DON'T LET GUARD DOWN, LSU TOLD

Arrest Doesn't Clear Cases Of 2 Student Murders

BATON ROUGE - A recent arrest that Baton Rouge residents hope may be linked
to the murders of two LSU students shouldn't put people at ease, the head
of a local crime stoppers group warned Monday.

"What I'm scared to death of right now . . . is that with this most recent
arrest people are going to let their guard down," Sid Newman, executive
director of Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers, told the Press Club of Baton Rouge.

Police arrested Christopher Wilson, 27, of Hammond last week on counts of
kidnapping, rape and attempted murder in the abduction of a Baton Rouge woman.

East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Lt. Darrell O'Neal said Monday that
Wilson was being looked at as a possible suspect in the killings of two
female LSU students last month. But O'Neal said Wilson had not been linked
to the crimes.

The unsolved killings of the two LSU students, who both lived near the
university campus in an area of town known as Tigerland, has some Baton
Rouge residents and students on edge. The area is popular with college
students.

A woman asked Police Chief Pat Englade at a neighborhood meeting how he
would feel if his daughter lived in the neighborhood where one woman was
murdered. Englade said parents might want to have their college-aged
children move.

Charlotte Murray Pace, 22, was stabbed to death in her town house May 31.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the home.

Christine Moore, a graduate student who lived in a Tigerland apartment, had
been missing since May 24, and her remains were found scattered around a
Baptist church last week. Police released few details about the investigation.

Newman said he feared Baton Rouge residents who may know something about
the killings aren't saying anything because they think someone else might
come forward with information.

"We're not getting the calls currently that we should be getting," Newman
said. "For every crime, we believe somebody besides the perpetrator has
information about what happened."

Newman said crime on or near college campuses has become a growing problem,
pointing to a rise in incidents of date rape with the advent of "club
drugs," such as GHB. It is known as the "date-rape drug" because users can
lose consciousness and remain unable to recall hours of time lost.

The latest statistics show one in four college women will be sexually
assaulted, Newman said.

Crime Stoppers plans a public awareness campaign at Southern University and
LSU that would have radio spots, TV spots, billboards, fliers and meetings
with fraternities and sororities about date rape and drugs, according to
Newman.

He said the campaign would cost $190,000 and is scheduled to begin in the
fall semester if Crime Stoppers can line up all the donations needed to fund it.