Sara Nan Hodges

In reading the article regarding the lawsuit filed by Linda Hodges against Curtis Cooper, his mother, Crystal Cooper, and their landlady, Olga Kaczmar, in connection with the death of Sara Nan Hodges, I was appalled at Hodges' statement: "I wouldn't ever take a cent from Olga personally. I was told it wouldn't hurt anybody but the insurance company." Who does she think pays the premiums so the insurance company can pay claims? I resent that my premiums will have to pay to defend such a lawsuit.

In reading the article regarding the lawsuit filed by Linda Hodges against Curtis Cooper, his mother, Crystal Cooper, and their landlady, Olga Kaczmar, in connection with the death of Sara Nan Hodges, I was appalled at Hodges' statement: "I wouldn't ever take a cent from Olga personally. I was told it wouldn't hurt anybody but the insurance company." Who does she think pays the premiums so the insurance company can pay claims? I resent that my premiums will have to pay to defend such a lawsuit.

The family of Sara Nan Hodges, a 7-year-old Newhall girl who was allegedly strangled by a teen-age neighbor, plans to donate to a program for children with behavioral problems the $30,000 received from sympathizers, rejecting friends' proposals that the money be used for family members. Family friends who set up a trust fund initially to cover the slain girl's funeral expenses said that when far more money came in than was needed, they tried to persuade the girl's family to use it to get their own home.

Wallace Scott Mann spent an all-day vigil Monday at the grave of his slain 7-year-old daughter in the Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, sometimes sitting near the grave, sometimes watching it from his car. A cemetery worker saw him use red paint to fill in the lines of the happy face and the heart carved on the stone that marks where Sara Nan Hodges lies.

Wallace Scott Mann spent an all-day vigil Monday at the grave of his slain 7-year-old daughter in the Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall, sometimes sitting near the grave, sometimes watching it from his car. A cemetery worker saw him use red paint to fill in the lines of the happy face and the heart carved on the stone that marks where Sara Nan Hodges lies.

A 14-year-old boy pleaded innocent today to charges that he strangled 7-year-old Sara Nan Hodges, whose decomposed body was found stuffed behind a water bed in his Newhall bedroom. Curtis Cooper, a neighbor of the victim, denied a single count of murder at his arraignment in Juvenile Court. Cooper was ordered by Juvenile Court Referee Jeff Wiatt to remain in custody without bail and to return to court April 25 to schedule a trial date.

A Newhall teen-ager, described by his victim's mother as a "monster," was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday for sexually molesting and murdering a 7-year-old neighbor, whose body was found stuffed behind the teen-ager's bed three days after she disappeared. Curtis Cooper, who was 14 when he strangled Sara Nan Hodges last March, will probably spend about 10 years in custody, because the California Youth Authority can only retain jurisdiction over him until he reaches age 25.

Schoolmates, some friends and some strangers grieved with family and friends at Friday's funeral for Sara Nan Hodges, the 7-year-old Newhall girl found strangled last week at a neighbor's home. "She had a whole life ahead of her," said 11-year-old Nick Phavini of Santa Clarita, who rode buses for an hour with his friend, Trevor Bell, to join 90 people at Eternal Valley Mortuary. Trevor, also 11, fought tears speechlessly; he had met Sara when his contractor-father worked in the neighborhood.

The mother of Sara Nan Hodges, the 7-year-old Newhall girl who was strangled by a 14-year-old neighbor last year, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the boy, his mother and the woman who owned the house where they lived. The complaint filed by Linda Hodges on March 8 in San Fernando Superior Court seeks an unspecified amount of damages. It says Crystal Cooper should have known that her son, Curtis, was violent and that she failed to prevent him from harming others.

A 7-year-old Santa Clarita girl who disappeared from her front yard remained missing Saturday as detectives investigated more than 75 tips phoned in to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Sara Nan Hodges, a blonde, blue-eyed first-grader, was last seen playing with neighborhood youngsters in front of her Alderbrook Drive home Thursday.

The family of Sara Nan Hodges, a 7-year-old Newhall girl who was allegedly strangled by a teen-age neighbor, plans to donate to a program for children with behavioral problems the $30,000 received from sympathizers, rejecting friends' proposals that the money be used for family members. Family friends who set up a trust fund initially to cover the slain girl's funeral expenses said that when far more money came in than was needed, they tried to persuade the girl's family to use it to get their own home.

Seven-year-old Sara Nan Hodges of Newhall was strangled and her body stuffed into an 18-by-18-inch space beneath the headboard of a 14-year-old neighbor's water bed, apparently before she was reported missing last Thursday, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said this morning. The girl's body was found Sunday afternoon in a house five doors from her own home on Alderbrook Drive. (Story, Part I, Page 3.

The search for a missing 7-year-old Newhall girl ended Sunday afternoon with the discovery of her body, only a short distance from her home, authorities said. Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide detectives called out to investigate the death of a young girl later confirmed that the body was that of Sara Nan Hodges, Deputy Dan Cox said. The girl's body was found four or five houses away from her home in the 24900 block of Alderbrook Drive, Cox said.