how much you care has not. that's why instagram is introducing teen accounts. automatic protections for who can contact them and the content they can see. ♪♪ " and the content they can see. ♪♪ joe espino: you could see where she'd been dragged across the carpet into the garage. bob kenney: we made the assumption that whoever had done this killing knew the victim.

what happened leading up to these events? joe espino: he says, you've got to help me find the murderer. and i'm thinking to myself, i'm looking at the murderer right now. it was a dark side. he was a very jealous and controlling individual. phillipe louis-john: i couldn't see that guy hurting a fly. there's no way possible. joe espino: she took on our victim's name. she kind of took over our victim's persona. bob kenney: plan a was stuff the body in the trunk and then leave. joe espino: now plan b went into effect. we saw those video tapes. that was like an aha moment. josh mankiewicz: that's when a bright light goes on. we're both shaking our heads going, there's something wrong here.

hello, and welcome to "dateline." nurse lanell barsock went out of her way to be kind. she enjoyed helping people and was always there for her friends. but no one could help lanell when she was murdered. police made a quick arrest, but as detectives continued to dig, they uncovered a diabolical plot fueled by jealousy and rage. here is josh mankiewicz with "the breakup." josh mankiewicz: on wednesday morning, bright and sunny in palmdale, california, about 60 miles north of los angeles. the perfect day for two girlfriends to hang out. except this ordinary afternoon was hiding something. it really just blew my mind. like what? i couldn't believe it. josh mankiewicz: a plot so sinister, so stunning, it took even seasoned detectives

by surprise. the lights start to go on that we're heading in the wrong direction. josh mankiewicz: the sun was setting as a woman rushed into the palmdale sheriff's station. she was frantic, her clothes covered in blood. the woman said the horror began when she'd walked barefoot into her friend's garage. it was dark inside and she slipped on something wet. josh mankiewicz: she fell. and as she sat there, a terrible scene began to come into focus. there was blood everywhere. josh mankiewicz: she told deputies she recognized her friend's pedicure and took a closer look. josh mankiewicz: her friend was lying face up on the garage floor next to her car.

josh mankiewicz: the woman making the report was la'rene austin. police snapped these photos of her that night while the blood was still on her. the victim, she told deputies, was her friend of 10 years, lanell barsock. one hour later, the call went out to homicide detectives. i had actually taken my tie off, had dinner, and the call came in, put my tie back on, and off i went. josh mankiewicz: detectives joe espino and bob kenney of the la county sheriff's homicide bureau were on call that june night. and the person on the other end of the phone told me to wake up, get dressed, and get pretty, because i was heading out to the beautiful city of palmdale. josh mankiewicz: they made their way from la to palmdale and to lanell's house, now an active crime scene. what can you tell early on just by your first walk through?

bob kenney: the house was a very nice house, very large. i believe it was 3,400 square feet. it was a nice area of palmdale. josh mankiewicz: the investigators discovered lanell and her live in boyfriend, louis bonheur, had just bought the house less than a year before. joe espino: and they were still in the process of filling out the house. a lot of the rooms were empty. they were still putting up window shades and things like that. josh mankiewicz: as they worked their way through the home, nothing appeared to be out of place. well, almost nothing. so you go from the living room into the family room. and the family room looks like a normal family room. the only thing that's odd about it is there's a void on the floor. it looked like there had been an area rug there, but was gone. josh mankiewicz: it wasn't until they came to the laundry room that odd turned to alarming. joe espino: there was several bloody towels on the floor and several clean towels on top of a washer and dryer, but they were all in disarray, as if they'd been tossed around. and there was blood on the floor.

and that looks odd. josh mankiewicz: detectives made their way from the laundry room to the garage. on the floor, more bloody towels, the plastic sheeting, la'rene said she slipped on, and trash bags filled with what appeared to be bloodied bedding. joe espino: the victim's car had been parked in the garage, backed in, and the trunk was open. bob kenney: we walked around the car and we find the body with the head towards the rear wheels and the feet are towards the front of the car. josh mankiewicz: 29-year-old lanell was pronounced dead at the scene. the cause, a gunshot wound to the head. she had a black plastic bag over her head. yes. what does that say? it says a couple of things. whoever put this bag on her did it for two reasons, i think. number one was to contain the amount of blood. josh mankiewicz: and reason number two? usually when somebody puts a plastic bag or any type of covering over a victim's face,

it means they don't want to see that person or they don't want that person who is deceased watching them. so we made the assumption that whoever had done this killing knew the victim. josh mankiewicz: they soon learned they might be right about that. the sergeant who'd taken down la'rene's statement arrived at the crime scene to brief detectives. la'rene recounted how almost immediately after discovering lanell's body, she'd heard a noise. josh mankiewicz: and in the same moment realized she wasn't alone in the house. josh mankiewicz: it was a man. la'rene said she instantly recognized him. josh mankiewicz: as in louis bonheur, lanell's boyfriend of four years.

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type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis.

gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. josh mankiewicz: detectives kenney and espino were trying to piece together the short life

and brutal death of nurse lanell barsock. it was an unthinkable end for a woman devoted to helping others. lanell grew up in south los angeles. friends told detectives she had a bubbly personality and was always smiling. she was also ambitious and worked hard through nursing school. that's where she met friend marcel fomotar. marcel fomotar: we were taking the pre-nursing classes. lanell wanted to be a registered nurse. she was actually a licensed vocational nurse, and she wanted to further her career by becoming a full nurse. josh mankiewicz: marcel had recently emigrated from cameroon when he and lanell first met. when we leave africa, when we come here, it's kind of challenging to integrate to society. and for me, she was that kind of person who was willing to help. josh mankiewicz: and he wasn't the only one lanell helped.

louis bonheur came here from haiti and had only been in the country about a year when he and lanell met. he was taking english classes at the same school and was waiting for the bus one day after class when lanell offered him a ride home. soon the two were inseparable. phillipe louis-john: the relationship blossomed. the love blossomed between them. you could tell they loved each other. yeah. josh mankiewicz: philippe louis-jean is one of louis's oldest friends. the two met when louis first arrived in the us back in 2005. the first time we went out to a nightclub, and i think it may have been his first time going out in america in general. and the look on his face, just the appreciation to be partaking in something like this and to be free and safe and happy listening to music, and it was just pure, innocent joy in his face that you don't often see in an adult male.

josh mankiewicz: it was that innocence that made philippe a little worried for his friend when louis told him about the new woman in his life. she was an american woman. and i would often tell louis maybe a little bit too much for him to handle. josh mankiewicz: it didn't matter. the couple was smitten. they dated a few years and eventually moved in together. by then, louis worked for the maintenance department for the city of hawthorne, while lanell worked at a health center in la. in 2009, they bought that house in palmdale together. there were even plans for marriage on the horizon. that bliss would not last. i believe she was in love with him. but over time, you could tell that it was waning and their relationship got strained. how could you tell that? so she would talk about the fights they would have.

and she eventually would talk about the fact that she doesn't want the relationship anymore. and she even went further to tell me she was no longer intimate with him. and i think that was towards when she died. what were they fighting about? marcel fomotar: she would talk about finances. she didn't think he was managing his money well. and she was not too happy that he wasn't really serious about building a career for himself. josh mankiewicz: was there trouble in paradise? investigators were definitely getting that old familiar feeling. joe espino: there was a dark side that people didn't know about louis. and that was that he was a very jealous and controlling individual. josh mankiewicz: those closest to lanell told detectives louis kept close track of his girlfriend. we were told by several people that he would get lanell's phone and he'd go through it to see who texted her.

he would call numbers he didn't recognize. he would go to her work and stake her out at lunchtime to see who she went to lunch with. he would ask to see if she even showed up at work in case she was playing hooky. josh mankiewicz: in april, just a few months before lanell's murder, sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call at lanell and louis's home. it hadn't gotten physical, so no charges were filed. after her murder, lanell's mom, bobbie, told them about another more troubling incident that same month. joe espino: lanell told louis that she was leaving him and she left in her car and louis chased her in his truck and tried to run her off the road and actually collided into her, broke her window, and scraped the side of her car. josh mankiewicz: now lanell was gone and the prime suspect, her oh so jealous and yikes, so controlling boyfriend,

louis bonheur. and one more thing. louis wasn't the only person investigators wanted to talk with. because detectives discovered, although louis's obsessive behavior had made him a suspect, it turned out he was actually onto something. so louis was clearly acting jealous, controlling, possessive. but he wasn't wrong. there was another guy in lanell's life. yes, there was. with vaseline, hydrated skin is just the beginning. level up to even toned,

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wait, can i do both? let me ask my mentor. of course, you can. bring someone along on your journey, and see where it takes you. josh mankiewicz: 6:00 am, the morning after lanell barsock's murder. detectives were speaking with their most helpful witness so far, her friend la'rene. she'd spent all night at the sheriff's station. we didn't know much about la'rene austin at that point other than the fact that she was supposed to be a very good friend with the victim. she also knew louis, the boyfriend. josh mankiewicz: la'rene told detectives she and lanell, or crystal, as she called her, met in high school in la. now she lived near lanell and louis and said she saw firsthand how the couple's

fighting had escalated in the days leading up to the murder. la'rene said it was all because of one man. josh mankiewicz: lanell and ike were literally a four month fling. joe espino: they met on a site called fling.com, and they started dating. and ike worked in sacramento as a flight nurse. and he would come down on his days off to palmdale and he would visit lanell whenever louis wasn't around. josh mankiewicz: detectives learned that a couple of months before the murder, louis overheard the two on the phone and became furious. ike said he could hear louis screaming on the other end of the line. he's the one who put in a long distance call to 911. ike became very concerned about lanell's safety. so he called the local sheriff's department to have them respond. and they resolved it without an arrest being made.

josh mankiewicz: that did not settle it, la'rene said. she told detectives the couple continued to argue right up until the week lanell died. josh mankiewicz: and she told detectives the day before lanell died, louis learned about a secret phone she was carrying. there was a cell phone that ike had give in lanell so that they could communicate secretly. that alone takes you past the friend zone. yes. josh mankiewicz: la'rene said a big argument ended with lanell promising to no longer like ike. you got a pretty classic love triangle going on here. am i wrong to think that at some point you would have looked at where ike was and what he was doing at the time of the murder? oh, we had to figure out where ike was. and he had an alibi? yes, he had a very good alibi.

which was what? he was interviewing for a job at university of california at davis. so he was there near sacramento. and you talked to the person he was interviewing with? correct. josh mankiewicz: that cleared ike as a suspect. so detectives turned back to louis. ike, they thought, provided him with all the motive in the world. what he believed was happening with ike was happening. they were both competing for the same woman. correct. josh mankiewicz: detectives wanted very much to know where louis was and what he was doing on that last day of lanell's life. la'rene told detectives louis was home when she arrived sometime after 9:30. she was going to weave lanell's hair. an hour later, la'rene said, louis headed over to her boyfriend's house in la to get his truck fixed. bob kenney: on a good day, it's an hour and a half with no traffic.

josh mankiewicz: as la'rene braided lanell's hair, the subject of that secret cell phone resurfaced. lanell said she couldn't find it. it turns out louis had taken it with him. louis has this phone. louis has it. he was told the phone was dead. and he finds out the phone is not dead. somebody has added minutes to it. so he turns around and goes back to confront lanell with this newfound information. because now he's got proof that she's actually still continuing this relationship with this other guy. correct. joe espino: he shows up around 11:30. the argument ensues. why is that phone turned on? you told me, you promised me that it was going to be off. josh mankiewicz: lanell snatched the phone from louis. then she and la'rene decided to get out of the house. they drove to a nearby beauty supply store to get some hair products. at 12:05 pm, the shop's security video caught these last images of lanell barsock.

joe espino: she's there for 12 minutes, purchases some products. she comes out at 12:17. louis had followed them to the store. josh mankiewicz: la'rene told detectives the two had it out until lanell finally handed the cell phone back to louis. that seemed to be enough to calm him down. then they got back to the house and the fight restarted. after about an hour of them going at it, la'rene said she'd had enough. josh mankiewicz: she told them she walked to a nearby park and stayed there for a few hours before returning to the house around 6:30 pm and finding lanell dead. bob kenney: at which point she sees louis, who is at the top of the stairs. josh mankiewicz: la'rene said she ran out to her car in a panic and couldn't find her cell phone to call 911,

so she drove straight to the sheriff's station. she also said louis wasn't done. joe espino: while en route, she sees that now he's chasing her in his truck. and she says, no question, this is louis? absolutely no question at all. 100% it's louis. josh mankiewicz: la'rene told detectives louis stopped following her as she got closer to the station. now he was nowhere to be found. so the search for louis bonheur was on. when you live with diabetes, progress is... having your coffee like you like it without an audience. ♪♪ [silence] the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time so everyone else doesn't have to, and over time it can help lower your a1c confident choices for more control of your life.

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hi, i'm richard lui with the news update. the library of congress reported a hack of its email system, exposing messages from january to september of this year. law enforcement and capital

officials are investigating the identity of the hacker and the exact timing remains unclear. resident electron has named chris wright as his lead of the department of energy. a strong supporter of fossil fuels. he is expected to back the plan to boost oil and gas production and address rise in electricity demand. for now, back to dateline. frieo . . the motive? they believed he was jealous of ike, the other man in her life. witness la'rene austin told investigators she saw louis at the crime scene. she said he even chased her before disappearing. but police were about to track him down. returning to josh mankiewicz with "the breakup." josh mankiewicz: detectives were looking hard for louis bonheur. he turned up at lanell's mom's home in la, sleeping. louis comes out. very agreeable. not a problem at all.

walks outside while i'm still talking to him on the phone. he's very cooperative. josh mankiewicz: while a squad car drove louis to the sheriff's station, detective kenney gave lanell's mom the terrible news that her daughter had been murdered. how did she take it? she didn't take it very well on the phone. she got very emotional. josh mankiewicz: the questioning of louis bonheur began. josh mankiewicz: louis admitted he returned and that he did follow lanell and la'rene to the beauty store. but then he said he met up with la'rene's boyfriend, 90 minutes away in la and spent the afternoon at auto supply stores before driving to lanell's mother's house, where he slept to avoid a long commute in the morning. lanell's mom mentioned her son had seen louis that night

on the computer making bank transactions and looking up flights to miami. so we thought right away here's louis. if he catches the flight to miami and he catches the subsequent flight from miami to haiti or a boat, he's gone. josh mankiewicz: now facing detectives in that little interview room, louis was about to dig a deeper hole for himself. josh mankiewicz: and in fact, you know everything already. you already know law enforcement has been called to that house before. right. he said that there was no issues. he loved lanell and lanell loved him. she wasn't seeing anybody. everything was perfect, hunky dory. but i noticed that louis has a scratch

on the side of his face. and then he says, well, ok, lanell did scratch me. we did get an argument. but even then, he downplays. he waters it down. he says it was over lanell got jealous because she saw me on facebook and thought i was communicating with some girl. josh mankiewicz: remember, detectives heard the scratch was the result of an argument because louis was the jealous one. now they asked him about ike. josh mankiewicz: louis said he was unaware of any romantic involvement between his girlfriend and ike. so detectives confronted him with a piece of evidence they'd found on their initial walk through of the house, something that smelled a lot like a smoking gun.

it was a breakup letter addressed to louis signed lanell, a letter that to louis must have been as informative as it was insulting. it read in part, "dear louis, i am leaving you for ike. he makes more money, so you can do whatever you want to do with the house. i am moving out of state with ike. we're getting married, so just leave me alone. i have been sleeping with him for four months now. good luck in life. goodbye, lanell." short and sweet. and one more thing. louis said he'd never seen it before. josh mankiewicz: almost half an hour into the interview, they laid it out for him.

josh mankiewicz: louis did sound genuinely inconsolable. at the same time, evidence against him was stacking up. he says, you've got to help me find the murderer. and i'm looking at him and i'm thinking to myself, i'm looking at the murderer right now. at that point, we left. and he was subsequently booked for the murder of lanell barsock. josh mankiewicz: the only thing missing was forensic evidence. there wasn't any. louis didn't even own a gun. detectives went back to the crime scene.

inside the garage, they found a pair of bloodied black latex gloves and a plastic container with a bloody fingerprint. and inside lanell's car. joe espino: there was a pillow in the victim's trunk that had a bullet hole in it and it had stippling around the actual bullet hole, which is unburned gunpowder. meaning somebody held the pillow over the gun and used that like a silencer, like in the movies? exactly. josh mankiewicz: they also found this. bob kenney: there's a very large area rug that's stuffed into the back seat of the car. josh mankiewicz: the rug had a bloody footprint on it. and though the bulk of the evidence was concentrated in the garage, detectives theorized the murder had taken place elsewhere in the home. remember that void in the family room? bob kenney: we're looking at the rug and then we're looking at the void going that looks like that fits over there. and come to find out, it fit exactly. josh mankiewicz: they performed a luminol test

searching for blood. what had looked like a spotless floor suddenly lit up, showing a clear trail of blood that started in the family room. joe espino: you could see where she had been dragged from that spot across the kitchen floor, across the hallway, across the laundry room, and into the garage. josh mankiewicz: also in the family room, a single empty shell casing. investigators sent everything to get tested, certain it would all lead back to louis. at least they were certain of that before they saw this grainy security footage that was about to change everything. and that's when kind of a bright light goes on. the lights start to go on that we're heading in the wrong direction. if you're living with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or active psoriatic arthritis, symptoms can sometimes hold you back.

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josh mankiewicz: louis bonheur was living in county lockup in la, accused of murdering his girlfriend. his best friend, phillipe, was on a business trip when he heard the news. no, this isn't true. not louis. it's not possible. not knowing any of the facts. yeah, not knowing any of the facts. josh mankiewicz: you immediately did not believe it. - no. i couldn't see that guy hurting a fly. josh mankiewicz: he didn't believe it. others did. marcel fomotar: i thought he was likely the person who killed her because he had shown that he was jealous

and probably didn't want the relationship to end. josh mankiewicz: detectives were building their case, which meant looking at the alibi louis had offered. he said that around the time detectives determined lanell was killed, he was more than an hour away in la buying auto parts. so detectives went to the auto parts store to see their security video, and there was louis bonheur. at 2:50 pm, he was at a kragen auto parts store, then later at an autozone, and then back at kragen. joe espino: we saw those videotapes. that was like an aha moment when i said, well, maybe he's telling the truth. josh mankiewicz: the videos made it clear louis had not lied about being in la that afternoon. but could he have been in communication with an accomplice? detectives really wanted to check

louis's phone, a process that requires a warrant and can take some time. and so louis sat in jail for days, which became weeks. finally, the cell phone records came through. they showed lanell called louis at 2:30 pm that day. it was the last time anyone heard from her. by the time her mom called her at 4:00 pm, lanell was no longer answering her phone. joe espino: there was no way that he was there in palmdale at the time that la'rene is telling us that he was at the top of the staircase and chased her down, and there's no way that he could have committed the murder. because as of 2:30, which is the last time we know our victim was alive, he was in la. josh mankiewicz: which meant louis bonheur was not their murderer. time to let him out. we believe he did not do this murder, and we need him out of jail. josh mankiewicz: detectives espino and kenney were there when more than a month after his arrest, louis

was set free. we were not expecting a very warm welcome from louis. because you locked him up for something he didn't do. we had put him in county jail for murdering a woman he loved. louis came over to us and he had tears coming down his face. and he hugged both myself and my partner, joe espino. to be honest with you, i was expecting a lawsuit to come our way. instead, i got a hug. he shook my hand. he hugged me and he said, thank you, thank you, thank you. he told us that in his country, he's from haiti, if the police arrest you, they throw away the key. there's no way that you get out of it. so he said that he thought that would happen to him here in america. josh mankiewicz: it's safe to say no one was more surprised by his release than louis himself. louis bonheur: and they said, ok, louis, we're sorry about that. we didn't find nothing from you, and we really apologize. so you're free to go.

i'm just looking at everybody. i say, really? they say, yes, you're free to go. i say, ok, thank you. josh mankiewicz: despite that 911 call to his house and the stories lanell told loved ones about his bouts of jealousy, louis said he was not the angry man detectives thought he was. who did you think was responsible? i mean, if it wasn't you, then who was it? i asked myself this same question when i'm in jail. who did it? i would like to know who. i asked myself this same question all the time. you couldn't figure it out? i can't. i didn't see no one in the picture. josh mankiewicz: now detectives went back to square one, starting with their first witness, lanell's friend, la'rene. she says she leaves our victim's house at 1:25 in the afternoon, and she goes to a park that's 1.3 miles away. josh mankiewicz: la'rene said she'd gone to the park because louis and lanell were fighting.

and this is the middle of june. so it's how hot? i would say it's in the 90s or 100. josh mankiewicz: la'rene said she returned to lanell's house around 6:45 pm. that meant she would have been sitting in that park in that desert heat for close to five hours. and we asked her, what are you doing at the park? and she said that she sat there watching the children play. josh mankiewicz: another strange thing detectives noticed. the morning after the murder, la'rene bumped into lanell's mom, bobbie, in the hallway of the sheriff's office. la'rene went over and hugged bobbie barsock. and then we had la'rene escorted down the hallway. and bobbie barsock asked us, who is that woman? and you said, that's your daughter's best friend. bob kenney: that's your daughter's best friend. they've known each other since high school. and she said, i've never seen her. josh mankiewicz: there was more. the night a bloody la'rene rushed into the sheriff's office, deputies found

two bullets in her purse. so detective espino checked the state registry to see if la'rene owned a gun and he found nothing. now, with louis cleared, they brought la'rene in again and began to question the story she'd told. josh mankiewicz: about a week after that interview, detective espino once again ran la'rene's name through the same state database. maybe it had just been updated, because this time he got a hit. la'rene owned the same caliber of gun that had killed lanell. a 9 millimeter bullet killed our victim. and it turns out that la'rene had purchased a 9 millimeter smith & wesson semi-automatic pistol on february of 2010. that was four months before the murder. josh mankiewicz: there was one piece detectives

were still missing. any possible motive. why would she do it? four months after the murder, they found an answer. it came from la'rene's cell phone records. joe espino: she was lying to us. la'rene and lanell did not know each other for 10 years. how long had they known each other? just for a few weeks. josh mankiewicz: what exactly happened over just a few weeks that somehow wrote the ending to lanell barsock's life? dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids,

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josh mankiewicz: in the months after lanell barsock's murder, police began zeroing in on her friend la'rene austin. once detectives obtained her cell phone records, la'rene's story began to unravel. la'rene and lanell did not know each other for 10 years. how long had they known each other? just for a few weeks. how did they meet? they met through craigslist. la'rene had put an ad in the personal sections, women seeking women, and lanell answered that ad. and they developed a friendship which turned into a romantic relationship. they were involved? sexually, yes. louis had no idea? no, he did not. josh mankiewicz: then just a few weeks after their relationship began, lanell ended it. that was just five days before her murder.

in a text, lanell said she wanted to stay friends. "i'm getting quite serious with my boyfriend, and i don't want anything sexual with you anymore. i enjoy your friendship and will like to keep it that way." la'rene seemed to agree. "i understand. i just seeking friendship as well. i think you're a cool person to hang out with." detectives came to believe that break up set la'rene austin on a murderous course and she killed the woman who'd broken up with her. she, and not louis, was the killer they'd been looking for. armed with an arrest warrant, investigators got to work tracking down la'rene. surveillance teams worked around the clock and came up empty. la'rene was on the run. and for months, detectives searched for her. after nearly a year, someone called in a tip to "america's most wanted."

la'rene had been spotted in belize. she was arrested and brought back to the us in handcuffs. august 2015, more than five years after lanell's death, la'rene stood trial for her murder. prosecutor jason quirino painted a very different picture of the woman who'd at first seemed so helpful to police. the way we went about it was to show la'rene austin's true character, which was someone who was extraordinarily infatuated with lanell barsock. josh mankiewicz: so much so, he said, la'rene started impersonating lanell when she was dating other women. jason quirino: and that was shown by the two different women that la'rene dated, one saying that she had assumed the name of crystal, which is lanell barsock's middle name. josh mankiewicz: posing as crystal, she met a woman named tina. so she took on our victim's name.

and then she also told tina that she had just purchased a blue bmw, which is the car that our victims own. so she kind of took over our victim's persona. josh mankiewicz: and who wouldn't want to be lanell? beautiful, professional, ambitious, successful. la'rene, on the other hand, hadn't held a steady job in two years. she was in debt and still lived at home with her mother. jason quirino: she absolutely saw lanell barsock as someone who could take her out of that and give her a better life and was infatuated with that and really, really wanted that. and when it was taken away from her very quickly in an instant, she ultimately lashed out and decided to kill lanell as punishment for it. josh mankiewicz: this is what he says really happened on the afternoon of lanell barsock's murder. louis did leave palmdale around 12:30 pm and la'rene never went to that park. instead, she stayed behind doing lanell's hair.

lanell called louis at 2:30 pm and they spoke. detectives believe it was shortly after that call that la'rene grabbed that pillow, held it to the back of lanell's head, and executed her as she sat getting her hair done. then la'rene dragged her body into the garage. did she intend to frame louis for it? no, i really believe that plan a was stuff the body in the trunk, drive out into the desert, dump the victim. that plan changed with that phone call at 4:44. josh mankiewicz: according to detectives, that's when la'rene's boyfriend called to say louis was on his way home. joe espino: la'rene had not finished cleaning up everything. so now plan b went into effect. josh mankiewicz: suddenly, in a panic, they said, la'rene decided to pin it all on louis. so i'm going to frame louis.

wow. bob kenney: and i'm going to drive to the sheriff's station and tell them i saw who did it. i saw the guy in the house. and she didn't realize that louis wasn't coming back to the house. exactly. that's what foiled her plan. josh mankiewicz: remember that breakup letter that helped convince detectives louis had done it? at the trial, a handwriting expert testified it was in la'rene's handwriting. la'rene, they said, planted that letter at the house before rushing to the sheriff's office. what's more, prosecutors said, all the forensic evidence pointed to la'rene. it was her dna on the black gloves at the crime scene, her bloody fingerprint on that plastic container, her footprint on that folded up rug, and those bullets in her purse. joe espino: the two live rounds had the exact identical extraction marks as the expended casing at the crime scene. josh mankiewicz: which meant all three bullets had been inside the murder weapon

at the same time. when it came time for the defense, la'rene's attorneys argued detectives had it right the first time and louis was the murderer. jurors weren't buying. they found la'rene guilty of murder in the first. she's serving two terms of 25 years to life. la'rene tried to frame you for murder. that's what i heard. why would la'rene do that? see, now, i don't know. i don't know why. you're married now and you have a son. yes. pretty good for a guy who was looking at life in prison. yes, that's a blessing. i got a lot of good people around me. josh mankiewicz: lanell did too. marcel still holds on to her memory. i'm really honored to talk about my friend. i miss her, but she's alive in my daughter. josh mankiewicz: his first born child is a girl named

after his friend lanell. what are you going to tell your daughter about lanell? that i named her after an amazing woman, a woman who believed in helping people, a woman who was hard working, and a woman who believed in human beings being better versions of themselves. and i hope my daughter can be that person as well. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thanks for watching. ateline." rebecca moen: i remember the shock of learning of her murder. she was alone and, you know, frightened.