Thursday, March 21, 2013

Woman Accused of Shooting Mother Held on $2M Bail

Laura Purviance, 24, of Woodland Hills, will be back in court April 17, after appearing in Van Nuys at Los Angeles Superior Court on charges that she murdered her mother.


Purviance is still in custody after bail was set at $2 million.


Purviance has yet to file a plea in the case. That’s expected to happen next month.


Purviance was arrested in Oregon last week after she allegedly fatally shot her mother, a former Hart district employee, in her Woodland Hills home.


Caroline Purviance, 61, of Woodland Hills, who was a special education teaching assistant for the William S. Hart Union High School District, was fatally shot in her home Feb. 13.


Caroline Purviance worked for the Hart district from March 1999 to January 2004. She was hired at Valencia High School as an instructional assistant. She also worked at Saugus and Canyon high schools in the same capacity during her time with the district.


Her mother’s body was discovered in the 5600 block of Mason Avenue, where her daughter lived.


Detective David Peteque of the Los Angeles Police Department was in charge of the investigation.


Laura Purviance went to her mother’s house, shot her in the head and then “just started driving,” he said.


Laura Purviance was arrested Friday by Oregon State Troopers at a rest stop near Medford, Ore.


She attended Saugus High for a little over year before transferring out of the district.



Woman Accused of Shooting Mother Held on $2M Bail