THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701180356
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 49 lines
The family of bookstore clerk Margaret M. ``Peggy'' Lilley, who was stabbed to death the week before Christmas, is concerned about the lack of security at the shopping center where she was working when she was killed.
They have asked Randolph A. Raines Jr. - an attorney with the Suffolk firm of Ferguson, Rawls, MacDonald, Overton & Grissom - to investigate potential civil suits in connection with Lilley's death.
But Raines said no suits would be filed until after the trials of two teen-agers who have been charged in the knife slaying.
``The Lilleys are focused on the issue at hand - the prosecution of the two young men,'' Raines said this week. ``They didn't want any distraction from the criminal prosecution.''
Lilley was working alone at The Bookhaven in Suffolk Plaza Shopping Center on the afternoon of Dec. 18 when two people came into the shop and cut her throat.
The next day, two Suffolk teenagers, June D. Sykes and George M. Fenner Jr., both 15, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and charges of cut, stab or wound, and breaking and entering with intent to commit burglary while armed with a deadly weapon.
They are being held at Tidewater Detention Center in Chesapeake, awaiting a preliminary hearing Feb. 25.
Lilley's children - M.L. ``Len'' Lilley Jr. of Suffolk and M. Suzanne Lilley of Virginia Beach - feel they are also victims of the crime, Raines said.
``They are concerned about the viciousness of this crime,'' he said.
Wanting to do something to show their support for the family, Suzanne Lilley's co-workers at The Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach plan a benefit at the restaurant Sunday, starting at 4 p.m.
Night manager Frank Tiaba, the organizer, has booked six local bands to play without charge. Proceeds from the $5 admission and a percentage of the bar sales will be donated to the family, Tiaba said.
The money will be divided among the family, crime prevention efforts and Obici Hospital's special care unit, said Raines, the family attorney.
The bands are Lewis McGehee, The Janitors, The Snard Brothers, R&B Allstars, Rumble Fish and Karl Werne.
Donated merchandise will be auctioned during the afternoon and evening.
``Everyone loves Suzanne,'' Tiaba said. ``When this first happened, we ourselves collected over $1,200 to help out.''
Lilley has worked there 10 years.
KEYWORDS: CIVIL SUIT MURDER STABBING JUVENILE