- Publication: The Atlanta Journal / The Atlanta Constitution (combined Sunday edition)
- Author: Dennis McCafferty, Staff Writer
- Original Publication Date: Sunday, April 26, 1992
ATHENS — The 22-year-old University of Georgia student from Roswell who was found slain in her off-campus home was sexually assaulted before her attacker strangled her, police said Saturday.
There was no sign of forced entry into Jennifer Lynn Stone’s house and no indication of a struggle, said David Camp, bureau chief of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
Ms. Stone had no injuries aside from those that indicated strangulation and sexual assault, and the bedroom in which she was found was not in disarray, he said.
Investigators ruled out as suspects some 70 friends and acquaintances of Ms. Stone, including known boyfriends, after interviews with all of them, Chief Camp said.
People advised to ‘keep your doors locked’
Police do not know if Ms. Stone knew her killer, or killers, but they urged residents of this college town to be cautious.
“We don’t want to give anybody the impression that we have a random killer on our hands,” Chief Camp said. “We are just advising people to take normal precautions. Don’t let anybody in who you don’t know, and keep your doors locked.”
Ms. Stone’s partially clad body was found on her bed by three fellow journalism students who went to her downtown Athens rental home early Thursday night after she failed to show up for a meeting on a class project.
Ms. Stone was a graduate of The Lovett School in Atlanta, and her teachers and friends remembered her as talented and friendly. She lived alone near the Athens bus station, and police Saturday had not ruled out the possibility she was killed by a transient. They issued a bulletin to police nationwide to look out for suspicious travelers.
Sorority is offered help in dealing with killing
Meanwhile, the reality of UGA’s first student slaying since 1983 sank deeper into the fabric of campus life.
At the Kappa Delta sorority house, where Ms. Stone was a member, university counseling officials and campus police offered the women help in dealing with their feelings and fears.
A moment of silence was observed during a party at a UGA fraternity.
At the university photography studio where Ms. Stone spent many hours developing her photos of fashion models, students remembered her innovative technique.
“She really liked the sparkle of it,” said senior Virginia McArthur. “All her pictures were very dramatic.”