ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997 TAG: 9701170077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
Bill Cosby's only son was shot to death early Thursday in a possible robbery attempt while changing a flat tire along a freeway.
The body of Ennis William Cosby, 27, was found about 1:45 a.m. in a pool of blood next to the car.
KCBS-TV reported that Cosby was on his way to see a woman friend when he called her by cellular phone at 1:15 a.m. to say he had a flat and ask her to come help illuminate the area.
She arrived shortly after the shooting, calling police at 1:28 a.m., the station said. KCBS did not disclose the woman's name, saying only that she lived in Los Angeles and was in the entertainment industry.
The woman saw ``at least a portion of this and we are interviewing her, said Police Cmdr. Tim Mcbride. ``It is her description that we have a male white suspect.''
Cosby, a Columbia University graduate student, was the son of one of the world's richest entertainers, a man for whom fatherhood was the wellspring of his stand-up comedy, a best-selling book and the most popular TV series of the '80s.
Before ducking into his home in New York City, the 59-year-old Cosby, looking grim and puffy-eyed, told reporters:
``He was my hero.''
The younger Cosby's Mercedes convertible was found in a well-to-do area near the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains not far from the exclusive Bel-Air section of Los Angeles.
McBride said: ``It is unknown whether he was followed at this time or not. I think that's a good probability. But it may have been a chance opportunity that somebody took, robbery being a possible motive.''
However, nothing apparently was taken, he said.
The star of CBS' ``Cosby'' was in New York, where the show is produced, when McBride broke the news. The police commander said he and Cosby spoke for about 20 minutes on the difficulty of coping with the death of a child. McBride lost a 16-year-old daughter in a hit-and-run.
Cosby and his wife, Camille, also have four daughters - two younger than Ennis, two older - whose names, like their brother, all begin with E: Erika, Erinn, Ensa and Evin. Their father said the E stands for excellence.
Said Cosby in a statement: ``We have every confidence in the LAPD. Our hearts go out to each and every family that such an incident occurs to. This is a life experience that is truly difficult to share.''
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Cosby's son, Theo Huxtable, on ``The Cosby Show'' on NBC, said, ``He was my friend and I loved him.''
Ennis Cosby's neighbors on Manhattan's East Side, 10 blocks from where his parents live, remembered him fondly.
``He was very down to earth,'' said deli owner Ali Shahid. ``I'd see him and his sister come here to buy newspapers.''
The younger Cosby graduated in 1992 from Morehouse College in Atlanta and was working toward his doctorate in special education. He had overcome dyslexia, a learning disability.
``He was the kind of student whom we would be proud of even if his name was not Cosby,'' said Arthur Levine, president of Teachers College at Columbia where Ennis Cosby earned a master's degree in 1995.
One of Cosby's advisers at Teachers College, Margaret Jo Shepherd, said his dream was to establish a private school for students with learning disabilities.
``His special commitment was to poor children who needed special help and who might not have the resources to get that on their own,'' Shepherd said.
``He had a passionate desire to teach, to be useful and to improve conditions for children, especially in urban areas.''
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Ennis Cosby KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB