Laura Jean Kucera (1975 - 1995)

The following article appeared in the Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, Iowa) on Friday May 19th 1995 and was written by Bill Zahren: PENDER, Neb, - The families of Brian Anderson and Laura Kucera sat on opposite sides of the Thurston County Courtroom Thursday but shared a common goal - moving on. Thurston County Attorney Matt Samuelson called Thursday the first day of the last 230 in which Anderson, Kucera and their families can start to move forward in the aftermath of Kucera's shooting. "This is not a happy day," said Samuelson, "but I hope it is a day of closure." For Anderson's family, there was resignation. During testimony, an attorney asked Anderson's father, Dan, what he thought of the sentence his son faced. "That's a lot of time, but whatever it's got to be," said a subdued Dan Anderson. After his son was sentenced to at least 42 1/2 years in prison, Anderson said, "I've been just awfully disappointed from the time it happened until now. I think he got a pretty hard sentence." Brian Anderson's pastor, the Rev. Mark Wilms, testified to Anderson's remorse. "Before the incident Brian was highly agitated and centered upon himself," said Wilm. "Since then he has developed a much more even-handed, relaxed, calmer approach to handling his general demeanor and thought processes." Wilms said he believes Anderson is genuinely sorry for his actions. "In my own conversations with Brian there have been times when he has demonstrated the realization of the horror of his acts he is involved in and I feel he has sincerely confronted what he did." Kucera and her family did not testify Thursday. Laura Kucera's father, David Kucera, said he sees Anderson's sentencing as a chance to start healing his family. Two bullets that damaged Kucera's brain have left a lifetime of challenges. "Laura has always been a survivor," Kucera said. "She has always been independent. She's tough. She's going to survive and find her niche in the world and do the best she can. She always does." Smiling and at ease with her parents outside the Thurston County Courthouse, Laura Kucera wore two crosses around her neck and preferred to let her father do most of the talking. For months before the shooting, Anderson stalked and threatened Kucera in the aftermath of their breakup, prosecutors claimed. Kucera said most of all she was relieved the case was finally over and she could stop looking over her shoulder for Brian Anderson.

The following article was written by the Associated Press on October 6th 1994: OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ A woman who was shot and left for dead survived four days in a ditch before police rescued her with the help of the man who allegedly pulled the trigger, her ex-boyfriend. Laura Kucera, 19, of Wakefield was in critical condition Thursday night with a gunshot wound in her back. She was found unconscious Tuesday night in a remote wooded area in northeast Nebraska. ″We don’t know how she survived other than she must be very strong,″ said her mother, Mary Kucera. Her ex-boyfriend Brian Anderson, 22, of Concord was charged with kidnapping and using a firearm to commit a felony. He was being held on a $250,000 bond. Anderson had a history of stalking and harassing Miss Kucera, police records show. She had obtained a protection order against him on Aug. 15. The couple had dated for several months. Miss Kucera disappeared Saturday night. Anderson had told authorities that he dropped her off outside a restaurant. Four days later, he had second thoughts and led police to a ditch near Macy, about 75 miles north of Omaha. ″He was looking for love and ... he couldn’t handle it, I guess,″ Anderson’s father, Don, said. ″It’s just devastating to us, that something like this could happen.″