Dateline NBC: Details of evidence in LaNell Barsock's murder explored

The coldblooded murder of LaNell Barsock at the hands of her brief ex-girlfriend, La’Rene Austin, made for a complicated case in 2010. The investigation initially pointed toward Barsock's boyfriend, Louis Bonheur, before authorities found evidence pointing toward Austin.

La'Rene Austin had two 9-millimeter bullets in her purse matching the murder weapon the day LaNell was murdered. Furthermore, the detectives found Austin's bloody footprint and fingerprint on a rug and a plastic container.

The Dateline NBC episode titled The Breakup chronicles LaNell Barsock's murder case as it airs on June 13, 2024, at 10 p.m. EST on NBC exclusively. The official synopsis of the episode reads,

"A nurse is killed; detectives think they have a suspect until new information redirects them."

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What evidence did the authorities find against La’Rene Austin?

Episode 42 of season 32 of Dateline showcases the grisly murder of the 29-year-old Palmdale nurse and the investigation that led to the arrest of La'Rene Austin. Austin and Barsock had met one another through women seeking women posts on Craigslist a month before the murder, per True Crime News.

La'Rene had visited the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office to narrate how she had slipped and fallen over her best friend LaNell Barsock’s blood to find her dead. On the same note, LaNell's mother, Bobbie Barsock, failed to recognize La'Rene at the Sheriff's Office.

It was Austin who had given the detectives the name of Louis Bonheur and the reason for suspicion. She had mentioned in her narration of events that she had stepped out of the Barsocks' residence around 1:25 p.m. local time and returned around 6:30 p.m. local time. She had been at a park, allowing the couple to take some space after alleged arguments throughout the day.

The retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective, Joe Espino, had found it difficult to believe how La'Rene had managed to spend six hours in the June heat outdoors. A background check revealed that Austin had been unemployed and in heavy debt, which could have acted as a possible motive behind the murder.

Austin had been avoiding a polygraph test, for which she had allegedly been on the Internet looking for ways to beat it. A bloody pair of gloves found at the crime scene was tested, and True Crime News reported,

"Some of the DNA came back from Larene Austin, so it gave us a strong indication that she was wearing these black gloves, which puts her at the crime scene," Sheriff's senior criminalist Mary Keens said.

The detectives also recovered a clean bloody fingerprint from a gray plastic pitcher and a bloody footprint from a rug, both of which belonged to La'Rene Austin. Austin had also forged a breakup note from LaNell Barsock to Louis Bonheur.

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What did LaNell Barsock's autopsy report reveal?

According to the Los Angeles Times, the coroner's records revealed that LaNell Barsock had been shot in the head with a 9mm caliber gun. The investigators initially believed that she had sustained extensive blunt force trauma to her head.

The two women were involved s**ually for three weeks before LaNell called it off to focus on her long-term live-in boyfriend, Louis Bonheur. According to Oxygen, Austin visited Barsock at her residence on June 16, 2010, to allegedly have a hair-weaving session when she shot the latter at the back of her head.

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Catch the latest episode of Dateline NBC episode The Breakup as it airs on NBC on Friday.