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hi guys how are you today
my name is Bailey Syrian
and it’s Monday
which means it’s murder Mystery and makeup Monday
if you’re new here
every Monday I’ve been sitting down getting ready
doing my makeup
and then talking about a true crime
or murder that’s happened
or something that’s true crime related
I know the 2
don’t make sense
but I mush them together
and this is what we got today
I want to talk about Lavina Johnson
have you heard about this story
so the thing is
this story like pisses me off to to the core
it makes me so angry
and I don’t know
I guess it’s just the whole idea of
when somebody bigger tries to
take advantage of somebody who’s much smaller than them
and they get away with it
that drives me absolutely up the wall
and so this story just like
pisses me off
and I will leave in the description box
the links if you want to look further into the story
or read up about it on your own
I’ll leave that in the description box as well
because there’s only so much I can cover to be
to be honest
so let’s just get into it
now here I go
the Johnson family grew up in Missouri
lavina in high school
she was an honor roll student
she was very smart
and she obviously wanted to go to college
when she graduated
so she told her family that
after high school
she actually want to join the military
and that way her college would be paid for
if she joined the military
her parents had no problem paying for college education
and paying for college in general
but she wanted to go to school out of state
so she lived in Missouri
and she wanted to go to college in California
and she wanted to work in the movie industry
since her father was in the military
and he was a retired veteran
she would follow in his footsteps
and join the military
have school paid for
just take initiative herself
and she didn’t want it to be a burden on her family
for them to pay
you know when you go to college out of state
all those fees that they add
she said I’m joining the military
let’s flash forward to 2005
lavina was stationed in Iraq
and she was a private
first class in the United States Army
at this point
she had been in Iraq for about 07:53 weeks
she would call home as often as she could
was pretty often
because she worked in the communications building
so she was around a telephone
all the time
so she would check in with the family
she would even write letters as well
and just see how the family is doing
she always sounded very positive in her letters
and from what her family said
just very upbeat positive
she was always trying to look at
the bright side
she was always excited to hear what was going on
with the family
she didn’t give off the impression that like
she wasn’t doing well at all
based off of what the family said
but also based off her letters
yeah she just seemed very positive
and I applaud her for that
because being in
I couldn’t imagine being in Iraq
being away from your family
it would be so scary
and she just seemed very positive though
so Lavina did mention early on
that there was some disrespect happening
in her letters
she mentioned that her fellow soldiers would call her
and any other of the women there
female warriors
and then they would call them
just females
and then they would call
them a soul
cause soul was half of a soldier
so July 14th 2005
um lavina called home
and she talked to her dad
about her day
she said she was locking up the communications building
just like any other night
but this night
the soldiers
that were inside of the communications building
were not listening to her
so she was saying like
that they had to leave
because the building was closing down
and that they needed to get out
this day like
the soldiers just were not listening to her
they were ignoring her
they weren’t moving
they weren’t getting up
they just were not listening to her
and then the general had showed up
and he ended up having to
kick the soldiers out
the general did not get upset with the soldiers
that weren’t listening to her
instead he got a little upset with Lavina
because she wasn’t being stern enough with the soldiers
the General told Lavina that she was too soft spoken
and nobody was going to listen to her
if she spoke
the way she did
that’s why nobody listens to her
is because she’s too soft spoken
and that she needs to
be more aggressive
lena’s dad was upset
hearing this
because he knew that
a general shouldn’t be
speaking to a private
the way that he was
speaking to her
so he just knew like
it wasn’t right
for the general
to be speaking to her
Lavina and her
in her position
the way he was
and it was upsetting to lavina’s father
that the general
didn’t get upset with the soldiers
instead getting mad with Lavina
so it just made her dad upset
dad is kind of worried for her
just like you need to get
a battle buddy
is what he told Lavina
so a battle buddy
is pretty much
someone that’s with you
all the time
who has your back
who is like
your shadow
so if she needs to
stand up to somebody
she has his partner there
who has her back
she kind of just told her dad like
I don’t feel comfortable
getting one of those
or I don’t feel comfortable
asking for a battle buddy
because I don’t
wanna ruffle anyone’s feathers
I don’t want
you know to bring more attention to myself
I don’t want to make it seem like I need help
she wanted to be able to do it on her own
and she didn’t want to ask for help
so she expressed that
she wasn’t comfortable doing that
and lavina’s father said
like you need to do this
I’ll give you some time
I’ll give you a chance to step up
and ask for one
but if you don’t
I’m gonna step up
and ask that
you have one
because you know
how you’re being treated
isn’t right
let her handle it
she’s grown up
just step away
like he was
just letting her
daughter do it
like he knew
she could do it
on her own go do it
and if you don’t
I’m gonna step up and do it
so it would come to
light later
maybe the reason
Lavina didn’t wanna
like speak up
and say anything
was because
lavina was recently
or had been recently
sexually assaulted
and she was also being
treated for an STD
it’s unknown
who the assaulter was
or whether it
had been fully reported
or documented
but it was not
known to the
Johnson family at all
that this had happened
she didn’t say anything
I think probably
because she didn’t want them to worry
so once after it happened
she was trying her best
just to lay low and not
cause any more
issues I mean
we don’t really know
what happened
like as far as
after she reported it
and she was being
treated for an STD
like we don’t know
did they blame her
did the person who did this to her
get in trouble
because there was no documents
there was just
nothing showing
that anything
really happened
she was sexually assaulted
and then it was just kinda
like moving on
so I’m assuming
when her father
had asked her
to get a battle
buddy that probably
went through her mind
like I don’t
wanna say anything
because I just
caused this
issue about
being assaulted
and you know
now I have to ask
for a battle buddy
like they’re just gonna
something was
obviously going on
where she didn’t feel safe
to even ask
for any type of help
so 3 days following that
last phone call
Lavina called home
saying that
she might get
to come home early
that she would be home
around Christmas time
and to not decorate
the Christmas tree
because that
was something
that she really
enjoyed doing
with her family
and that she was
gonna be home very sadly
that was the last time
the family spoke to Lavina
a couple of days
after that phone call
the family at home
the Johnson family
they got a knock
on the door
and it was a soldier
and he came to tell
the Johnson
family that
Lavina had died
family obviously
in complete shock
lavina’s mother
is just on the
floor crying
lavina’s father
is asking well
how could this be
how could she be dead
like we just talked to her
she lavina wasn’t in active combat
so they didn’t understand
how could she
how could she be
how could she die
she’s in a safe
place she worked
in the communications building
nothing was
going on over there
they kept asking
for more details
trying to figure out how
how could she be dead
there’s just
no way like
we need answers
the soldier
who was at the home
he think he
accidentally
slipped and said
that Lavina
took her own life
lavina’s father
just kind of
looks at the soldier like
are you telling me
that my daughter
killed herself
and the soldier
kept trying
to backtrack
like no I didn’t say that
they don’t know
how she died
I didn’t I didn’t say that
she took her own life
you know word vomit
that’s not what
they said at all
she they just wanted me
to tell you that
she passed away
so this kind of
raised obviously
some red flags
like why would he
randomly say that
she committed suicide
that just doesn’t make any
sense sorry
if I’m having a hard time talking
I’m having a very hard time talking
so the following day
they get a phone call
which is gonna
better explain
what happened to Lavina
the mother and father
of Lavina are
first of all
they’re just
your heart breaks for them
the mother is more of
she shows all of
her emotion
she’s crying
obviously she lost
her daughter
she lost her baby
she’s just very upset
her father is
upset as well
but he’s more of the
like I know
how this goes
I’ve been in
the situation
like I know that
they’re hiding more
I’m gonna talk to them
I’m gonna handle all this
and don’t worry
about it like
I don’t want
you to be more
upset by it
so let me handle
all of this
and then you just mourn
and I’m gonna find
the answers
so her father
steps up and
he is such like
a just a well
spoken calm
he’s upset but
like he’s just
you’re just
rooting for him
because they
just seem like
such good people again
I’m gonna list
links down below
where you could see
interviews with them
and you will just
like you just
wanna hug them
and help them
and yeah anyway
so her father
is the one who mainly
investigates
this more and
presses for answers
so he gets on the phone
and gets some
answers okay
well what happened
how did she die
on the phone
they explain
well she had
a normal day
she was at the
communications office
working and then
she got off
about 4 or 5 p m
So she locked up
the building
from the building
she would walk
to her physical
training but
she was found
in her physical
training sweats
so they assumed
that she was
on her way to
the physical
training the guys
on the phone
they told him
well she didn’t show up
to physical
training so
somebody went
looking for her
and she was just
kind of nowhere
to be found
eventually Lavina
was found in
a contractors room
and she was laying
on her back
in a pool of blood
with her arm
covering her face
why she was in her
contractors
room I don’t
I don’t know
there were photos
released now
that you can see
and it’s just such an
awful scene
so I will explain the photo
as best as I could
so lavina’s
laying on her back
and her left arm
I believe is
covering her face
on her right side
was a pile of
burned papers
on the left of Lavina
on the right hand
side of the
frame was a
green caught
and on the other
side of the
green caught
was an M 16 rifle
so right away
you’re thinking
well if she
killed herself
how did the gun get on
the other side
of the caught
doesn’t make any sense
the holidays
are just around the corner
are you looking for
the perfect gift
for your loved ones
well I mean
this past year
has really reminded us
of the importance
of sharing special moments
with our family
and friends
but sometimes
it could be
difficult to
stay in touch
when family
is far away
I totally know
that feeling
for a really
special gift
for the special people
in your life
check out before
lavina’s body
was sent back home
the army does
an autopsy and
they rule it
as a suicide
they say that
she Lavina she
took notes from
her boyfriend
at the time
they had been dating
for about 6 months
she then lit
them on fire
then she put
the M16 rifle
in her mouth
and she shot herself
the army said that
she was having
a hard time
with this boyfriend
and that’s why
she did it cause
she was just very
upset over this
boyfriend once
lavina’s body
had come back home
the army had
recommended
that they do
a closed casket
because of how
bad lavina’s
body was in
shape I mean
she took an M16
rifle and she
shot herself
you know do
significant damage
there should be
a lot of damage
if that is what
happened so
they recommended
that the family
do a closed
casket just
because of how
traumatic it was
but naturally
because her
parents are like
hmm there’s
just something
fishy going on
they decide to go
against that
and they do
an open casket
and I’m glad they did
because her
father notices
right away her
face was in
pristine condition
he did notice
a few things
so her nose
looked like
it had been broken
and shifted
to the side
but then it
looked like someone
tried to pop it
back into place
he also noticed
a bunch of small cuts
and bruises
on her face
and around her lips
and her teeth were
loose as well
like she had been
punched her
the only sign
that she had died
of a gunshot wound
was because
she had a small
bullet wound
on the left side
of her head
and it was small
first of all
and secondly
it was on the left
side of her
hand and she’s
right handed
I mean it was
on the left side
of her head
and she was
right handed
so the position
doesn’t make sense
plus it’s an M 16
if you don’t know
what an M 16 is
it’s pretty
effing huge
I can’t give you the
exact dimensions
because I don’t know
but I have seen
pictures of it
and it’s humongous right
lavina is 5ft one
she’s little
it it’s if your
if your M 16
is almost as
tall as you
how is she even
gonna reach
it pull the
trigger not
completely blow
her head off
I’m sorry but
you know it’s
just none of
it’s making
sense also they
were telling
the family that
she put the gun
in her mouth
how did she
put the gun
in her mouth
and on the left side
of her brain
left side of her
brain have a
small hole the
whole thing
none of it makes
sense it’s like
they didn’t
even try to
cover this up
properly they
were just like
suicide out
her dad was a vet
like he knew
what an M16
exit wound should
look like and
he knew the
small hole was not
was not that
and right away
he knew that
it was a 9mm
that was used
to shoot her
but there was nothing
about a 9mm
on the report
at all but wait
there is more
when they got
her body and
they opened
up the casket
they noticed that
her gloves were
glued onto her hands
when the family
had talked to
the funeral
director about this
they mentioned
the funeral
director they
mentioned like
gluing gloves
onto a hand
isn’t even a thing
so why they
glued these
gloves onto
lavina’s hand
they don’t know
I don’t know
if they ever
took off the
gloves from
her hands I’m
assuming they did
I didn’t really
see anything
or read anything
about like what
her hands look like
oh you know
what you know
I just thought of
they probably
glued it on
her hand so
they couldn’t
get any DNA
underneath her nails
or maybe they
like burned off
her fingers
or something
to make sure
they couldn’t
get any DNA
evidence from
her hands cause
you know if
look real talk
if somebody’s
attacking you
try your best
to scratch the
shit out of
them and get
as much DNA
under your goddamn
claws as you
possibly can
you hear me
if you learn anything
I pray that
it does not
happen to you
but if it does
make sure you
scratch the shit
out of them
okay don’t let
them get away
so lavina’s
family knew
this is not
a suicide okay
this is not a suicide
this is a cover
up one thing
that really
bothered lavina’s
father was that
there was no
rape kit done
they didn’t do
any fingernail
testing so they
hire a criminal
investigator
to take over the case
they know that
they’re not
gonna get anywhere
with the Army
they’re not
gonna get the
answers they want
and they just
have to do it
themselves they find
themselves up
against the
United States
Army who will
not budge on
their findings
they want nothing to do
with the case
they’re not just
gonna willingly
hand over any
information
about Lavina
unless they
have the proper
documents family
eventually does
get some documents
regarding Lavina
and like what
had happened
so these documents
contain the crime
scene images
they haven’t
even seen the
crime scene
yet I’m sure
nobody wants
to see that
but it’s important
they finally receive
these images
they are just
the worst and
lowest quality
you can think of
I’m talking
if you look at
these images
it’s like black and white
Xeroxed grainy
can’t really
make out what
anything is
nothing’s in
color it’s like
they just didn’t
even try to
give the family
the proper images
I mean why would they
they’re obviously
hiding something
but it was just
kind of it’s just
ridiculous it’s
like really
this is what
you’re sending me
all you can
see is like
shadows but
even from the
shadows they
could tell it
doesn’t make sense
so they see
like the grainy
like a shadow
of livina’s body
but they notice
that the gun
is on the other
side of that
cot so it’s
like okay this
right away yeah
you sent me this
grainy photo
but I can tell
right here this
doesn’t even
make sense so
another finding
in these documents
that the family
received was
that there was
no gunpowder
on her hands
on lavina’s
hands there
were witness
reports saying
that Lavina
was raped and
that she was also
being treated
for an STD so
this is the
first time now
that the family
is hearing about this
so what happened
what was the outcome
who did it it
just left him
with so many
more questions
no answers when he
asked anybody
from the army
they would always
just give him
the run around
I mean even
with all this
evidence thrown
in his face
in their faces
they still were
like no she
committed suicide
nothing we can
do about it
case closed
so in the documents
that they received
there was a
random page
and it was a
Xerox copy of
a CD ROM now
a lot of people
would say that
the Xerox copy
of the CD ROM
was an accident
that somebody
just mistakenly
like xeroxed
this CD ROM
and threw it in there
but the family
believed that
this was like
somebody trying
to give them
a hint or a clue
like there’s
actually a lot
more to this
and they’re
hiding it from
you and it’s
on the CD ROM
so of course
the battle begins
trying to get
this CD ROM
because US Army
is not just
gonna hand it over
no they’re not
lavina’s fathers
asking okay
I need this CD ROM
and they’re
giving him push
back like we’ll
give it to you
but you need
to get like
you need to
go to court
and get the correct
paperwork to
essentially
get this and
it’s not just
an easy process
of course the
army comes back
and says that
they can’t release the CD
ROM because
it has you know
other people’s
names on there
and they have the
right to to
their own privacy
you know and
then levine’s
father comes back
saying well
now I want the
CD ROM even
more because
if this has
to do with my
daughter’s death
or giving me answers
as far as what
happened to
my daughter
and these names
are in there
then I have
the right to
these people’s
information
and their names
because they
had something
to do with my
daughter’s murder
the US Army
still said you know
what we’re not
gonna give this
to you and if
you want it
you can get
a lawyer and
come after us
Johnson family
ended up going
straight to
congressman
for help so
they just like
one of them
so they went to
Congressman
Lacey Clay 2
years later
they finally
get the CD ROM
2 years later
it had the original
pictures in color
of the scene
of the crime
and it pretty
much showed
um it was all
photos of Lavina
her body her
surroundings
the gun her body
are said that
the autopsy
like her body
laid out um
with no clothing on
before they did
the autopsy
her body after the
it was just
like picture
by picture of
the whole process
these photos
were just hardcore proof
that she did not
commit suicide
which the family
already knew
in these images
on the CD ROM
on levine’s
body you could
see that she
had bruising
and cuts to
the face like
she had been
struck by a
blunt object
or instrument
her elbow it
had been popped
out of place
like you could
tell it was
dislocated on
her backside
it was covered
in mud dirt
debris like
she had been
dragged like
across the floor
pictures of
blood outside
of the tent
the images of her
where she was
fully undressed
showed even
just more there
were burn marks
on her hand
and her back
as if someone
was trying to
set fire to
her body she
had so much
like bruising
on her stomach
it looked like
when she was down
on the floor
somebody or
people were
trying to like
beat her up
on the floor
kicking her
and if that’s
not bad enough
the worst part of all
her lower regions
her genitals
there was acid
poured into her
lower regions
as if somebody
was trying to
get rid of any
type of DNA
evidence so
once again here’s
the family like
calling them up
like okay so
you’re telling me
that Lavina
beat herself
up I’m sorry
this isn’t fun
lavina beat
herself up okay
she took off
all her clothes
attempted to
set herself
on fire then
she poured acid
into her lower
regions put her
clothes back on
she then must
have dragged
herself across
the dirt and
then finally
after all of
that torture
she shot herself
so you’re telling me that’s what happened
what a joke right
so you know the US Army is like
well this case is closed
it’s a suicide
we’re not reopening it
okay so there’s actually more
as if that all wasn’t bad enough
so on the CD ROM
there are more images
and in these images it shows that lavina’s tongue
anus and part of her vagina were cut out
none of this
was even reported on the original autopsy report
and the theory is
based on the cuts and wounds around these areas
is a material called wound stat
was used on her
this material wound stat
is used in the field when someone is shot or hurt
it’s a liquid that goes into your open wound it hardens
and what it does is it prevents more bleeding
or just blood loss in general
in order for it to be removed from the body
it does have to be surgically removed removed
so you can’t just take it out
on your own
so it was believed
that the wound stat
was placed into these areas
it would cover up any more DNA evidence
because it would have to be cut out
like you can’t just take it out
so her family
they have done everything they can to keep fighting
and they are still fighting
the entire US government
to try and get answers
as to what happened to their daughter
they just want the US government
they just want this to go away
and they want absolutely nothing to do with it
they still have it listed as a suicide
and they report that there was no foul play
with lavina’s
I don’t know if they have fully gotten closure
on what had happened to their daughter
I was kind of trying to figure out like
where the family is now
and I couldn’t really find too much
that’s recent
they were doing a lot of interviews for a while
up until like 2009 2010
and then they just kind of
like stopped
so I hope they’re okay
lavina like stepped up
she went to the army
she was paying for her own school
she was really smart
she was an honorable student
she was just doing the right thing
she was following like
her father’s footsteps
she just wanted to go to school
that’s the only reason why she signed up for it
and in return
she gets murdered
and then covered up
and then like
the family is just completely dismissed
like nothing
they are saying
is credible
and that they’re crazy
for even doubting
what benefit does the military have
by not acknowledging this
like that’s what I have a hard time understanding
I mean yeah
I’m sure it doesn’t look good on them
this where they’re covering it up
and not even acknowledging that they have issues
going on inside the military
it’s like makes it look worse
so I don’t understand
why why why
I don’t get it
anyways I hope a lot of my rambles make sense
and I’m not trying to discredit the military at all
like if you were in the military
or if you know
someone who was in the military
I’m not trying to say like
they’re bad people at all
that that’s not what I’m trying to get at all
um I applaud you
joining the military and serving the country
because it’s honestly
something that I could never do
um I just don’t have the balls
I’m a bitch
like realistically
it takes a very strong person to do that
but I do think like
there are issues going on in the military
and why can’t they bring it to light
and why can’t they fix it
I just don’t understand
I’m very confused
again I apologize that this was kind of like
all over the place
I was really trying my best here
but I’m Day Quill
I’m not feeling well
rest in peace alina
and I really hope her family
found some kind of peace
I hope that you have a good day today
please make good choices out there
be safe I think that’s it
and I’ll see you guys later bye