Houston police search home after woman’s body found in car following chase

Surveillance video showed the suspect loading Briana Tierra Johnson's dead body into her car trunk.

Nov 30, 2020

Investigators in Houston searched a home in the city after discovering the body of Briana Tierra Johnson in the trunk of a car at the end of a police chase.

A white Honda being driven by Victor Campbell Jr. was spotted speeding Saturday in Chambers County, Texas. When state troopers tried to pull him over, he sped off, sparking the chase that ended in a crash near a church resale shop and the unearthing of Johnson’s corpse.

The body of Briana Tierra Johnson, 28, was found in the trunk of a car at the end of a police chase in Houston on Saturday.

Campbell was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital and taken to Jefferson County Jail.

Johnson’s home was searched, and police sources told ABC 13 surveillance video showed Campbell backing the woman’s car up to her door and loading her body in the trunk early Saturday morning.

“We found items on the scene that could link the persons involved back to this address,” said Houston Police Department Detective Cory Arrington.

Campbell faces charges for felony evading arrest, driving while intoxicated, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. Additional felony charges may be added, police said.

According to a local report, Houston “detectives could offer no concrete information on the relationship between the male in custody and the deceased. They believe they were dating, but unknown if they were in a relationship or just friends.”

Johnson, a graduate of Texas Southern University, shared her passion for makeup on a popular YouTube channel. A GoFundMe account was created by her aunt to help with her funeral expenses.

Nicknamed “Ana,” the 28-year-old was described as “the sweetest person in the world.”

An autopsy of Johnson’s body has been ordered, and her death is now being investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Ranger Division, in cooperation with the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division, the Beaumont Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators have offered a $1,000 reward for information via Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas.

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