Local News in Brief : Van Nuys Bar to Offer Reward for Suspect in Slaying of Patron

A Van Nuys bar plans to raise funds so that a reward can be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect in the slaying of a woman who had been there shortly before her death.

Jackie Watt, manager of the Hunter in the 15100 block of Raymer Avenue, said the bar plans to use money from a barbecue, pool and dart tournaments, and an auction of merchandise donated from area businesses to establish the reward fund. Watt said the fund-raising activities are scheduled July 24 at the bar.

The money would be paid for information leading to the killer of Catherine Michelle Braley, 26, of Van Nuys, whose body was was found Jan. 15 in a parking lot three blocks from the Hunter. Braley, who was beaten and strangled, had been at the bar with friends the evening before she was killed. Los Angeles police have arrested no suspects in the case.

“We want to try to do something to help get some answers about what happened,” Watt said.

After the killing, Braley’s mother, Mary Postma, filed a $10-million lawsuit against three Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, alleging that they left the bar with Braley and killed her when she refused to have sex with them.

Police have said the deputies are not suspects, and the deputies have denied involvement in the slaying. In court documents filed in the suit, one deputy acknowledged leaving the bar with Braley, having consensual sex with her and then dropping her off in the 8000 block of Langdon Avenue, a block from where her body was found.