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Arraignment postponed for murder suspect captured in Belize

by The AV Times Staff • February 16, 2012

Larene Eleanor Austin

LANCASTER – Larene Eleanor Austin, the woman accused of a 2010 Palmdale murder who fled the country and was captured in Belize, was to be arraigned Thursday, but her court date was pushed back to March 19.

Austin, 29, is accused of shooting and killing Lanell Barsock, 29, on June 16, 2010. Barsock’s body was found in the garage of her home in the 37400 block of Rockie Lane in Palmdale.

According to media reports, Austin and Barsock became friends after meeting in the personal ads section of Craiglist, and the friendship evolved into a romantic relationship.

When Barsock dumped Austin to focus on her boyfriend, Austin allegedly shot Barsock in the back of the head and then tried to cover her tracks by framing Barsock’s boyfriend, according to media reports.

A warrant was issued for Austin’s arrest in March 2011.

Lanell Barsock

In December 2011, the case was publicized on America’s Most Wanted, and then sheriff’s detectives received a tip after the program aired, indicating that Austin was living in the Central American country of Belize.

Officers with the Belize Police Department working with FBI agents in Central America arrested Austin on Jan. 25 in the Toledo District of Belize without incident.

Austin was expelled from Belize and flown to Houston where she turned over to investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

View a promo for Austin’s first profile on America’s Most Wanted, which aired in December 2011.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

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