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had witnessed Randy pulling Avila onto his lap at a party. At the time, Avila had told Randy she was not interested in rekindling their relationship and advised
Severson to break up with Randy. The incident angered Severson and she stopped speaking to Avila. Ten days before Avila's death, the two got into a physical altercation in a neighborhood park. According to witnesses, Severson threatened Avila with a broken beer bottle and then pushed and slapped her.
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158:; Severson reportedly grew jealous of Avila because she was considered more popular and attractive. Severson was also upset because Avila began spending less time with her, opting to spend her time with boys. Severson later started a rumor that Avila had been having sex with various boys. As a result, Avila was beaten up by a group of girls who accused her of sleeping with their boyfriends.
321:, and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The jurors later said they were not convinced that the murder was planned and rejected the first degree murder charge. Karen Severson was released from prison on December 9, 2011, after serving 21.5 years. Laura Doyle was released from prison in December 2012 after serving 22 years.
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314:. Both girls accused her of having sex with their boyfriends and told her that she had messed up too many relationships. The two then held Avila face down in approximately six inches of water. To hold her body down in the water, the two placed a 4 foot (1.2 m), 100 lb (45 kg) log on her body.
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in high school, Avila began dating a boy named Randy. Avila broke the relationship off after a month due to Randy's constant partying. Shortly after the break up, Severson and Randy began a relationship and eventually moved into an apartment together. Severson later told Avila's mother Irene that she
264:
On
October 1, 1985, Avila told her mother that she was going out with one of her school friends, Laura Doyle. Doyle picked Avila up and the two left. Four hours later, Doyle called Avila's mother and asked to speak to Missy. After Avila's mother told Doyle that she thought her daughter was with her,
301:
daughter" (although this is disputed by
Severson). Severson was also seemingly obsessed with the murder. She visited Avila's grave several times a week, covered the walls of her room with pictures of Avila and newspaper clippings about the crime, and repeatedly visited the creek where Avila's body
296:
Irene Avila later said she had no reason to suspect
Severson or Doyle were involved in her daughter's death. Both had attended Avila's funeral and Doyle sent the family a sympathy card along with $ 20. Severson also moved in with Irene Avila for a time to console her and become a
305:
Police had no leads in the case and the case went cold. On July 26, 1988, Eva
Chirumbolo, another teen who had taken the 45-minute drive into the mountains, came forward and told police about the murder. Severson and Doyle were arrested and charged with
324:
After
Severson, out of prison, began promoting a memoir about the crime and her prison experience and made a deal to have a film produced, Avila's family sued her in 2015, seeking to take the profits of the sales. Because of this, the
138:(February 8, 1968 – October 1, 1985) was an American teenager who was murdered by her former best friends and rivals, Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, in October 1985.
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passed Missy's Law, requiring entities who are helping publish works made by criminals to contact the families of the victims about the said works.
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154:. Michele Avila and Karen Severson had been best friends since they were eight years old. The two girls began to grow apart when they entered
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in six inches of water, her waist-length hair was hacked off and there was a four-foot log found on top of her body.
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634:"Book Review: Tale of Girl's Slaying in 1985 Is Elevated to the Level of Myth: "Missy's Murder" by Karen Kingsbury"
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498:"Karen Severson Swore She'd Find Her Best Friend's Murderer—Now She Stands Accused of the Crime"
801:"Convicted Murderer Karen Severson Gives Her Account of What Happened the Day Missy Avila Died"
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was found. At one point, she told Irene Avila that she had seen
Michele's ghost.
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Doyle told her that she had dropped Avila off with three boys driving a blue
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461:"Last woman convicted in Missy Avila murder released from prison on Monday"
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827:""In Plain Sight" Circle of Distrust (TV Episode 2018) - IMDb"
663:"Killer's impending release painful for slain girl's family"
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On
January 13, 2012, the case was featured on an episode of
603:"TV Reviews: Devilish Plotting in 'A Killer Among Friends'"
716:"Murder victim's family celebrates signing of Missy's Law"
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On March 31, 2013, the case was featured on an episode of
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documented the case in the episode "Circle of
Distrust."
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In March 1990, Severson and Doyle were convicted of
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On
October 4, Avila's body was found face down in a
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692:Michaelson, Elex; Lisa Bartley (2015-03-24).
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420:List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
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571:"Two women sentenced in jealousy drowning"
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632:Colvin, Richard Lee (December 5, 1991).
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739:Deadly Wom': Deadly Delinquents: S5E19"
496:Kingsbury, Karen (September 18, 1989).
459:Bartholomew, Dana (December 10, 2012).
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538:"2 women sentenced for drowning teen"
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1002:Violence against women in California
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977:Incidents of violence against girls
661:Bartholomew, Dana (July 11, 2011).
987:Missing person cases in California
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952:Child murder in the United States
937:1985 murders in the United States
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579:. UPI. March 10, 1990. p. 7
351:The case also inspired a movie,
714:Michaelson, Elex (2015-10-06).
601:Loynd, Ray (December 8, 1992).
962:Deaths by person in California
185:Los Angeles County, California
72:Los Angeles County, California
16:Murder of an American teenager
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506:. Vol. 32, no. 12.
102:San Fernando Mission Cemetery
55:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
546:. March 11, 1990. p. A8
374:called "Deadly Delinquents".
136:Michele Yvette "Missy" Avila
232:Laura Doyle, Karen Severson
83:Homicide by forced drowning
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992:Murder committed by minors
927:1980s missing person cases
543:Spartanburg Herald-Journal
338:The case inspired a book,
776:: Murdered for Jealousy?"
280:in Big Tujunga Canyon in
193:October 1, 1985
146:Michele Avila grew up in
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396:On October 5, 2018, the
292:Conviction and aftermath
284:. She had been forcibly
156:San Fernando High School
128:San Fernando High School
972:Formerly missing people
780:Investigation Discovery
576:Ellensburg Daily Record
425:Murder of Shanda Sharer
398:Investigation Discovery
383:called "Deadly Forest".
348:, who covered the case.
282:Angeles National Forest
177:Murder of Michele Avila
92:Angeles National Forest
667:Los Angeles Daily News
466:Los Angeles Daily News
430:Murder of Skylar Neese
359:Tiffani-Amber Thiessen
354:A Killer Among Friends
982:Murder in Los Angeles
967:Female murder victims
997:Murder in California
435:Slender Man stabbing
319:second degree murder
257:Second-degree murder
42:Michele Yvette Avila
957:Crime in California
899:Greater Los Angeles
807:. December 18, 2014
327:State of California
308:first degree murder
152:San Fernando Valley
148:Arleta, Los Angeles
80:Cause of death
942:1990 in California
932:1985 in California
333:In popular culture
161:During the girls'
835:. 5 October 2018.
638:Los Angeles Times
608:Los Angeles Times
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380:Unusual Suspects
269:. After getting
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52:February 8, 1968
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749:. July 28, 2015
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88:Body discovered
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854:Find a Grave
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809:. Retrieved
805:Dr. Phil.com
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783:. Retrieved
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751:. Retrieved
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720:. Retrieved
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698:. Retrieved
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677:February 20,
675:. Retrieved
671:the original
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641:. Retrieved
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612:. Retrieved
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583:February 20,
581:. Retrieved
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550:February 20,
548:. Retrieved
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522:February 21,
520:. Retrieved
516:the original
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470:. Retrieved
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415:Child murder
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371:Deadly Women
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229:Perpetrators
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66:(1985-10-01)
357:, starring
312:promiscuity
253:Convictions
206:Attack type
163:junior year
119:Missy Avila
108:Nationality
921:Categories
722:2018-11-16
700:2018-11-16
441:References
363:Patty Duke
197:1985-10-01
142:Background
48:1968-02-08
875:Biography
811:March 19,
785:March 19,
753:March 19,
643:March 18,
614:March 19,
512:0093-7673
472:March 19,
299:surrogate
150:, in the
124:Education
409:See also
389:Dr. Phil
215:drowning
182:Location
111:American
861:Portals
718:. ABC 7
696:. ABC 7
400:series
286:drowned
245:Verdict
240:Unclear
195: (
746:Wn.com
510:
503:People
278:stream
267:Camaro
248:Guilty
237:Motive
221:Victim
211:Murder
170:Murder
74:, U.S.
911:1980s
832:IMDb
813:2017
787:2017
755:2017
679:2013
645:2017
616:2017
585:2013
552:2013
524:2013
508:ISSN
474:2017
391:show
361:and
190:Date
61:Died
38:Born
887:Law
852:at
344:by
271:gas
213:by
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
