What Happened To LaVena Johnson?

LaVena Johnson was an Army Private deployed in Iraq. While she was away, LaVena called home every day to make sure she was in touch with her family. Her last call to them was on July 17th, 2005. She was excitedly updating them on her plans to come home for Christmas. “She told us not to decorate the tree until she got home,” LaVena’s mother, Linda Johnson, said of her daughter. “We said we’d wait for her, of course. She was so happy to be coming home.”

LaVena was an honors student who was heavily influenced by her father, Dr. Johnson. He had served in the military for three years before going to college and earning a doctorate in psychology. Linda also had a civilian job in troop support for the Army. This caused LaVena to make the decision to join the Army in order to pay for college. While her parents were not entirely in agreement with her decision, they chose to be supportive. LaVena was in Iraq for just six weeks before sharing with her family that she may come home for Christmas.

Sadly, she would never make it home.

On the morning of July 19th, 2005, the Johnson home received a visitor at their Florissant, Missouri home. When Linda opened the door, she saw a soldier standing on her front porch. “He told us LaVena was dead. And he said, well, he said she had killed herself.”

The Johnsons were in complete shock and disbelief. They had just spoken to LaVena days earlier and felt no warning signs were to be found. They recalled the palpable excitement radiating through the phone as she told them about her new job on the base. There was also — as mentioned earlier — the possibility of her coming home for Christmas. There were even talks of LaVena taking part in the family tradition of decorating the tree with her little sister.

“I felt my whole life slip away right there,” Linda said, remembering how she broke down in tears. “She would never do this. Our LaVena would never do this to herself. Someone did this. Someone took her from us.”

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command — a branch that looked into deaths and crimes of soldiers — launched an investigation into LaVena’s death. Christopher Grey was the Chief of Public Affairs for the Criminal Investigation Command. He referred to LaVena’s death as a “tragic suicide” in a public statement. Unfortunately, that ruling has remained stuck to her case for more than 15 long years.

Her family’s skepticism has never once wavered. It has persisted to this day.

The Johnson family began their own investigation of what happened to LaVena. They were convinced she was murdered and the truth surrounding her death was being covered up. The conclusion of the official investigation stated that LaVena shot herself in the mouth with a rifle while on the base. The report even included witness testimony saying she may have been “depressed” due to a recent breakup. The Johnsons believe that the investigation was flawed because they were only looking for evidence that supported a suicide ruling. They added that her arms were too short to shoot herself using an M-16 rifle. In fact, that specific rifle would have left a wound much bigger than the one found in her head.

The Johnsons had LaVena’s body exhumed for another autopsy in 2007. The results of the autopsy were inconclusive.

LaVena would have turned 37 years old this upcoming July. “It’s important that her name is not forgotten,” Linda said. “She deserves better. She deserves justice.”