DATE: Thursday, July 31, 1997               TAG: 9707310402

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: SPOTSYLVANIA                      LENGTH:   31 lines

REPORT: FBI LINKS DEATHS OF 3 VA. GIRLS TO 1 PERSON

An FBI analysis of evidence in the killing of three Spotsylvania County girls has determined that one person is responsible for all the deaths, WTTG-TV reported late Wednesday.

The Washington television station said it had received the information from sources in the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.

However, Mary Johlie, spokeswoman for the FBI's Richmond office, told The Associated Press that the results of the bureau's analysis have not been released.

The sheriff's office has scheduled a news conference on the cases at 10 a.m. today but refused to be more specific.

Sisters Kristin Lisk, 15, and Kati Lisk, 12, disappeared May 1. Their bodies were found floating in a Hanover County river five days later. The body of Sofia Silva, 16, was discovered in a King George County creek eight months earlier.

All three girls disappeared from their homes after school, leaving behind no sign of a struggle. The 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.

The FBI crime lab in Washington is comparing fiber and other forensic evidence recovered from the bodies of the three victims.

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