Woman Found With Body Parts Is Fugitive in Missing Child Case

A woman arrested Friday after human remains were found in two freezers inside a Canoga Park apartment is wanted by Oregon authorities in the alleged killing of her young daughter, Los Angeles police said Saturday.

A fingerprint check by Los Angeles Police Department detectives identified the woman as Karen Lee Huster, 41, an Oregon fugitive. She has been on the run since April, when she was indicted in connection with the slaying of her 10-year-old, missing since 1996.

Los Angeles police, responding to a call about a possible murder at 11:15 a.m. Friday, had to force their way into the De Soto Avenue apartment when no one answered the door. Inside, Huster was found with what police said appeared to be self-inflicted wounds.

The body parts were found inside the freezer of a kitchen refrigerator and inside another large commercial-style freezer in the dining room, Lt. Dan Aikin of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Saturday.

After her arrest, Huster refused to identify herself. Police listed her as “Jane Doe” and booked her on suspicion of murder in connection with the body parts.

Authorities have not yet identified the remains, but say they appear to be those of an adult man.

The apartment’s tenant, a 73-year-old man, is missing, police said. His name will not be released until relatives have been “notified of his missing status, due to the uncertain nature of the investigation,” according to an LAPD statement.

Authorities in Los Angeles and Oregon would say little Saturday about Huster. In April, an Oregon grand jury indicted her on murder charges in connection with the disappearance of her daughter, Elisabeth Anne Huster.

According to the Web site for the Washington County sheriff’s office, Huster has had numerous run-ins with state authorities over the whereabouts of her daughter. The site included extensive background on Huster’s case, which has generated much attention in Oregon.

Huster has served jail time for refusing to help authorities find Elisabeth.

In an interview Saturday from his Pleasanton, Calif., home, Huster’s ex-husband described his former wife as a Northridge native with an often hostile personality.

Michael Huster said that after the couple separated in 1995, he initiated divorce proceedings. His wife then tried “to hide my daughter away from me,” he said. The couple also has a son, who is 19 and lives in Oregon, he said.

Michael Huster--who moved from Oregon to the San Francisco Bay Area after the couple’s separation--joined friends and neighbors in contacting Oregon authorities in December 1996, worried because Elisabeth, then 10, had not been seen for four months.

On Christmas Eve in 1996, Karen Huster told local sheriff’s deputies that her daughter was staying with relatives in California, but would not say where, according to one press release.

Shortly thereafter, authorities said the mother disappeared, turning up in the seaside town of Newport, Ore., in February 1997. Local authorities served three search warrants, but were unable to locate the missing girl. Huster was found guilty of custodial interference in May 1997, according to the sheriff’s Web site.

Michael Huster said he has gained full custody of the child, if she is found.

A judge warned the mother that she would be sent to state prison if she did not reveal the whereabouts of her child. She refused and was sentenced to prison in June 1997.

Elisabeth Huster’s story was featured on the TV show “America’s Most Wanted” on April 17, 1998.

No one called with tips, according to Oregon authorities, and other investigative efforts have been fruitless.

Karen Huster was released from prison in February 1999, and returned to Washington County. More than a year later, on April 13, a grand jury indicted Huster in the death of her daughter.

But Huster had disappeared again.

On April 19, Huster was in Kingman, Ariz., according to Oregon authorities, who said Spanish language tapes and a map of Mexico were found among her possessions.

Meanwhile, Michael Huster, whose divorce from the suspect was finalized in February 1997, said Saturday that he still holds out hope that his daughter, who would be 14 now, may be alive.

He said his former wife often exhibited a “hostile kind of personality,” adding that she could be distrustful and quick to anger.

“I think anyone’s capable of doing something like that if they’re pushed, or if they are under enough stress,” Michael Huster said, referring to the Canoga Park slaying case. “So, yes, I think she’s capable of it. I would hope and pray she didn’t [do it], of course.”