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SOUTHLAND : 2 Women Get 15 Years to Life in ’85 Drowning of Classmate

<i> From Times Wire Services</i>

Two Arleta women were sentenced to 15 years to life today for the murder of a 17-year-old high school classmate who was drowned in a mountain creek because the killers believed she was having affairs with their boyfriends.

Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, both 22, stared forward and showed no emotion when sentenced by Pasadena Superior Court Judge Jack B. Tso. The women were convicted Jan. 31 of the second-degree murder of Michele (Missy) Avila who was drowned Oct. 1, 1985, in a creek in the Big Tujunga Canyon area of the Angeles National Forest.

Severson and Doyle received the maximum sentence for second-degree murder. Tso said the sentences were warranted because of the violence of the crime. “It seems to be a vengeful thing,” Tso said.

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