's minds, and it boosts morale.

which is exactly what Lavina needed. Dr. Johnson told his daughter, You're 19 years old, running around there with all these horny men and stuff like that. I hope you understand you're in a very curious position, and I need you to take care of yourself.

But Lavina didn't feel comfortable making that kind of request. So she responded to her father's suggestion with a sense of helplessness, saying, quote, I can't go to my officers and tell them what to do to assign me a battle buddy. In Lavina's mind, she was already looked down upon for being a woman in a male-dominated field. So asking for a battle buddy would only make her look weak.

At the end of that phone call, Dr. Johnson and his wife felt uneasy. They knew their daughter was smart, but they also felt she was a bit naive. Throughout her life, they had always taken a protective approach to parenting. So she had been a bit sheltered. They were the ones who drove her around everywhere because she never got her license. Lavina also never had to navigate the complexities of a serious relationship.

To their knowledge, Lavina never even had a relationship where she had to navigate those complexities. She kept her circle small and she was raised within the firm guiding walls of their church. So Lavina grew into a very trusting and innocent woman, someone who always saw the good in people over the bad. And as good of a quality as that is, her parents wondered if people would end up taking advantage of her because of it.

And as parents, they had every right to worry, especially since Dr. Johnson had worked with the military for decades, and as much as he respected fellow soldiers, he knew that the army wasn't always a safe space for women. In fact, the sexual assault statistics within the military are alarming, to say the least.

At the time of Lavina's deployment in Iraq, it was reported that one in three women would experience sexual assault while in the armed forces. And many women found themselves navigating a culture that may not fully support or even protect them. Like we mentioned earlier, it's hard being a woman in a male-dominated field, and Lavina soon found herself feeling undervalued. Here's what she wrote in a letter that she sent to her parents. To my parents, I got your letter in package yesterday. Thanks so much.

I've pretty much settled in. And dad, it's funny that you call me trooper since I've been called that a few times since processing. The first thing they called us was female warriors.

and then just females. And now it's mainly Seoul because we're half soldiers. But you should see the PX. It's amazing. But they give you these list of things you have to buy and then they only give you a card with $300 on it. I don't know why I bothered to pack a bag because I had to throw away almost everything. Now, I don't want to be a burden, but I wanted to ask if you could send me a few things.

I need soap because they don't give it to you here. Can you believe it? And I need a key lock because mine got stuck and they had to cut it off.

And if you could send me my PIN number to the credit union, because I can't get any cash. And I gave my last $5 to a collection for a guy whose wife just had a baby. Tell everyone I said hi, and I hope Lakeisha has learned to load the dishwasher and doesn't flood the kitchen anymore. That's it for now. Love, Lavina.

Not long after writing this letter, LaVena Johnson would unknowingly call her parents for the very last time. It was Sunday, July 17, 2005, and that morning, the Johnsons' phone rang. When they answered, LaVena seemed like her normal self, and she also had some exciting news. She told her parents that her unit would be rotating back to the U.S. within the next three to four months, so she'd be able to come home for a while.

Now, she said that she planned on staying in the U.S. for about a year before returning overseas to complete her service. But after that, she would finally get to go to college and pursue a career as a film producer. Lovina sounded excited over the phone, which made her family happy.

Now, on this phone call, she also updated her parents about this new job she got at the base. She said she had to attend this class that upcoming Monday, where they would teach her her new job responsibilities, but she was really looking forward to it, and she promised to call her parents on Tuesday to give them some updates on everything. Then, before hanging up, Lavina recalled her favorite family tradition. It was only July at that point, but she told her parents that she couldn't wait to come home for the holidays that year so she and her siblings could decorate for Christmas.

Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, her family would come together and put up the Christmas tree. It was a tradition they had been doing since 1998, so Lavina made sure to tell her dad to not decorate the tree without her. Her parents laughed, promised they would wait for her, and from there, they said their goodbyes and ended the phone call, having no idea that that would be the very last time they would ever hear their daughter's voice.

Two days later, on July 19th, at 7.30 a.m., John and Linda Johnson woke up to their doorbell ringing, but they weren't expecting any company. So Linda tiredly peers out of the window, and immediately she's sick to her stomach. "'There's a soldier on the porch,' she says to her husband. "'And if you have a loved one in the military, "'then you know that seeing a man in uniform "'on your porch is your worst nightmare.'"

Linda asks her husband, with tears filling her eyes, "What does that mean?" To which John somberly replies, "Something happened to our baby." He's completely filled with dread as he opens their front door.

And when he does, he sees a staff sergeant holding a small black book. "Are you Dr. John Johnson? The father of Private Lavina Johnson?" the man asks. John confirms that he is. And from there, the sergeant says, quote, "Lavina Johnson died of a self-inflicted non-combat injury." End quote. Immediately, there are a million things running through John's head.

But all he can manage to say is, are you saying my daughter killed herself? It just didn't make any sense. And what the sergeant said next only added to his confusion. He said, quote, no, I didn't say that. It hasn't been ruled a suicide. Now at that moment, Linda came running downstairs as John lost his balance and fell back. Right underneath the banner, they still had hanging up

that read, "Welcome home, Lavina." He was overcome by the gravity of the sergeant's words. And in a cold matter of fact manner, he relayed the same information over to Linda, that their daughter was dead.

From there, she too collapsed to the ground and cries of anguish echoed throughout the house. Soon enough, their other four children made their way into the living room, where they also learned the devastating news. The Johnson family just had their entire world turned upside down. But they immediately knew something here just wasn't right. In the midst of her grief, Linda repeatedly yelled out, "Somebody killed my baby! Somebody killed my baby!"

That morning would forever change the course of their lives, but they truly had no idea the road they had ahead of them.

Over the next week, the army made arrangements to bring Lavina's body back to the US. And on July 28th, 2005, nine days after learning that she had passed away, her family would hold a funeral for Lavina. The day of her funeral also happened to be her birthday. She would have been 20 years old, but now she's forever frozen in time at just 19.

that whole week had been somewhat of a blur for her family. They not only had to come to terms with the fact that their daughter was dead, but there were still so many questions about what happened. Everything was shrouded in uncertainty, but they were just trying to take it one day at a time.

And on this day, they had to bury their daughter. Now, like with any funeral, Lavina's family got to see her first. So they made their way to the back room to finally be with their daughter. Now, they were told that Lavina had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound using her M16 rifle, which is a very powerful gun. So they were expecting to see a lot of trauma. However, when they walked into the room where her body was laid out on the table,

They were shocked. There wasn't just a gunshot wound. In fact, Lavina had wounds all over her body. For one, her nose was broken. Dr. John Johnson saw that there was this huge bump on it and it almost looked like someone had tried to fix it, like she had just had a nose job or something. It just didn't look like his daughter's nose.

Even further, Lavina had scratches on her face and deep cuts around her lips. Now at the time, Lavina was fully dressed in her uniform, which included these white gloves. And before the funeral, he wanted to look at his daughter's hands, maybe hold them for the very last time. But as he went to take her glove off, he noticed they were glued down, which was strange.

Now, preparing someone for a funeral is an art in and of itself. They will often do a lot to make the body look presentable. In some cases, they will sew your mouth shut or even glue your eyelids so they don't open up. But gluing gloves to someone's hands is not common or even necessary. It's not like the gloves will just slip off, so John was very suspicious of this.

Eventually, he would get the gloves off and it looked like there were burns on his daughter's hands. Now as for the gunshot wound, John was told that Lavina put the gun in her mouth and the bullet exited out of her left frontal lobe. So he was expecting to see this huge gaping hole in his daughter's head. With his experience in the military, he had witnessed what an M16 does to the human body.

Like we mentioned, he was a drug abuse counselor for the army and one of his clients had actually died from an M16.

the gun left his face completely disfigured. In another M16 injury he saw, someone's leg had been completely blown open. So that's what he was expecting to see here. But interestingly enough, Lavina's exit wound was very small and neat. In his opinion, it looked more like an entry wound from a handgun rather than an exit wound from a powerful rifle. None of it made sense to him.

But he didn't really have a lot of time to ask a bunch of questions. For now, he had to bury his daughter. So that's what they did.

Lavina's funeral was held at the San Francisco Temple Christian Assembly in North St. Louis, and hundreds of people were in attendance. Her family had an open casket, and everyone that saw Lavina quietly had the same concerns as her family. Even beneath all of the makeup, you could still see the injuries to her face. After the funeral, her body was brought to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, and the air was filled with a palpable grief. Some family members released balloons into the clear blue sky near her gravesite.

And as her casket was lowered into the ground, her family knew that Lavina's story was not over. There was something more here. They didn't know exactly what it was, but this was just the beginning of their quest for truth. In the weeks after Lavina's funeral, the military did not provide her family with a lot of information, and there were still so many questions. So on August 16th, driven by a growing frustration and need for clarity,

Lavina's father, Dr. John Johnson, reached out to the military casualty liaison and he was stern, asking them, when am I going to get some information? Because right now everything's hearsay.

Right after his daughter's death, he had received a call from the military's medical examiner that Lavina had taken her own life with an M16. But that's about all the information they would give him. Even further, he still hadn't received a copy of her autopsy report. And he wanted to make sure they noted all of the other injuries he saw on her body. Even further, he still hadn't received a copy of her autopsy report.

and he wanted to make sure they noted all of the other injuries he saw on her body. Now, the liaison promised to make some calls and return with information as soon as possible. And hours later, John received a call back, but he was met with some disheartening news. The liaison admitted, quote, I was told that the evidence in this case was so messed up that it's going to take a year to straighten out.

Now, if Dr. John Johnson wasn't already suspicious before, this statement only left him with more questions. Like, what do you mean the evidence is messed up? What evidence are you even talking about? But they couldn't give him those answers right then. Dr. John Johnson was incredibly discouraged and he couldn't shake the feeling that the military was hiding something about his daughter's death.

he was also extremely worried drawing on his 25 years of service in the department of the army he knew that once they made a decision and documented his daughter's death as a suicide it would be extremely hard to change it but despite this he was determined to still find out the truth on the morning of september 19th exactly two months after lavina's death the casualty liaison finally handed dr johnson a copy of her autopsy report the document coldly labeled his daughter lavina's death as a suicide

the report was sparse lacking detail and it also failed to report on all the injuries he had seen firsthand on lavina's body john also learned that lavina didn't leave a suicide note and that alone proved to him in his mind that his daughter didn't kill herself lavina's family meant the world to her and he knew she would have left a note but more than anything john wanted the details where was she found who found her body what did she do that day where are the photos from the scene

However, it would be a torturous waiting game before he got those answers. In the months after Levina's death, her family was constantly calling to try and get information, but they always left empty-handed. So, not knowing what else to do, the Johnson family had reached out to legislators, hoping that their intervention might expedite the process. But time and time again, they were let down.

In the absence of any details or investigative reports or witness statements left them with even more grief.

they felt like the military was ignoring them, refusing to answer any of their questions. So desperate for answers, the Johnson family decided to go to the media with their concerns. And to their surprise, the military was very quick to respond to these news outlets. Chris Gray, a spokesperson for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, told the St. Louis Dispatch that the Criminal Investigation Division

hasn't completed its investigation into LaVena's death, and he didn't know when it would be finished. Gray went on to say, quote, these guys do a complete thorough investigation and they go by exactly what the evidence shows, end quote.

but this withholding of information didn't just deny the family closure but it also perpetrated their anguish their minds were left to wonder with a number of different scenarios on what could have happened and just like the military promised they would go over a year with no real answers to the johnsons it felt as if the military was hoping they would just give up and accept their explanation on what happened to lavina but that would not be the case

In fact, the more time that passed, the more passionate they became in discovering the truth. They ended up getting connected with a criminal investigator, who agreed to help them out. And together, they continued to call and demand answers. They also filled out Freedom of Information forms. Dr. John Johnson wanted every single piece of information the military had. And luckily for him, they would soon get some details surrounding their daughter's death.

In January of 2007, 18 months after Lavina died, the Johnsons' persistence finally paid off when they received 800 pages of Xeroxed reports that included photos and various documents from the military's investigation into Lavina's death.

As Dr. John Johnson gripped those papers in his hands, he prayed that they would give him answers. But the sheer volume of information was daunting and they needed to go over every single detail. So they got to work sifting through the pages. And according to the Army's investigation, here's what happened. On the day of July 18th, after Lavinia Johnson concluded her final phone conversation with her parents, she went to her job at the communications center.

And as the clock neared 5:00 PM, she wrapped up her duties for the day and closed it up. After that, Lavina returned back to her barracks and changed into her PT uniform, which included a standard issue gray army t-shirt paired with gray matching sweatpants. She then slipped into her running shoes and put on her infrared reflecting belt. You see, every day after work, Lavina would go to physical training.

It was a part of her everyday routine and she usually went with two friends of hers at the base. So at around 6:30 PM, those two friends walked up to her barracks and knocked on the door. Usually, Lavina would open the door and welcome them with a smile and a cheerful greeting. But today, no one answered. After a brief pause, the friends knocked again, a bit firmer this time, thinking maybe she didn't hear them.

But again, no answer. However, they weren't overly concerned just yet. Maybe Lavina just got a head start and left a little earlier. So they shrugged it off and left without her. Now, the military's investigative report states that Lavina had been dating someone for about two months and he had just recently broken up with her via email and she was upset about it. So instead of going to PT that day,

Lavina decided to spend her final hours with a male soldier, referred to merely as a friend.

Together, the two hung out in his dorm for several hours. After that, they said that she and this guy stopped by the base's grocery store called PX. Then they went to Burger King, and from there he escorted her back to her barracks, marking the end of what seemed like a typical interaction. However, the tone of the military's report darkens from this point on. According to them, at 11.45 p.m.,

Lavina, who was still dressed in her PT gear, left the barracks with her M16. Stuffed in her pocket were the printed out breakup emails from her ex-boyfriend. From here, for whatever reason, they said she traveled all the way to the other side of the base and entered this contractor's tent, which was an area strictly prohibited to military personnel. Lavina would have known she wasn't allowed there. But according to the report...

Once she got inside of the tent, Lavina pulled out those printed emails from her ex-boyfriend. She then sat down on a wooden bench, found a can of aerosol, and then used a match and the aerosol to set the emails on fire. Then, while the fire was burning, in her final act, the military claimed that Lavina grabbed her M16 rifle, put it in her mouth, and then pulled the trigger with her right hand.

Now, according to the report, at around 1.20 to 1.30 a.m. on July 19th, a soldier was in a nearby building when he heard the sound of a gunshot. And he said that it was strange, as they normally aren't shooting guns around that time. But he dismissed it, thinking maybe someone was just shooting into the clearing barrel.

Around that same time, a female SSG was working in a nearby building when this sergeant ran inside and told her that he just saw an explosion in the contractor's tent, and he wanted someone to go with him to check it out. So from here, they run over to the tent, along with one other person. Now, their names are redacted, so we're just going to refer to them as their status, but there's the sergeant, who initially saw the explosion, and then there's the SSG and KBR, who went with him to check it out.

but when these three entered the tent they saw lavina johnson lying on the ground next to an m16 there were also two small fires burning inside now we're going to read the transcripts from these three individuals starting with the female ssg

At approximately 1.20 on July 19, 2005, Sergeant Redacted came into the dining room to tell me he heard a boom, and there appeared to be a fire at a tent where the new dining facility was being built. So I knocked on KBR's office door and told them that there was an emergency.

KBR and sergeant ran over to the tent to see what was going on. I stayed back at the door and noticed KBR running towards me. He said there was a body in the tent and a fire. I started running towards the tent and the sergeant was running towards me. He said there was a female on the ground and we needed to get her out. We ran towards the tent and inside I saw the body on the floor. There was something on fire on the floor.

Based on the report, the individuals on the scene said that the M-16 was next to Lavina's body. And because there was a fire, they tried moving her. But it was then when they noticed the blood coming from her head. Her body was sort of limp, dead weight, when he tried to move the upper half.

We were afraid she would catch on fire, as well as the tent. So I told Sergeant, let's put the fire out. I saw a trash can full of trash, so I dumped it out and filled it up with dirt, and I put it on the fire. We did that a few times until the fire was out. While dumping the dirt, I noticed some form of liquid on the floor, and that the person didn't move at all. We had put the fire out by the time Air Force security arrived."

"'Who is Sergeant Redacted, and where does he work?' "'Food Service Sergeant works at the DFAC-2.' "'How long was Sergeant Redacted outside before he reported the suspected fire to you?' "'Less than five minutes.' "'What did you see when you went outside?' "'I saw a light flickering inside the tent.' "'Approximately how far away were you from the tent?' "'Approximately 75 feet.' "'How did you enter the tent?' "'We walked through the opening.'

Was there any light in the tent? There was a light from the fire. What did you see when you entered the tent? A female body on the floor, a fire on the floor, and a fire on the bench. Where was the fire in proximity to the victim? The fire was fairly close, close enough to catch the person on fire. What was on fire? There was something burning on the floor, not sure what it was, and some sort of container on the bench.

Who touched the victim and where? Sergeant was at the head of the victim. Not sure if he touched her arm, but he did touch her. I don't recall touching her feet, but it may be possible. How was the victim positioned before you attempted to move her? If I remember correctly, sort of on her left side. When did you first see the weapon? When we went in, the sergeant said to, let's move her out of here. What type of weapon was it? I believe an M16.

"'Where was the weapon when you first saw it?' "'Near the victim. Pointed towards the victim on her left side.' "'Who moved the weapon?' "'Not sure if Sergeant touched it or not.' "'Who helped you put out the fire?' "'Sergeant helped fill it with dirt, and I carried it back and forth.' "'Approximately how many times did you traffic in and out of the tent?' "'Maybe five.' "'Where did you see the liquid?' "'Above the victim's head. It was dark, and I figured it was blood.'

Did you see anyone in the area? No. Now, the next person interviewed was the sergeant, who was the first person to notice the fire inside of the tent. Here is his account of what happened that night.

My shift started at 20-30 hours to supervise the DFAC-2. We started feeding at 23-30 till 01-15. Around 01-20, I went to put the radio in our office. As I was coming out of the office, I heard a boom. It sounded like a car backfiring or gunshot, and when I turned around, I see flames coming out of the tent. I ran into the DFAC-2 to get SSG, and we got KBR. The tent had flames in it, so KBR and I ran over there to check out the tent.

and I saw someone lying on the ground through the window. The KBR guy ran back to call security, and I ran back to tell SSG that I needed help. We ran back to the scene and went into the tent. We tried to move the body away from the fire, but we couldn't. So SSG and I proceeded to try put out the fire. We had no water, so we used sand and dirt to put the fire out. When security came, there was a bench still burning. We grabbed it and got it out of the tent. I did touch her arm and the weapon trying to move her away from the fire, but I just couldn't.

How did you hear the boom coming out of the office? The office is a trailer, and it's outside of the DFAC, adjacent to the tent. Can you describe the flames? Orange. When I heard the boom, it kind of pushed out the windows of the tent. It was contained inside. How long was it from the time you heard the noise until you arrived at the tent? Two to three minutes, as soon as I got someone to go with me. Who got to the tent first? Myself and KBR, but we didn't go in. We saw the body through the window.

How was the body positioned? On the ground, leaning against the bench on its side. I'm not sure which side her eyes were open. Can you describe the injury? Blood all over her face, lying in a pool of blood. I didn't see the injury. What type of weapon was she holding? It was right next to her. I'm not sure which side it was lying on. I tried to move the weapon, but I couldn't. I only touched it once on the upper part of the weapon. The muzzle was pointed towards her feet. Did you see any signs of life?

I couldn't tell looking through the window. When I entered the tent, I don't remember seeing any signs of life. Did you see anyone running from the tent from the moment you heard the boom until the time you entered the tent? Not that I could tell. There was not much light over there. The next person interviewed was KBR.

At 1.30 a.m., I was in the office right after midnight meal was over when suddenly I heard somebody call my name. I answer yes, and when I turn my head, I saw SSG. Immediately, I ran to her and she said the sergeant had heard a loud noise on the south side. I ran out to see sergeant and I asked him where did you hear the noise.

He said right by the new DFAC ground. We ran there together and when we got closer to the tent, I saw fire inside of the tent. There was a little open side on the tent and I poked my head in there to see what the cause of the fire was. I looked and saw a bench on fire and I saw a person right under the bench on the floor. I said to Sergeant, somebody's on the floor when we went in and what I saw was really terrible. The person was laying down on the ground and there was blood all under her hair.

Then I ran back to the office to pick up the communication radio, and I called security for help. I asked them, please, I need your help calling the police because somebody killed themselves inside of the tent. Did you hear any noise, like a pop or a boom? No. When did you first see the fire in the tent?

As we got near the tent, we could see the fire. Did you look in the tent window before you entered the tent? Yes, I saw the fire and I saw the white sneakers. That's why we went in. Did you touch the body in the tent? No. Did you touch the weapon? No. Did you see any signs of life in the body? No. Can you describe the injury on the body? There was a lot of blood under her head. Her eyes were open. Then I left the tent.

Where was the bench? It was in front of the window. Her body was underneath the bench. The fire was between the bench and the window on the ground closer to her head. The rifle was under her body. Did you see anyone touch the body? Sergeant told me he touched it, but I didn't see anyone. Did you see anyone running away from the tent as you ran towards it? No. The next interview is from one of the first responders who came to the scene.

I had just gotten to the east side of the base after responding to another call. Since we were so close, we went straight to the call. Dispatch gave us the location of the DFAC and said, one male, PT, and something about face down, small fire. We were under the impression we would have a smoke inhalation patient. Showing up on the scene, maybe three people were there. And since we said we were medics, they led us right into the tent.

When we walked in the tent, I saw a girl lying face up with her weapon and a small fire right next to her. We also saw a lot of blood. Redacted knelt down to check vitals, and I went to the vehicle to grab gloves. When I got back, Redacted had moved her weapon and had knelt down to check her pulse. He said, quote, she's dead. So then we decided to leave the tent and call the MPs.

Here is the interview of the other first responder.

Upon arrival, we pulled up to a small tent. There were two or three personnel standing outside of it and one gentleman standing in the doorway. I went directly up to the gentleman in the doorway and asked where the patient was. He pointed to the far left corner of the room. The room was dark, but I could make out the shape of a body. I ran over to the victim, put my aid bag beside me and knelt down. The first thing I noticed was her weapon and quickly moved it to the side to get it out of the way. Upon taking a better look,

I saw that she had massive trauma to the back of the head. I finally put two and two together, that she most likely shot herself through the mouth. I checked for breathing and pulse immediately, which were both absent. For the amount of brain matter and trauma to the head, it was obvious that CPR or further medical care were not needed at the time. Everyone that was involved or had been present at the scene was told to stand by for questioning. What did you observe when you entered the tent?

When I first entered the tent, one of the security force gentlemen was standing in the doorway. Upon entering, there was a strong smell of fire, and I noticed a canister on the floor before the patient towards the left side that appeared to have been burned. I continued on towards the body. The victim was laying down with her weapon, lying across her left forearm and the butt of the weapon towards her crotch. Her right arm was laid across her forehead. At first glance, it was difficult to see the injury until I kneeled down beside her.

At that time, I moved the weapon to the side and noticed severe trauma to the back of her head and proceeded to check for signs of life. Were you wearing gloves when you moved the weapon? I put on gloves as soon as I saw the patient and was wearing them when I moved the weapon.

What were your observations of the victim? My observations of the victim were that she was mid-20s to early 30s Hispanic or African American female. She appeared as if she was sitting up with her legs crossed and fell backwards, lying face up. As far as I could tell, there were no signs of a struggle or marks on the patient. The wounds appeared to be self-inflicted from the way she had initially been holding the weapon in relation to the wounds in her mouth and the back of her head. Here is the interview of the other person at the scene.

Me and Redacted had just got done leaving Charlie 3 when we pulled off and started making our way back to the road. Then two personnel came running towards our patrol, saying that he had heard a shot come from the tent, and that it was on fire. We made our way over to the tent, and as soon as we got there, I ran inside of the tent. I ran by a female army personnel, putting dirt inside of a bucket or something. When I got inside of the tent, I saw a lady lying on the floor with a bench lying across her lower body. The bench was on fire.

I kneeled down and lightly shook the female till I noticed she had blood coming out of her head. When I looked up, I saw the individual that works at DFAC, and I said to him that the female is dead and we need to get the burning bench off of her. So I told him to just step over her and grab one end while I grabbed the other. So we picked up the bench and took it outside. Describe the location and position of the victim upon your arrival.

The victim was lying on her left side. She was wearing Army PT gear. It looked as if she fell off the bench because the bench wasn't lying across her. It was lying straight down on her right leg and part of her left leg. I didn't see any weapon when I picked up the bench nor when I shook her. Did you see what was on fire? The park bench.

So, there are a couple of things I want to unpack here. The military claims that Lavina went inside of the tent and used that can of aerosol to set those printed letters on fire.

During the ignition of this fire, that bench that Lavina was sitting on also caught fire. Then as they were burning, Lavina grabbed her gun and killed herself.

And as you just heard, several of these individuals said that they went into the tent, saw the fire burning, and they not only moved the gun, but they also moved Lavina's body, trying to get her away from the fire. So by the time authorities arrived at the tent, the scene had already been heavily compromised. I mean, there were multiple people inside of the tent touching Lavina, touching the gun, moving the gun, throwing

throwing piles of dirt on the fire. They were moving that bench outside. So the crime scene was not secured. But once it was, authorities went in and started taking their pictures. Now, I listened to so many podcasts about this case, and many of them seem to leave this information out.

For instance, when the authorities came in and started taking pictures of the scene, the M16 was photographed several feet away from Lavina. And all of these major podcasts out there say, "Well, look how far away the gun is." She obviously couldn't have killed herself when the M16 is feet away from her body.

Which is true, but as you just heard, several people admitted to moving it. Another argument I heard is a lot of people say there are two pools of blood near her body. There's the main one, right under her head, and then there's another small pool of blood right next to her. Now if she did kill herself and no one else came in and moved her around, it would be incredibly suspicious that there are two pools of blood.

You obviously can't move once you've shot yourself in the head and have died. But again, these individuals admitted to moving her body trying to get her away from the fire. So that explains how there would be two pools of blood. Now there are a lot of other suspicious things about this case, but to me, those two arguments can be explained away after reading these interviews.

Now, after finding LaVena Johnson inside of that tent, next to her M16, it appeared as if she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. And in the tent next to her were those burned letters from her ex-boyfriend. So the military was quick to say that she was depressed about the breakup and decided to take her own life. But when LaVena's father, John Johnson, read this, he wasn't convinced.

Lovina had only been dating that guy for two months, and he wasn't even stationed at her unit. And there was just no way his daughter would have ended her life over a two-month relationship. And even further, in the days before her death, Lovina was happy. Now, I'll say that suicide is a very complicated subject, and it doesn't look the same for everyone, obviously.

Some people show warning signs before they take their own lives, while others seem completely normal and happy. In other cases, people can just decide to end their life on a whim. It doesn't necessarily have to be something you've been planning for a while. The military also stated that there may have been other reasons why she took her own life. You see, shortly before her death, Lavina had been treated for a sexually transmitted infection.

Now, LaVena never revealed this information to her family because they were already so worried about her. But medical records do confirm that she was treated for genital warts. So, according to the military, that, coupled with the breakup, led her to take her own life. And in the report, they do interview a lot of people who apparently knew LaVena. Here's what one person had to say. I met Johnson in March of 2005. We met in Fort Campbell in the barracks.

After we met, me and Johnson always hung out. She was always making us laugh. When we were with her, there was never a dull moment because we were always laughing at something she was doing. Then about a month before we were coming out here, she met this guy named Redacted and they were boyfriend and girlfriend. They were fine, but then he didn't come around that much. People were saying he wasn't the best guy, but she was sure she could change him.

but he never really changed. Then we left to come out here. When we got to Kuwait, she tried to call him. She got him one time, I think, but then he stopped answering the phone. Then we got here. She called her parents and she tried calling him again. She seemed to be pretty close with her parents. I'm not real sure if she had any brothers or sisters.

She had been depressed here lately because she found out a week ago she had redacted. And that's when she started talking about killing herself. But she would always come across as joking. I never really thought anything about it. What were Johnson's dietary habits? Vegetarian. No meat whatsoever. Has she been eating or drinking anything outside of her normal diet? Eating a lot more ice cream. Did Private Johnson smoke?

No, but she did get to smoking the other day. I saw her smoke one and I got aggravated at her. I told her she didn't need to be doing that. Did Johnson say why she was smoking? No. Now for this next question, I couldn't find any more information about it, but I do want to mention it since it's in this report. How did Johnson react to the letter telling her she needed to be checked for AIDS? She seemed to be okay with it.

How's Private Johnson dealing with being in Iraq? Well, as far as I could tell. Was Private Johnson having any problems with her unit? As far as I know, no. Prior to discovering Redacted, had Private Johnson ever joked about killing herself? No. Aside from Redacted, had Private Johnson mentioned any physical, emotional, or mental ailments? Her boyfriend. Here is another interview from someone who was acquainted with LaVena Johnson.

Yeah.

But everyone seemed to be fine. Johnson would always bring up her ex-boyfriend. She always said that they would get back together. That's all she would talk about. We went to Burger King a few nights ago, and she said her ex-boyfriend had a new girlfriend. But she was still going to make it right, because they broke up in the wrong way. But she was always smiling when she talked about him. Then one day, she's just up and wants to start smoking, and we wanted to know why. She said some of us have things going on in our lives, but she never said what it was.

Since you've known her, has she always called him her ex-boyfriend? Yes. Do you know his name? No. What did she mean when she said she was going to make it right? I guess she meant she was going to get her ex-boyfriend to leave his new girlfriend, to take Private Johnson back as his girlfriend. When did Private Johnson start smoking cigarettes? Just a few days ago. Hasn't even been a week.

Do you know why she started smoking? Or what she meant by some of us have things going on in our lives? No. When you saw her last night, was she happy or sad? She was in a good mood. Happy, I would say. How long did you talk to her last night? Five minutes. Have you ever seen Private Johnson depressed or sad? No. Do you know if she had any health problems?

I don't know. Did she seem like the type of person who would do things that she said she was going to do? Yes. Do you know what she meant when she said she and her ex-boyfriend broke up wrong? They just stopped talking, and she didn't know why. Did she ever talk about getting married to her ex-boyfriend? Yes, she said they were going to get married, but didn't say when. Has she ever said things like, things would be better for her or anyone else if she wasn't around? No.

No. Do you think she would deliberately harm herself? No. Did she ever talk about suicide, even jokingly? No. Now this next interview was with the man Lavina was hanging out with right before her death. Like we mentioned earlier, she had skipped PT that day and hung out with him instead. And together they went to the grocery store and bought some snacks.

My name is Redacted, and I had a social relationship with her. We often talked about my smoking habit and religion. Yesterday she came to my room, we talked for some time, and the conversation was about life in general, and the things we used to do as kids. We left my room before curfew, and I told her I would walk her home. But first she said that she wanted to go to the PX. On the way, we continued our conversation, and she asked me if I was scared to meet God and the end of the world. Then I asked her if she wanted to kill herself, and she said, hell not, stupid.

I then asked again, and she said, why would I? I have a lot to live for. So we got to the PX. I bought some CD cases, and she got some soda and M&Ms. We then went to Burger King, and I ordered me a chicken with cheese value meal. We then walked along the sidewalk towards the barbershop. Then I walked her to the A section, and I watched her enter into the building. I then went to my room and turned on the light. I woke up my roommate, we cussed each other out, and I divided the food.

My roommate said that I might as well not go to sleep, and I laughed when we talked about all that happened this deployment. Did you notice whether or not she was carrying an M-16 magazine? No, I didn't see it. What time did you last see Private Johnson? Approximately about 2345 on July 18th, 2005. What time did Private Johnson come to your room? Around 1800.

Side note, that means that Lavina was hanging out with him from 6 p.m. to 11.45, almost six hours. How would you describe Private Johnson's personality? Happy-go-lucky, sarcastic, sassy. She was always positive. Has Private Johnson ever mentioned killing herself? No. Did you notice a change in her behavior lately? I'm not sure. Has Private Johnson been stressed out as of late?

No, she asked me if I was. Did Private Johnson say she was scared to meet God in your conversation with her? No. Has Private Johnson ever discussed any of her medical history with you? No. Now, a lot of people have some questions about this guy, given he was the last person seen with Lovina. So naturally, they interview his roommate to see if there was anything suspicious going on that night. And here's what his roommate had to say.

I woke up around 3.30 to 4 in the afternoon, and Private Johnson and Redacted were in the room just hanging out and talking. Then at about 4.30, Redacted gave me his phone card so he and Private Johnson could be alone. So I went to the phones at 1.29 for about an hour, then I walked back at around 5.45. When I got back, they were still just sitting there talking. Then I went to chow and ate and went back to the room at around 6.45. Then I watched a movie, and at around 10 or 10.30, Private Johnson and Redacted left.

At about 11.30 or 12, Redacted came back to the room with Burger King. He gave me half of a chicken, burger, and fries, and then we laid down. We talked about stuff going on in the unit, like when we were supposed to go home and how much I hated Tower Guard. Then, right before he went to sleep, he said that he only got a kiss from Private Johnson, and he was surprised. But it didn't bother him. Then we went to sleep. How would you describe Private Johnson's mood the night she was in your room?

Happy. What time did Private Johnson arrive in your room? She was in there when I woke up. When Redacted returned from Burger King, did you notice anything odd about his behavior? No. Do you recall what Redacted and Johnson were talking about in the room? The only thing I remember is he wanted to show her a videotape he made when he was on leave. How was Redacted's mood when you saw him the next day? He was sad. He cried a little bit.

Do you know if Redacted had any reason to hurt Private Johnson? Not that I know of. How do you feel Redacted felt about Private Johnson? I think he wanted to sleep with her. I can't say for sure. He did say that was the first girl he Redacted. If you were aware of Redacted causing harm to anyone, would you tell this office? Yes.

Now, I don't know about you, but I definitely have some questions about the SPC that was last seen with her, especially since they apparently shared a kiss that night. This guy also said that they went to Burger King together and then he walked her back to her barracks at around 11.45, which means he was the last person to ever see Lavina alive.

Then, about an hour and 40 minutes later, the gunshot was heard from inside the tent. So what happened within that time? We know that the SPC she was last seen with went back to his dorm at around midnight. And according to his roommate, they ate their food, talked for a little bit, and then went to bed. Although it was never specified what time they went to bed. Could he have snuck out of his room to meet up with Lavina again?

We don't know, and there isn't a ton of information in the report that explores this theory. Now, this next interview was with someone who was fairly close to Private Johnson, and she knew intimate details about Johnson's relationship with her ex-boyfriend and information about her sexually transmitted infection. Approximately one month ago, Private Johnson found out she had redacted. Finding that out made her angry.

She was emotionally beating herself up for the things she did, mistakes she's made. She was faithful to redact it. She did not sleep around over here.

After finding out Redacted, she began saying she hated her life and wished she would die. One time, my knife was stuck in my Gerber and she was trying to get it out. I warned her to be careful and not cut herself, and she said she hoped she would and that she would die. About last week, she was trying to call Redacted, but he wasn't answering the phone.

So I called a friend of mine who worked with him and asked him to find out what was going on. When I called my friend back, he told me to tell Private Johnson to stop calling him because he had found another girlfriend. When I told Private Johnson about this, she was quiet. She told me she didn't care that she knew, but I think she did care and she was trying to hide it. She changed from that time. She stopped eating except for ice cream three meals a day.

She withdrew from everyone except me. She said she hates life. On July 18th, 2005, she told me she got an email from her doctor where he told her she needed to start treatment, redacted, and that she needed to be tested for redacted. Now, earlier, one of the officials mentioned something about Levina getting a letter that she needed to be tested for AIDS. So I'm assuming that's what they're talking about here.

She looks like she was going to cry when she told me. She told me really quick because I had to leave for class. I went to her room yesterday between class to get chapstick, and I was looking at her Gerber. Then yesterday after work, she left a whole bag of chapstick in my room for me. Today, I saw her CD case full of CDs and her new Gerber in my room.

She didn't leave any notes with the Chapstick CDs or Gerber. Johnson was always good about saving money. She never spent it at stuff at the PX. I asked her why, and she said she was saving it for her family, because you never know what could happen. Did she ever talk about seeing a chaplain or mental health? No. Did she undergo any major mood changes in the past month?

Did she ever talk about hurting or killing herself?

One time I asked her if she actually would kill herself, and she said no because she didn't want to hurt her family. This was about a month ago. Do you know if she had a history of depression? No, I don't know. I think she told me once when she was back with her family she wanted to hurt herself, and she had a problem with eating. Now, I'm not going to lie, after I read all of these interviews, I can understand why someone would come to the conclusion that Lavina killed herself.

She had told multiple people that she was sad about her boyfriend breaking up with her. She also just found out he had a new girlfriend. And then on top of all of that, she had just found out she got a sexually transmitted infection. And apparently her doctor told her she needed to be tested for AIDS. All of that is incredibly stressful to deal with. In addition, Lavina had been eating ice cream several times a day and she started smoking cigarettes.

She also gave her friend some of her belongings. And she even jokingly mentioned suicide to several people. So in that aspect, I can see why people would assume she killed herself. But after looking at the physical evidence at the scene, you'll understand why some people think she was murdered. For one, the gunshot residue. When a firearm is discharged, the gases within the weapon will escape.

and the residue from it will get all over the shooter's hands, arms, and clothing. And unless you shower, it is very difficult to get it off. But interestingly enough, when investigators tested Lavina's body for gunshot residue, they could barely find any. Now, they did say they found some particles, but it was such a small amount, it was considered insignificant. And in the report, it even says the following,

Based on these results, the following possibilities exist: A. The subject did not handle or discharge a firearm. B. The subject handled/discharged a firearm, but an insignificant number of gunshot residue particles were deposited on the hands. C. The subject handled/discharged a firearm that deposited a significant number of gunshot residue particles on the hand. However, due to washing, wiping, or other activity, the particles were reduced to insignificant numbers.

Another suspicious finding was that the military claimed Lavinia said those printed emails on fire using that can of aerosol, but her fingerprints were not found on the can or the matches used to ignite the fire. Oh, and the other thing that was missing fingerprints was the weapon. The M16 found in the tent had no fingerprints.

Not Lavina's, nor the person, nor the people who claim to have moved the gun once they found her body, which is pretty strange. Now a common argument I see in this case is that Lavina's small stature, standing at just 5'1", would have made it impossible for her to stick the gun in her mouth while she pulled the trigger. Some people claim she wouldn't have been able to reach it.

Now, disturbingly, sometimes when people shoot themselves with large guns, they will use their toes to pull the trigger. But Lavina's shoes were still on her feet when she was found. So that couldn't have been the case.

However, I have found some sources that claim she would have been able to reach the trigger. But as you probably know by now, I am not a gun expert by any means, so I can't really say. But while we're on the topic of the M16, it's also important to mention that the gun found in the tent was not the gun assigned to Lavina Johnson. The M16 in the tent had the serial number 7095028.

and the M16 assigned to Lavina had the serial number 7097069. And for whatever reason, the investigative report doesn't mention anything about whose M16 was found in the tent with her. It also doesn't mention what happened to her M16. Now, the last thing I wanna mention about the gun is that many people believe Lavina was not killed with an M16 at all.

Like we mentioned earlier, her father and other experts believe that the exit wound in her head was far too small for it to be from an M16. They thought it looked like an entry wound from a 9mm. But at the scene, under Lavina's leg, investigators did find a 5.56mm shell casing, which is from an M16.

However, they never actually located the bullet, only the shell casing. Now, if Lavina put the gun in her mouth and shot upwards, the bullet could have flown out of the tent, but sadly, no one cared to look for it. And keep in mind, Lavina's father, Dr. John Johnson, is looking through this entire report, and to him, nothing is making sense.

Not only did he wholeheartedly believe his daughter wouldn't have killed herself, especially without leaving a note, but to him, the evidence in the report was not sufficient enough to label her death a suicide. The report itself was full of oversights and omissions. Where were the fingerprints? Where is the gunshot residue? Where's the bullet that allegedly killed her? And whose M16 was that?

Dr. Johnson would later tell the LA Times, I'm not just a grieving father guessing at things. I'm going strictly by the facts. I'm going by the Army's own evidence. But more than anything, Dr. Johnson knew Lavina. Just days before his daughter died, she called home and told her family how excited she was to come back to the U.S. She even told them not to decorate the Christmas tree without her.

Why would she say that if she didn't have plans to come home? Dr. Johnson knew that his quest for answers wasn't over. He was determined to study every detail, every page of the Army's investigation. So his next course of action was to get the original CD from the Army.

In the Xeroxed copy they sent him, the pictures in the report were barely even visible. He wanted the real thing. So he asked for it, but they quickly denied his request, citing privacy concerns, stating, "...the Freedom of Information Act does not compel us to disclose the names and identities of parties on the CD. Their right to privacy forbids disclosure."

Information release employees can be sued and held personally liable for financial penalties for each improper disclosure. Thus, we have released to you as much as we can disclose without infringing on the privacy interests of these third parties. So, once again, he had to reach out to legislators. And luckily, three months later, they were finally able to get him that CD.

When Dr. Johnson looked through it this time, with clear and colored pictures, he was even more convinced that his daughter was murdered. In the autopsy photos, he could see discoloring all over Lavina's body, almost as if she had been burned. Then on her vaginal area, there were even more burns and lacerations.

there was very evident trauma to her genitals. But interestingly enough, the Army failed to mention anything about it in her autopsy report.

They also never performed any kind of rape exam. And the more he looked at the pictures, the more he saw. Lavina's face bore multiple abrasions. Her arms had numerous scratches, like defensive wounds. Her nose was obviously broken. Her teeth were loosened and knocked back into her mouth.

Her lip was split and bruised at the base of her chin, and a severe burn scarred her body, extending from her shoulder down to the bend in her thigh. Now, a lot of people would say that that makes sense she had a burn on her body given there was a fire at the scene. But then why were none of her clothes burned? It almost looked like she had been burned while she didn't have clothes on.

And then afterwards, somebody redressed her. These pictures showed Dr. Johnson that his daughter had been attacked. And remember at the funeral home, that glove had been glued to her hand because she also had burns on her hands. So why would they try to cover that up? To Dr. Johnson, it looked like Lavina had been beaten, raped, and murdered.

When looking at the crime scene photos, Dr. Johnson also saw what looked like a blood trail coming from the outside of the contractor's tent that led to Lavina's body. He also saw what appeared to be a bloody boot print on a bag on cement in the tent. But again, none of this was in the report.

Now, we were never able to see the photos for ourselves, but Dr. Johnson also claimed that there was an absence of brain and blood splatter on the tent. And if you shoot yourself with an M16, there's definitely going to be a lot of that at the scene. Plus, the army was never able to locate the bullet that allegedly killed his daughter. Another thing Dr. Johnson noticed, there was debris on LaVena's head and shirt, almost like she had been dragged.

So how do these troubling signs fit with the conclusion of suicide? Even further, according to the documentary, The Silent Truth, a retired United States Army colonel and a former U.S. State Department official named Anne Wright said that the official documents and witness statements revealed that Lavina had actually been sexually assaulted before her death. In fact, in one of her friend's interviews, the friend says, she told me that the first time she had sex, her boyfriend forced her to have sex while he was drunk.

Now, I don't know if those two instances are related and unfortunately, we weren't able to find any more information about this, which only adds to the mystery of this case. Did someone rape Lavina and then murder her to cover it up?

Another thing that raised some questions was Lavina's journal. She was known to write in it every single day, but when investigators looked through her things, they noticed about one third of the journal was missing. The pages had been torn out. So did Lavina write things in there that pointed to someone that could have harmed her? Were those pages included in the papers that were burned near her body? They didn't know.

But Dr. Johnson knew there was more to this story, and he also knew there was only one thing he could do to get more answers. So in July of 2007, he made the difficult decision to exhume Lavina's body, and what they uncovered was shocking.

During her second autopsy, they discovered that Lavina's nose had been broken. Her lower jaw was broken and split. Her cheekbone was broken. Her teeth were broken. Her lips were cut. Her neck was broken. Shoulder dislocated. And her left eye socket was broken. Now, a number of these wounds could have been caused by getting shot in the head. But how do you explain the fact that parts of her body had been surgically removed?

Specifically parts of her tongue, anus and vagina. Now Dr. Johnson had a theory that the reason part of her tongue was removed was because that's actually where the bullet was lodged. Like we mentioned earlier, he thought Lavina's exit wound in her head looked more like a 9mm entry wound.

Some experts even confirmed that the wound on the top of her head could have been made by a 9mm, and if that was the case, the bullet could have lodged into Lavina's tongue. So many people wondered, is that why part of her tongue was missing? But interestingly enough, there was no mention of this in the military's autopsy report.

They also didn't mention removing parts of her vagina. And I think one of the most suspicious parts of this whole entire story is that they apparently found evidence of a corrosive substance that had been poured onto her genitals. They didn't know for sure what it was, but it appeared to be either lye or woundstacked, which is a substance that is poured into a wound to stop it from bleeding.

Once poured in, the wound stat solidifies and it can only be removed through surgery. So is that why parts of her vagina had been removed? And why was it even poured in the first place? Was someone trying to cover up DNA evidence from a sexual assault?

Now, it does get a little confusing in the research because you would think with all of this evidence, they'd be able to reopen the case. But unfortunately, it seemed as if there were some differing opinions on Lavina's autopsy. Maybe because there was a fire in the tent that explained why she had burns on her body. But why was the army going through the trouble of covering them up by gluing gloves onto her hands?

and as for the injuries some people claim she could have easily gotten them from shooting herself with an m16 but there are others that believe the m16 wasn't even the gun used to kill her we also weren't able to find anything about the army's response to finding out pieces of her body had been removed so in the end experts weren't able to definitively say whether or not lavina died by suicide or homicide and this leaves us with so many questions

One thing we know for sure is that the Army's investigation into LaVena's death was not as thorough as it should have been. From the crime scene to the autopsy, they left a lot of things out. And when you do that, you open the door to these kinds of problems. Chris Gray, the spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, would later say that they conducted a, quote, "'complete, thorough investigation' and that they go by exactly what the evidence shows."

But many people disagree. For the Johnson family, they believe that Lavina was raped before her murder. Then to cover it up, someone poured chemicals on her body, dragged her into the contractor's tent, and then they shot her, making it look like a suicide. Then after that, they set the tent on fire to destroy any evidence. Now, as for who could have done this to her, there are a couple of theories out there.

One is that it was the last person seen with her, that SPC that she went to the grocery store with shortly before her death. Another theory is that it was a soldier from the DFAS center on the army base, which was located right next to the contractor's tent. Maybe it was the guy who claimed to have seen the explosion and ran over to go get help. But again, nobody knows their identities.

The other theory proposed by Dr Johnson is that it could have been a former four-star Army General a man by the name of Kevin P Burns this seems to be a popular Theory online because just days before Lavina's death she had an encounter with General Burns and she actually wrote about it in her journal although we weren't able to find out exactly what she wrote but at the time General Burns was engaged in an extramarital affair with a civilian at the U.S Army base in balad Iraq the

The higher-ups ended up finding out about it, and they ordered him to stop the affair. But he just didn't listen. Now, the theory is that LaVena happened upon Burns in a compromising position with his lover, and he killed her so he wouldn't get in trouble. And the reason people think this is because three weeks after LaVena's death, General Burns was actually dismissed by the army, by President Bush, for personal conduct, just three months shy of his scheduled retirement.

Now, it is very, very rare to dismiss someone from the army when they're that close to finishing. So the theory is that he was actually dismissed because of his connection to Lavina. The Huffington Post posted an article that read, The Burns firing is stunning. In modern times, no four-star general has ever been relieved of duty for disciplinary reasons. Prior to this incident, Burns had a spotless military record.

he has been separated from his wife since may 2004. the allegations do not involve anyone under his command or connected to the dod and he was already set to retire in november something doesn't add up would the army really can a four-star general with 36 years of service three months shy of his retirement because he screwed someone other than his wife in the middle of a war there has to be more much more to this story than is being told

In a 2016 interview on The Rock Newman Show, Dr. Johnson spoke about the army and why he thought they ruled Lavina's death a suicide, saying, quote, "'I think what happened is that they looked at Lavina as a 19-year-old black girl. Nobody knows her name. She's 6,620 miles away from home on a military base. Our own group is doing the investigation. Nobody can come behind us.'"

"Nobody will ever see our moves or what we are doing. Her body will be in the ground soon. Nobody's gonna dick her up to check and balance what we say in our files. I think they counted on this." End quote. And sadly, that's where our story ends. Lavina Johnson's case has been sealed by the Pentagon. And to this day, it is still considered a suicide, leaving her family with an overwhelming sense of unease.

Since Lavina's passing, Christmas has never been the same for them. It was Lavina's favorite time of year. She loved getting together with her siblings, joyfully decorating, shopping for gifts, and hanging stockings. But for decades now, they've had to do it without her. But her death also brought them a lot closer.

Linda Johnson believes that quote, "A wise woman builds up her house and a foolish woman tears it down." End quote. So she does her best to be strong for her remaining children, hoping to keep building up her home. She would later say quote, "I gave birth to that baby. I nurtured her and I watched her grow up, but I was robbed of the most precious time because I'll never get to see her walk down the aisle.

I won't get a grandbaby from her, but I am strong through prayers. End quote.

Dr. Johnson has faced years of emotional pain. Not only did he have to grieve the death of his daughter, but he also dedicated his life to getting to the bottom of what happened to Lovina. A quest that keeps leading him to dead ends in secrecy. Throughout this time, his grief manifested in profound sadness, then anger. He knows deep down that there's so much more to his daughter's story, and until his dying breath, he'll keep pursuing those answers. He later said,

I have my moments, don't get me wrong. Sometimes I can't. There are times I like to be by myself. There are times I can't do it because I start thinking about it and just cry, you know? But once I'm done crying, I get angry all over again. And I'm ready to fight. And that hasn't changed. I have these emotional swings. I really, really do.

The death of LaVena Johnson is something that has been discussed and debated for almost 20 years now, and still we're no closer to closure. It's one of those cases that haunts you and leaves you with more questions than answers. Now, we here at Murder in America definitely have our own opinions about this situation.

And we are 100% advocates to have this case reopened, reexamined, and for the release of all applicable information and evidence dealing with this story. Because you never know, maybe one day the truth will actually be revealed and we can get some form of justice for LaVena Johnson. Hey everybody, it's Colin here. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. This is a crazy story.

Personal opinions. I think there's more to the story, obviously, than someone taking their own life. I mean, there's way too much evidence that doesn't add up. Way too many things that don't make sense.

I'll talk about this later. I have some big news to make, but we're going to be announcing some stuff in the next month or two. So just keep on the lookout for that. I want to give a shout out, though, to some of our new patrons this week. Sandy Juarez, Jamie Benerick, Keith Christopher, Heather Duke, E.P., Catherine Bickley, Jordan White, Andrew Candido,

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We have some more incredible cases coming up. Happy summer, everybody. I guess this is the time of the year when school starts to get out and everything. But thank you all for listening. Thank you so much. Have a great weekend and rest of your week. And I'll catch you on the next one. At your job, do you ever have to deal with a nose roller? How about a snub pulley?

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