DATE: Friday, April 18, 1997                TAG: 9704170347

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Violence Steals Young Lives

                                            LENGTH:   28 lines

LOSING A FRIEND

Phillip Bell and Timothy Wheaton likely never met each other in life. But their deaths, only three months apart, have reverberated throughout the Hampton Roads community. Both teens were victims of senseless violence.

They are just two of the thousands of stories that can be told. According to the FBI, 2,428 children, ages 0 to 17, were homicide victims in 1995.

What those statistics don't count are the families and friends left behind after a loved one is killed. They don't count the sadness and pain that consume a community. They don't count the hurt.

Last Friday, Michael Edward King was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Bell. Three teens face murder charges in the shooting death of Wheaton. A fourth teen pleaded guilty last month to accessory after the fact.

Today, two teenagers who knew Timothy Wheaton and Phillip Bell open their hearts and tell what it is like to lose a loved one. MEMO: Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share with

Teenology readers? If so, call Infoline at 640-5555 and enter category

4268. You can also write to us at: Teenology, 4565 Virginia Beach Blvd.,

Virginia Beach, VA 23462, or e-mail us at edu(AT)infi.net.

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