Crime Solvers Central
Crime Solvers Central
302 Cases Solved. Advancing justice for missing persons, unsolved homicides, unidentified and unclaimed remains.

Forum Posts for Kari Lynn Lenander:
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Kari Lynn Lenander was a 15-year-old student from Brentwood, Los Angeles, found murdered on July 26, 1980. Her body was discovered about 4:30 a.m. in a street gutter in South Los Angeles; she had been strangled and investigators at the time suspected a possible sexual assault. The case shocked the community and remained unsolved.

On the night she died Kari and her 15-year-old best friend had been hitchhiking at Wilshire and Barrington and were picked up by a white man who identified himself as Ken from Canada. He drove them to Hollywood, and after the friend felt unwell Ken returned the friend to her Brentwood home — that was the last time the friend saw Kari. Detectives later believed Kari returned to her residence with Ken and changed clothes; her body was found with foliage in her hair and white rock material nearby similar to that found across from her home, which suggested the killer may have been familiar with her surroundings.

The LAPD Cold Case Homicide Unit reopened the investigation in 2002 and named Ken from Canada a person of interest; no arrest has been made and the case remains unsolved. Did anyone in Brentwood or Hollywood at the time ever hear of a man calling himself Ken from Canada or recall strangers picking up teenage girls that night?