Woman Found Slain Near Crisis Center
A 26-year-old Van Nuys woman was bludgeoned to death and her body left in the parking lot of a county mental health facility, Los Angeles police said Friday.
The body of Catherine Braley was found behind bushes bordering the parking lot by employees at the Crisis Management Center at about 8:30 a.m., Sgt. Fred Haptonstal said. The county facility is in the 8100 block of Sepulveda Boulevard.
Haptonstal said Braley was an employee at a nearby FEDCO department store on Raymer Street and was last seen by friends about 9:30 p.m. Thursday. He said Braley’s head was beaten with a blunt object, and she probably died after midnight.
Haptonstal said investigators knew of no motive for the killing.
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