What happened to LaVena Johnson?

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LaVena Lynn Johnson (July 27, 1985 – July 19, 2005) was a Private First Class in the United States Army. She was found dead in her tent. Her death was controversially ruled as a suicide, contrary to evidence of rape and battery leading many to believe the United States Department of Defense covered it up. The daughter of Dr. John Johnson, a service veteran, and Linda Johnson, Johnson was born and grew up in Florissant, Missouri. The African American honor student enlisted in the Army immediately after graduating from Hazelwood Central High School. She was deployed to Iraq and stationed in Balad. She had been there for eight weeks before her death on July 19, 2005, eight days before her 20th birthday. 

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Johnson's death was officially ruled a suicide by the Department of Defense. However, her father became suspicious when he saw her body in the funeral home and decided to investigate. The Army initially refused to release information, but 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 revealed 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. Several reporters have suspected that the chemical burns were to destroy DNA evidence of a rape. Bloody footprints were discovered outside of her living quarters.  

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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. 

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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. The CCIRI investigation did not agree with nor dispute the Army's findings. Sheryl McCollum of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute calls the case "gut-wrenching." McCollum says the institute normally spends one year on a case, but spent three years on the LaVena Johnson case. In a phone interview with St. Louis Public Radio, McCollum said that she faults the Army for poor communication, but she does not disagree with its conclusion.  

"The problem is – number one – the way the notification happened. And the lack of information given to that family fast enough," McCollum said. "There was nothing about this case that we could go back to the Army to say you need to re-look at it," she said. "We didn't have anything new. We didn't have anything that suggested wrongdoing."

 

What can we do? 

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1. Sign the petition to reopen LaVena Johnson's case:

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2. Contact U.S. Army criminal investigation command, demanding Johnson’s case be reopened. 

Chief of Public Affairs/Media- Christopher Grey:  571-305-4041 

Public Affairs Specialist- Jeffrey Castro: 571-305-4043 

Public Affairs Specialist- Ronna Weyland:  571-305-4042