Michele Avila

Michele Yvette "Missy" Avila (February 8, 1968 – October 1, 1985) was an American teenager who was murdered by her rivals and former best friends, Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, in October 1985.

Background Michele Avila grew up in Arleta, Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley. Avila and Karen Severson had been best friends since age eight. The two girls began to grow apart when they entered San Fernando High School; 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 was sleeping with various boys. As a result, Avila was beaten up by a group of girls who accused her of sleeping with their boyfriends.

During the girls' junior year 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 had witnessed Randy pulling Avila onto his lap at a party. At the time, Avila 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. She had been forcibly drowned in six inches of water, her waist-length hair was hacked off and there was a four-foot log on top of her body. Both 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 "surrogate daughter" (although Severson disputes this). 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 was found. At one point, she told Irene Avila that she saw Michele's ghost. Because of this, the State of California passed Missy's Law, requiring entities who are helping publish works made by criminals to contact the families of the victims about the works.

In popular culture The case inspired a book, Missy's Murder by Karen Kingsbury, who covered the case. On March 31, 2013, the case was featured on an episode of Unusual Suspects called "Deadly Forest". On December 17, 2014, the case was featured on the Dr. Phil show, including an interview with Karen Severson. On October 5, 2018, the Investigation Discovery series Killer In Plain Sight documented the case in the episode "Circle of Distrust."