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The latest episode of Dateline: The Last Day chronicled the 2010 LaNell Barsock murder case. The episode discussed LaNell Barsock's murder, the person who murdered her, and also gave an update on the current status of Barsock’s murderer. On June 16, 2010, a woman named Larene Eleanor Austin rushed to a police station in Palmdale, California, claiming that someone had killed her friend. Ultimately, after an extensive investigation, it was concluded that Austin herself murdered her alleged ex-girlfriend.
29-year-old LaNell Barsock was pretty well off and maintained a friendly relationship with most of her peers and acquaintances. Thus, it was quite shocking that the life of such a wonderful person ended in a hate-fueled crime. LaNell Barsock’s body was found with a plastic bag wrapped around her head, lying in a pool of blood. Officers initially believed the victim was bludgeoned to death, but an autopsy soon determined that she was shot in the head. Suspicions grew further as there were no signs of a forced entry, and nothing looked stolen, indicating that the victim knew her attacker.
Who killed LaNell Barsock and why?
Larene Austin, LaNell Barsock's friend who came to report her murder, claimed that she had overheard Barsock and her boyfriend, Louis Bonheur, arguing hours before the murder. According to the show, Barsock was seeing two men simultaneously. Austin claimed that Louis had found out about the other guy and was furious and confronted Barsock. She also alleged that Louis was alone with Barsock’s dead body when she reached the crime scene for the first time.
The police took Larene’s statement into consideration and began looking into Louis and even questioned him about the incident. However, Louis seemed devastated by Barsock’s death and claimed he had nothing to do with the murder. Louis also had an airtight alibi and surveillance videos that clearly put him in a different place at the time of the murder. Authorities continued to investigate and law enforcement officials probed further until they came across a piece of shocking information.
The police then discovered that LaNell Barsock was also interested in women and had, at times, dabbled in online dating to meet women. They also learned that Larene Austin was not just LaNell Barsock’s friend but that they had met through a dating ad on Craigslist, and the two were involved for some time before Barsock decided to break it off. However, the breakup did not sit well with Larene, who bore a grudge against Barsock and was waiting for revenge. According to True Crime Daily, Larene was also unemployed and in massive debt. This discovery gave Larene enough motive to carry out a murder and made her a prime suspect in the investigation.
Detectives also found a pair of bloodied rubber gloves at the crime scene, which had Larene’s DNA on them. After forensic evidence tied Larene to the crime, the suspect fled to the Central American country of Belize and thus could not be detained by the police immediately. For quite some time, her whereabouts remained unknown until a TV show helped detectives locate and arrest her in a foreign country. Once arrested and produced in court, Larene pled not guilty, but the jury convicted her of first-degree murder.
Where Is Larene Austin Now?
In August 2015, a jury found Austin guilty of first-degree murder and she was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 50 years before parole. She was also found guilty of trying to frame Louis Bonheur for LaNell's murder.
