Murder, Mystery & Makeup - It WAS a Cover Up: LaVena Johnson

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