LaVena Johnson
Real Name: LaVena Lynn Johnson
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Balad, Iraq
Date: July 19, 2005
Case[]
Details: Nineteen-year-old PFC LaVena Johnson had been in Iraq for about six weeks when she was found shot to death on July 19, 2005. The Army ruled her death a suicide. Army investigators said that she had shot herself through the mouth with an M-16. However, several discrepancies were soon brought forth. The apparent trajectory of the bullet did not match what one would expect from that type of gun. The one that killed her was never found. One of the first responders claimed that a gun was not even found at the scene. The two witnesses who found her body reported hearing explosions coming from her tent. When they went inside it, they two fires next to her body.
The autopsy report showed that LaVena had been tortured and possibly sexually assaulted prior to her death. Photographs of her body indicated that she had a broken nose and split lip, scratches and bruises on her arms, and burns on her right leg and hand. There were also serious injuries, including burns, to her genitals. Her family is convinced that she was murdered and that her death was a cover-up by the army.
Suspects: None known
Extra Notes: This case was uploaded to the Unsolved Mysteries website on September 26, 2014. The person interviewed in the video is LaVena's father, Dr. John Johnson.
Results: Unsolved
Links:
- LaVena Johnson web site
- LeVena Johnson on Unsolved.com
- Lavena Johnson on Coldcaseworld.com
- Justice for LaVena Johnson Facebook Page
- LaVena Johnson on Wikipedia
- Fallen soldier was first Missouri female to die in Iraq - July 21, 2005
- Was female Missouri soldier murdered in Iraq? (Page 1) (Page 2) - March 24, 2008
- Soldier's father believes she was murdered - March 24, 2008
- A death with two stories evident - March 8, 2008
- The truth about LaVena Johnson - November 18, 2010
- Justice For LaVena Johnson: Raped & Murdered or Suicide? The Evidences Says One Thing; U.S. Military Says Another - January 21, 2014
- LaVena Johnson: Army Still Calls Grisly Rape and Murder "Suicide" - February 13, 2014
- Documents and photos suggest foul play in death of Private Johnson - May 14, 2014
- What happened to LaVena Johnson? - June 14, 2014
- 10 years later, a soldier's family still grieves and questions the Army's version of her death - July 20, 2015
- Questions Linger More Than a Decade After Private LaVena Johnson's Death - July 18, 2018
- Did the Army cover up a murder? The "suicide" of LaVena Johnson. - March 31, 2018
- The Dark Case of LaVena Johnson - October 11, 2021
- LaVena Johnson on Find a Grave