DATE: Friday, November 28, 1997             TAG: 9711280059

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   49 lines

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY MOTHER, TWO CHILDREN FOUND DEAD IN HOME INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE TODDLERS DIED OF DEHYDRATION AFTER THE MOTHER'S DEATH.

Two young children found dead in Chesterfield County apparently died of dehydration after their mother died, leaving them alone, police said.

The victims, discovered Wednesday, had been dead for a few days, investigators said. They were identified as 27-year-old Rhonda Bush, who was found in her bed; 2-year-old Sonny, who was found on the floor; and 1-year-old Billy, found in his crib.

A relative found them about 4 p.m. when she went to the house off U.S. Route 1 in Colonial Heights to see why Bush wasn't returning messages. died of dehydration after their mother died, leaving them alone, police said.

The victims, discovered Wednesday, had been dead for a few days, investigators said. They were identified as 27-year-old Rhonda Bush, who was found in her bed; 2-year-old Sonny, who was found on the floor; and 1-year-old Billy, found in his crib.

A relative found them about 4 p.m. when she went to the house off U.S. Route 1 in Colonial Heights to see why Bush wasn't returning messages.

Investigators said the children appear to have died of dehydration. The mother apparently had been dead longer than the children. Police did not say what may have killed her.

``We'll treat this as a homicide until we can absolutely rule it out,'' said Chesterfield County Police Maj. James P. Bourque.

Neighbors said the children's father, Gary Van Wyck, was killed in a highway accident last year. Van Wyck was riding his motorcycle home from Tennessee when he pulled over to wait out a rainstorm and was hit by a hydroplaning car.

Police have been called to the house from time to time since then to investigate complaints by neighbors of drinking and fighting, Bourque said. Bush's mother, Sharon Rackley, said her daughter hadn't worked and had barely left the house since Van Wyck's death.

Rackley said she couldn't believe her grandchildren were dead.

``They were doll babies,'' she said. ``The little one, all he did was smile all the time.''

During the police investigation Wednesday night, several neighbors expressed dismay that the children could have been dying of thirst while the neighborhood went about its daily business.

``I would've gone and done something for those children if I had known,'' said Thelma Swann, a longtime resident. ``It just hurts my heart.'' KEYWORDS: DEATH

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