Who is Army Pvt. Lavena Lynn Johnson?

She would have celebrated her 22nd birthday on July 27th, but was killed in Iraq on July 19th, 2005.

Evidence in the case points to assault and murder. However, the Army has been covering up the killing, calling the soldier's death a suicide instead. The Army has refused to provide the family with key documents, and has ignored the families attempts to find answers in their daughter's death.

Immediately after her death, the Army told the Johnson family that Lavena did not die from suicide. But a few days later, the Army changed its story and called it a suicide by way of a self-inflicted gunshot. The case was never properly investigated. The FBI should have taken over this case, once it appeared that foul play was involved.
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In May 2007, Lavena Johnson's body was exhumed and an independent autopsy was performed. The final report is still pending. The Army is still stonewalling the family and Congress regarding documents and other evidence in the case.
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(T)his case deserves national attention, and the FBI should get involved. From seeing other cases in Iraq involving Iraqi civilians, we know that these kinds of events have taken place. The problem with these kinds of cases involving soldiers overseas is that evidence is lost and potential witnesses and suspects are reassigned to other bases over a certain period of time. But this is exactly why this needs to be an FBI case, because any new case would involve several jurisdictions.

The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (or CID), which is typically responsible for investigating crimes on Army installations, has proved that: 1) It may not have the resources and/or the manpower to investigate such a complex case, and 2) It has shown that it is not trustworthy in terms of being an impartial entity in this case. This is especially important if the offender or offenders were Army officers…and if the Army itself is involved in this cover-up.

Let's bring national attention to this issue so that justice can be served...for Lavena, her family, and for the other young women in the military who may have found themselves in similar situations (or will in the future), and may not have known how to seek help if help was even available at all.

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Johnson's parents also question how their daughter at 5’1”, could handle a 40 inch M-16 to kill herself while sitting.

In fact, a military laboratory even concluded that based on a gunshot residue test, Johnson may not have even handled the weapon.

Additionally, Johnson's military debit card was never found, even though she used it two hours before her death to buy candy.

No bullet was ever found where she died, and a trail of blood is seen in photos outside the tent. Even stranger, it appears as if someone tried to set her body on fire.

So if it wasn't a suicide as the Army maintains, then how did Lavena Johnson die?