DATE: Wednesday, June 18, 1997              TAG: 9706180614

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   74 lines

VIRGINIA [BRIEFS]

STATE

State police hope tactics will deter crime at rest stops

RICHMOND - Virginia State Police are blending old-fashioned gumshoe tactics with high-tech equipment to combat a rash of violent crime at interstate highway rest areas, Col. M. Wayne Huggins said Tuesday.

Huggins, the state police superintendent, briefed the Virginia Crime Commission on heightened security at the rest stops where most of the trouble has occurred.

Two people have been robbed and killed at Virginia rest areas since December. There have been 17 other armed robberies at the rest stops in the last 16 months, most along the Interstate 95 corridor.

Huggins said the state police opened a satellite office Monday at the I-95 rest area in Caroline County. The office gives troopers a place to do paperwork and maintain a presence intended to deter crime, he said.

Similar offices will open Aug. 1 at rest stops on I-95 in Dale City, where one of the murders occurred, and Sept. 1 at an Interstate 64 rest area in New Kent County. The other slaying occurred at an I-81 rest stop west of Roanoke in Montgomery County.

``We're concerned about New Kent because of the race track opening,'' Huggins told reporters after the meeting. ``We expect a significant increase in usage because of the track.''

Colonial Downs is scheduled to begin thoroughbred horse racing Sept. 1.

Also, by midsummer the state police plan to install video cameras at the Dale City and Caroline County rest stops. Police at regional offices will use the cameras to monitor the rest areas.

Bill proposes minimum stay of 24 hours in mastectomy

RICHMOND - Legislation that would allow women to stay in the hospital for at least 24 hours after undergoing breast-cancer surgery would prevent ``drive-through mastectomies,'' the bill's sponsor said Tuesday.

Del. Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, told the Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits that his bill would require insurers to provide coverage for the length of stay recommended by a physician.

But Hamilton and supporters of his bill conceded that they knew of no complaints from women who had been rushed out of hospitals after the surgery. Hamilton also acknowledged that Virginia's health insurers and HMOs have voluntarily issued a policy statement promoting a 48-hour stay after a mastectomy. The law, he said, could prevent problems.

``It's better for Virginia to be proactive rather than reactive,'' he said.

Hamilton modeled his bill after legislation passed in 1996 that allows physicians, not insurance companies, to decide how long a woman can remain in the hospital after giving birth.

The advisory commission will decide on July 29 whether to recommend the measure, which was held for study after the 1997 General Assembly session and will be re-introduced in 1998.

NORTHERN

Report that could point to serial killer is delayed

SPOTSYLVANIA - An FBI report that could show whether the same person killed three Spotsylvania County girls will not come as early as local law enforcement officials hoped, authorities said Tuesday.

The FBI crime lab in Washington is comparing fiber and other forensic evidence recovered from the bodies of Sofia Silva, 16, and sisters Kristin Lisk, 15, and Kati Lisk, 12.

``It's going to be at least a couple of weeks before they can tell us anything,'' said Capt. Patricia Sullins, a spokeswoman for the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Department. ``We had hoped that it was going to be any day, but we would rather they take the time they need to double-check and triple-check.''

Despite strong similarities in the cases, Sheriff Ronald Knight said he will wait for the FBI review to draw conclusions about a possible serial killer.

All three girls disappeared from their homes after school, leaving behind no sign of a struggle. The two families lived within 10 miles of one another.

All three girls had dark hair and slim, athletic builds. Their bodies were found clothed and in water within 40 miles of their homes, and none bore obvious signs of trauma.

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