ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BROOKHAVEN, PA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Aimee Willard, plucked from a suburban highway and dumped in a grimy North Philadelphia lot, returned to her hometown for good this weekend.
And as family and friends buried the 22-year-old George Mason University athlete Monday, state police investigators were still trying to unearth the details of her final hours from a mountain of leads and interviews.
The private burial came a day after Sunday's funeral Mass, where thousands watched Willard's silver casket make its way down the steps of Our Lady of Charity Catholic Church beneath a canopy of lacrosse sticks lofted by the woman's sobbing teammates from George Mason in Fairfax, Va.
Young boys found her naked body in a fetal position Thursday afternoon, hours after she disappeared along an Interstate 476 off-ramp in Delaware County. An emergency crew earlier that morning had happened on her blue Honda, its headlights on and engine running.
State police said Monday they still had no suspects.
Willard died of at least three strong blows to the head, an autopsy revealed. She had scrapes on her body and bruises on her hands, but no outward signs of sexual assault. She probably didn't die until after being dropped near the corner of 16th and Indiana streets.
Friends last saw the record-setting lacrosse and soccer player at a popular hangout for college-age folk in Wayne just 20 minutes before her abandoned car was found. A police investigator told the Philadelphia Daily News that authorities think Willard had some relationship with her attacker - an acquaintance, perhaps, or a stalker.
Police had checked a surveillance camera at the bar and were searching for a man Willard was socializing with there. But they no longer believe that a fight in the tavern's parking lot that night was related to her death.
``We've got a stack like this from people calling in,'' said Sgt. Joseph Yazvac, holding his hands at least a foot apart. Authorities are still optimistic that they'll find Willard's killer.
The possibility of a swift arrest made the rounds at Sunday's ceremony, where teammates clad in green-and-white jerseys and pleated shorts spoke of a star at the Academy of Notre Dame deNamur in Villanova, an All America at George Mason and a compassionate friend.
``Amy practiced endlessly. No Barbie dolls or tea sets for her,'' said Nancy Bonshock, an aunt who delivered the eulogy.
At George Mason, Willard this year set school records and led the Colonial Athletic Association in lacrosse scoring with 50 goals, including seven in one game. She was the team's only soccer player to start every game this season.
``Equally important were her lessons to us off the field. She was genuine and loyal, and the best listener you could want when you had a problem,'' said Alison Ainsworth, who played two sports with Willard at Notre Dame.
Shrines and photo montages recalled athletic conquests and childhood landmarks. Mourners filed past her lacrosse stick, old team jerseys, pictures of Willard with the Christmas tree and at the prom. And then they passed her casket.
Her father, Chester City Police Sgt. Paul Willard, offered prayers. Her brother and sister read from Scripture.
``The events of the past few days are like a nightmare,'' said Rev. Thomas Flanigan, who said the Mass. ``Each of us would like to awake from it to realize it was a bad dream.'' Willard is ``a victim of the evil that permeates society today.''
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