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Murder Suspect Due Back in Court

BEND, OR -- The woman accused of killing her neighbor, north of Bend, earlier this month, now faces additional charges. Investigators say 49-year-old Joanna Kasner shot Valerie Peterson outside her home in the Boonesborough neighborhood, on January 16. According to the District Attorney’s Office, a Grand Jury indicted Kasner on one count of Murder, one count of Attempted Murder unrelated to Peterson's death, thee counts of Menacing involving three separate victims, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and First Degree Animal Abuse. The D.A.'s office would not comment on what led to the additional charges.


Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson says the homicide investigation continues, "I just visited with Valerie’s brother, so we were able to sit down with him and answer some of his questions and what the family had. So, this is always ongoing and there’s a lot of information that we want to try to determine, and we try and come up with as many answers as we can." He tells KBND News it's complicated because there seems to be no apparent connection between the suspect and victim, "We don’t have any information that they knew each other; as a matter of fact, I would say that they did not know each other. They live in close proximity to each other. Valerie was staying with a family member in the area. And, of course, the suspect lives in that same general area." He adds, "Most person-to-person crimes that involve a homicide can often times be related to a domestic incident; or, at least, the two parties knew each other or were in some kind of ongoing dispute. So, it is unique."


Kasner is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment Tuesday afternoon.

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