Lavena Johanson death, obituary: US army soldier Lavena Johanson, correctly spelt as LaVena Johnson, in 2005, was found shot to death inside a burning tent with a broken nose, black eyes, broken teeth and acid burns on her genitals.
She was only 19 years old.
The military ruled her death a suicide. But Lavena Johanson death attracted international attention amid allegations that her death was the result of rape.
Johnson’s father had become suspicious when he saw his daughter’s body in the funeral home so he decided to investigate.
Reports say the Army initially refused to release information, but finally did so under the Freedom of Information Act after Representative William Lacy Clay, Jr. raised questions about it at the congressional hearings over Pat Tillman’s death.
The autopsy report and photographs would reveal that Johnson had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, burns from a corrosive chemical on her genitals, and a gunshot wound that seemed inconsistent with suicide.
There are suspicions that the chemical burns were to destroy DNA evidence of a rape.
A spokesman from the House Armed Services Committee said in June 2008 that the committee was looking into Johnson’s death, but they were not yet committing to a formal investigation.
Christopher Grey, chief of public affairs for the U.S. Criminal Investigative Command for the Army has said that the case remains closed as far as they are concerned.
Lavena Johanson death, obituary: Lavena Johnson movie
A documentary film about LaVena Johnson’s family struggle for justice was made in 2010, directed by Joan Brooker and titled LaVena Johnson: The Silent Truth.
On July 19, 2011, the criminal justice students in the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute (CCIRI) run as a student club by three universities, selected Johnson’s case as their case for investigation.
The CCIRI’s crime scene reconstruction aimed to help shed light on this case that has attracted worldwide attention.
And at the end of the CCIRI investigation which took 3 years, they did not agree with nor dispute the Army’s findings.
I believe everyone in America that has Melanin and is proud of it has PTSD. Reading Lavena story made my breathing pattern change and I felt anxiety. I never met you, Lavena, but I love you for trying to make a change by joining a system that could care less about your worth. You didn’t know better. I know you are in peace now.