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The fifth episode of Peacock's new true crime series, Dateline: The Last Day, focuses on the murder of a nurse named LaNell Barsock. The official synopsis of the episode reads:
''LaNell Barsock, a caring nurse who worked hard to get ahead in life, is gunned down in her own home; detectives think they know who the killer is, but security footage from her last day sends the investigation in a whole new direction.''
The episode, titled The Case of LaNell Barsock, delves deep into the circumstances surrounding the death, and the subsequent investigation. Read further ahead to find out more details about LaNell Barsock and her death.
Dateline: The Last Day: Who was LaNell Barsock?
LaNell Barsock was a 29-year-old nurse from Palmdale, California. Per True Crime Daily, Detective Joe Espino mentioned that Barsock was a ''very successful and attractive'' woman. On June 16, 2010, Barsock's panick-stricken friend, Larene Austin, rushed to the authorities, reporting that she'd found her dead in her home. Police found Barsock collapsed in her garage, covered in blood. They also found a plastic bag around the victim's head.
Authorities initially deduced that the nurse was bludgeoned to death. But an autopsy revealed that Barsock was shot in the head. Police also found a letter, seemingly written by Barsock, which mentioned that she was leaving her boyfriend, Louis Bonheur, for another man.
According to True Crime Daily, Barsock had mentioned that her friend was involved in a heated argument with her boyfriend Louis Bonheuer. As a result, suspicion immediately fell on Bonheur. He was soon arrested but maintained his innocence, saying he was in Los Angeles at the time of Barsock's murder. As the police delved deeper into his story, they discovered that Bonheur was at a store in Los Angeles when the murder happened. They found security camera footage from two stores in LA showing Bonheur.
Dateline: The Last Day: Who killed LaNell Barsock?
Subsequent investigation led to the discovery that Larene Austin was also interested in women. Larene and LaNell met via an ad on Craigslist and were involved in a romantic relationship. Larene reportedly had plans to move in with LaNell. However, LaNell allegedly broke off the relationship, angering Larene, which gave police the motive they were looking for. According to True Crime Daily, Larene was also unemployed and in massive debt.
In a significant development, police discovered that a pair of bloody gloves obtained from the crime scene had Larene's DNA on them. Subsequently, authorities uncovered several incriminating pieces of evidence. They believed that she shot Barsock to death and had initially planned to dump her body in the desert. But she decided to frame Barsock's boyfriend after the original plan did not work. They also believed that the letter found at the crime scene was written by Larene to make it look like Louis had a motive to murder his girlfriend.
However, the police couldn't arrest Larene as she fled to Belize. In January 2012, Larene was arrested and sent back to the United States for trial. She was eventually found guilty of murdering Barsock and trying to frame her boyfriend, Louis Bonheur. In 2015, she received a life sentence with no parole available until 50 years.
