Local News in Brief : New Charges Filed in ’85 Drowning of Girl

Prosecutors filed additional charges Wednesday against an Arleta woman accused of taking part in the 1985 slaying of an Arleta teen-ager who drowned in a creek in the Angeles National Forest.

The charges were filed in Pasadena Juvenile Court because Karen Severson, now 20, was a minor of 17 when Michele Avila, also 17 at the time, was found killed after a jealous argument Oct. 1, 1985, authorities said.

Severson, one of two young women accused in the killing, was charged Wednesday with one count of kidnaping, false imprisonment and aiding in the commission of a felony after the fact, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen Mazur. Previously, she had been charged with one count of murder in Avila’s slaying, he said.

Attorney Harold Vites, who is representing Severson, said she denied all the charges.

A hearing to determine whether Severson will stand trial as an adult or a juvenile is scheduled for Aug. 29, Mazur said.

Severson and Laura Doyle, 21, are accused of drowning Avila after arguing with her over a boyfriend, authorities said. Doyle, who will be tried as an adult, faces a charge of one count of murder.

The two were arrested June 27, 1988, after Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies received information from a witness whom they would not identify.