It's a call that no parent of a military member on active duty in the Middle East ever wants to get. On July 19, 2005, the parents of Pfc. LaVena Johnson got the call that their daughter, not quite 20, had died. Worse, the army told them that she had died of self-inflicted, non-combat wounds.

But did she?

KMOV-TV:

The army ruled her death a suicide, the victim of a gunshot wound to the head.

In documents and autopsy photos obtained by the Johnson family and shared with News 4, more questions are raised than answered.

One strange fact was that Lavena was apparently abused, physically, and the autopsy didn't address the physical trauma to her body.

[..]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?

Based on the autopsy photos, her father believes that she was raped.

A web petition has been started to reopen the investigation into the deathof Pfc. LaVena Johnson and you can add your voice to others to help.