''A Killer Among Friends'' is a 1992

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

movie that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on December 8, 1992. Based on a true story, the film stars

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Aw ...

as a mother grieving for her murdered daughter (

Tiffani Thiessen Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress who starred as Kelly Kapowski on NBC's ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993), as Valerie Malone on Fox's ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1994–98), and as Lori on Netflix's ''Alexa & ...

) and sets out to find the killer. The film is based on the real life

murder of Michele Avila Michele Yvette "Missy" Avila (February 8, 1968 – October 1, 1985) was an American teenager who was murdered by her former best friends and rivals, Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, in October 1985. Background Michele Avila grew up in Arleta, Los ...

Plot

Jennifer “Jenny” Monroe (

) is a beautiful and popular teenage girl who lives with her brothers and loving mother, Jean (

). Jenny’s relationship with her childhood best friend, Ellen Holloway (Margaret Welsh), becomes strained due to Ellen’s insecurities and increasing jealousy of Jenny’s beauty, popularity with boys, and idyllic home life. Tensions grow worse after Ellen pressures Jenny into shoplifting and erroneously accuses her of sleeping with her boyfriend. One day, Jenny leaves to hang out with her friend, Carla Lewis. When Jenny does not return home, Jean becomes worried and alerts the police. Days later, Jenny is found in a

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

, having been drowned, with a 100-pound log placed over her body. Jean is grief-stricken, and Ellen becomes her emotional support, eventually moving into her home. Jean becomes frustrated by the failure of the detectives to find Jenny’s killer. She and Ellen begin tracking their own leads, much at Ellen’s behest. Ellen’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, and her obsession with the case intensifies, causing tension among Jean and her family, who feels Ellen is an unhealthy influence on her. Jean eventually asks Ellen to move out so that she can move on with her life. Some time later, a guilt-ridden acquaintance of Jenny’s, Kathy Pearl (Janne Mortil), goes to the police and confesses to witnessing Jenny’s murder. She tells them Carla lured Jenny out of her house and drove her to a secluded a wooded area in a National park, where Carla and Ellen confronted her with allegedly stealing their boyfriends. They taunted her, cut her hair, and forced her into a stream, eventually drowning her. After hearing the news, Jean is devastated but confronts Ellen at the police station, where she and Carla are arrested. After finally receiving closure, Jean attempts to move on with her family and find peace.

Cast

as Jean Monroe * Margaret Welsh as Ellen Holloway *

as Jennifer Anne "Jenny" Monroe * Angie Rae McKinney as Carla Lewis *

David Cubitt David Cubitt (born 18 March 1965) is an English-born Canadian television actor. Born in England in 1965 to a Dutch mother, Jette, and an English father, David, he moved with his parents to Vancouver, British Columbia when he was six months ol ...

as Greg Monroe *

Janne Mortil Janne Mortil (born December 14, 1967) is a Vancouver-based Canadian-American actress probably best known for playing Madeleine Astor in ''Titanic (1996 miniseries), Titanic'' (1996) and Michelle Dupont in the television series ''Side Effects (TV ...

as Kathy Pearl *

Loretta Swit Loretta Jane Swit (born Loretta Szwed; November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on ''M*A*S*H'', for which she won two E ...

as Detective Patricia Staley * Debra Sharkey as Sheryl Monroe * Chad Todhunter as Adam Monroe * Ben Bass as Steve * William S. Taylor as Detective Mike Collins * Babs Chula as Diane *

Matthew Bennett Matthew Ray Bennett (born April 9, 1968) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for portraying Detective Len Harper on ''Cold Squad'' and his recurring roles as Aaron Doral cylon model number five in the reimagined ''Battles ...

as Dan * Heather and Sharon Beaty as Celeste *

Barry Pepper Barry Robert Pepper (born April 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He played Private Daniel Jackson in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Corrections Officer Dean Stanton in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), Roger Maris in '' 61*'' (2001), Joseph L. Galloway ...

as Mickey Turner *

Lisa Vultaggio Lisa Vultaggio is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Hannah Scott on ''General Hospital''. Personal life Vultaggio was born in Vancouver, British Columbia of Italian descent. She was inspired to take up acting after watching F ...

as Susan

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Killer Among Friends CBS network films Crime films based on actual events 1992 television films 1992 films Films directed by Charles Robert Carner