LaVena Johnson was an E3 Private First Class of the U.S. Army who was found dead in a contractors tent where she was deployed. Despite her showing signs of rape and battery, her death was ruled a suicide, making many believe her death was a cover up.
LaVena Lynn Johnson was born on July 27, 1985 in Florissant, Missouri. Her parents are John and Linda Johnson, and was the 4th of 5 children. LaVena was an honors student at Hazelwood Central High School and was known for being a very independent, intelligent young woman. Immediately after graduating, she enlisted in the Army. She was deployed to Iraq and was stationed in Balad, Iraq, working in the communications building.
LaVena was only in Balad for about 8 weeks until she was tragically killed. Usually LaVena would call and tell her parents optimistic stories of her days, but days before her death, she spoke on the phone with her father talking about the rough day she had. She said that this day in particular, many of the soldiers were not listening to her and would not leave the communications building. During this, her general got upset with her, instead of the soldiers not listening, stating that they would not listen to her because she was being “soft”.
LaVena died on July 19, 2005, just 8 days before her 20th birthday. The Department of Defense ruled her death a suicide, but after hearing the ruling of her death and seeing her body in a funeral home, her father became suspicious that her death was not a suicide. At first, the Army refused to release information regarding LaVena’s death, but they eventually did under the Freedom of Information Act.
WARNING ⚠️ graphic detail below
A new autopsy reported several pieces of evidence that were not consistent with suicide. The autopsy showed that LaVena had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, chemical burns on her genital area, and a gunshot wound in the head. This was clearly not a suicide. Some believe that the chemical burns were an attempt to destroy DNA evidence from the sexual assault she suffered. More evidence from where she was discovered revealed that there were bloody footprints near the scene.
Although a spokesman from the House Armed Services Committee claimed to be looking into LaVena’s death, as of June 2008, they had not yet committed to a formal investigation, and the case remains closed according to the U.S. Criminal Investigative Command for the Army.
Several petitions were launched and a website was launched dedicated to prompting the army to formally investigate her death. A documentary titled LaVena Johnson: The Silent Truth was released in 2010 and shows her family’s struggles to get justice for LaVena’s death. On July 19, 2011, criminal justice students at the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute began an investigation into LaVena’s death. They made a reconstruction of the crime scene to collect more evidence. The CCIRI did not agree with nor dispute the Army’s findings.
Some evidence suggests that her murderer may possibly be Kevin P. Byrnes, a four-star Army General who was later kicked out for unspecified “personal conduct”, which many suspect was due to his extramarital affair. It is believed that LaVena may have possibly witnessed this affair and was killed in retaliation.
Over the years, LaVena’s case gained very much media attention and was controversial from the start. Many questioned why the Army would want to withhold information regarding LaVena’s death and believe it is a cover up. This is something I absolutely agree with. All the evidence clearly shows that LaVena did not kill herself. She was brutally murdered and assaulted, possibly by someone on her own side. If people keep speaking up about LaVena’s case, she and many other people who lost their lives under similar circumstances will finally get the proper justice they deserve.
Resources-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_LaVena_Johnson
https://www.donaldwatkins.com/post/the-murder-of-pfc-lavena-johnson-part-3
TRUE CRIME REPORT 
Her family should have sued the military for her death. They know it was no suicide. They didn’t protect her while she was under their jurisdiction. I hope her family keeps pushing. Uncover the truth & sue the United States government.
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