ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA
SOURCE: Associated Press
The bludgeoned body of a woman found in a junk-strewn lot near railroad tracks was identified Friday as that of a George Mason University athlete whose car had been found idling on a highway off-ramp.
Aimee Willard, 22, of Brookhaven, Pa., a star lacrosse player at George Mason in Fairfax, Va., was last seen alive Thursday morning as she left a suburban bar where she had gone with some friends from high school days.
Investigators had no suspects late Friday.
``Right now, we're still conducting interviews'' with the women who were in the bar with Willard before she left, state police Sgt. Joseph Yazvac said.
Police were investigating the possibility that she was sexually assaulted. State police said Friday they have several leads and have talked to people who regularly drive past the off-ramp where the car was found.
Police also were looking into a fight that occurred at the bar, but they had no confirmation that Willard was involved or whether it played a role in the killing, Yazvac said.
The woman's mother, Gail Willard, pleaded for witnesses to come forward.
``If anyone has any information that can help find who did this to her, please, we beg you to come forward,'' she told reporters in front of her home Friday afternoon. ``This senseless act must be punished.''
Willard was last seen alive about 1:40 a.m. at Smokey Joe's bar in Wayne. Police launched a massive search after her car - its engine running, lights on and driver's door open - was discovered 20 minutes later on Interstate 476. Blood stains were found nearby.
Late Thursday afternoon, children playing tag in a lot miles away in a rough Philadelphia neighborhood came across a woman's naked, badly beaten corpse, her skull cracked in two places. An ankle tattoo of the Nike ``swoosh'' symbol and comparison with Willard's photograph provided tentative identification.
Her identity had been confirmed, but the cause of death was still under investigation Friday evening, said a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office.
``Aimee was a quiet, sensitive person. She was a gifted athlete, a loving daughter and a true friend,'' Gail Willard said Friday. ``Aimee lived life as the Nike motto states, `Life is short: play hard.'''
Willard, a physical education major and soccer and All-American lacrosse player at George Mason, held numerous school records in lacrosse. She was known as an intense athlete who was happy-go-lucky and compassionate off the field.
``She was on top of the world. She was a star athlete. She wanted to be a teacher and a coach. She wanted to teach little kids and coach big kids,'' said Nancy Bonshock, Willard's aunt.
She led the Colonial Athletic Association in lacrosse scoring with 50 goals this year, including seven in one game - both school records - and was the only George Mason soccer player to start every game of the season.
``I can't fathom it,'' said Jeff Rankin, Willard's basketball coach at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, a girls' Catholic school in Villanova. ``She was a streetwise kid.''
Willard was spending the summer at her mother's home before entering her fifth year at George Mason. She was playing in a summer lacrosse league, taking a course at Delaware Community College and looking for a job.
Survivors besides her mother include her father, Chester City Police Sgt. Paul Willard, and a brother, Timothy.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Willard KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB