BEAUMONT, Texas — Autopsy results show a Houston woman found in the trunk of a car following a chase that ended in Beaumont was strangled.
Preliminary autopsy results show that Briana Johnson, 28, of Houston, died due to "manual strangulation" according to Jefferson County Precinct One Justice of the Peace Ben Collins, Sr.
Houston Police and the Texas Rangers are pursuing homicide charges in the case Collins said Friday morning.
Johnson's body was found inside the trunk of a car after a high-speed chase that started in Chambers County and ended near downtown Beaumont last weekend.
Victor Campbell Jr., 35, of Fresno, Texas, was the driver of the car, Texas DPS said in a news release. He is still behind bars while authorities continue the investigation.
The crime started in the Houston area, but Johnson's death is still a mystery.
The investigation has centered on at least two locations, a home in Houston that was searched Sunday and the trunk of the wrecked car in Beaumont where she was found on Saturday, November 28, 2020.
Campbell is the primary suspect in the case.
Texas DPS State Troopers in Chambers County tried to pull him after a 911 caller reported him for reckless driving.
The attempted traffic stop led to a wild high-speed chase that ended at the Treasure House of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in downtown Beaumont.
Friends said that Johnson and Campbell were in a relationship and they are surprised the confident and beautiful Texas Southern University student is gone.
Campbell is still in the Jefferson County Jail with DWI charges, tampering with evidence and evading detention in a motor vehicle.
