Wednesday, May 4, 2022

The Murder of Lauren Juma

 

Lauren Juma (16) was murdered inside her Humble, Texas home on April 29th, 2022. The young girl was reportedly shot to death by her mother's boyfriend, Van Brisbon (60). Brisbon was arrested just moments after the shooting and has been charged with Lauren's murder.


Lauren's mother
Laurie Young had been dating Brisbon for five years. She is reportedly both baffled and devastated by Brisbon's actions. According to Laurie, Brisbon and Lauren had a typical stepfather-stepdaughter relationship. A motive for Lauren's murder remains unclear at this time, but investigators believe Brisbon sexually assaulted her before killing her. Lauren was reportedly found with her pants down, and when police arrived at the house, Brisbon was seen pulling his pants up.

Shortly before the shooting, Lauren called both her older sister and her mother to report that Brisbon was "acting weird". In fact, Lauren was on FaceTime with her mother, telling her that "Brisbon was standing inside her room in the dark and she wanted her mom to tell him to get out." Her mother told him to get out, but just a few seconds later, Lauren shouted, "Mom! He has a gun!" The FaceTime call abruptly ended after that.

Lauren's mother Laurie was out of town and could not quickly rush home. Instead, Lauren's sister Keryca Harmon rushed over to pick Lauren up. Brisbon would not allow Keryca into the house, so Keryca called 9-1-1 to report that Brisbon was holding her sister hostage. As Harris County officers arrived on the scene, they heard gunshots. Shortly thereafter, Brisbon emerged from the house. Police then entered the home and found Lauren dead from a gunshot wound. Brisbon was taken into custody moments later. 

A judge set Brisbon's bail at $2 million. He remains behind bars as his charges are pending. 

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