- Publication: The Atlanta Constitution
- Author: Rebecca McCarthy, Staff Writer
- Original Publication Date: Monday, September 28, 1992
ATHENS — Other than a for-sale sign on one corner and a new restaurant on the other at the intersection of Clayton and Hull streets, little seems to have changed physically in the five months since University of Georgia student Jennifer Stone was found strangled in her off-campus house nearby.
The changes, many Athenians say, are more subtle: a slight edginess people have when parking on some downtown streets at night; the suspicion in the eyes of a passer-by; the extra caution used by downtown business owners. Ms. Stone’s slaying remains a brutal reminder that bucolic college communities aren’t immune to violence.
“I can’t believe we have problems like this in Athens, but I guess it’s everywhere,” said a longtime downtown merchant.
Ms. Stone, who was from Roswell and lived alone, was strangled sometime late April 22 or early April 23, authorities said. Her home was ransacked and she was sexually assaulted.
Police are still following leads involving three men arrested in July in the theft of two cameras from Ms. Stone’s house and charged with theft by receiving, Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Ronald Chandler said.
Athens-Clarke County police said in July that they hoped they could link the men directly to the killing — the first slaying of a UGA student in nine years — but that their DNA samples didn’t match those from the crime scene.
“We are still pursuing information about the timing of the possession of the cameras,” Chief Chandler said. The three men allegedly sold the two cameras in the early-morning hours of April 23.
Public officials are considering locating a division of the Police Department downtown, in a building that housed the Athens Police Department before city-county consolidation.
“I’d like a higher police presence, but we’re dealing with an incredibly prosperous downtown area,” said Melissa Clegg, owner of Last Resort Grill, which opened on Clayton Street this summer. “The case didn’t affect our decision to renovate our building or to locate downtown.”
To promote safety in on-campus housing, the UGA Department of Public Safety holds orientation sessions for incoming freshman students, said UGA Police Chief Chuck Horton. Because only 6,000 of UGA’s 28,700 students live on campus, most problems occur off the campus, says Safe Campuses Now, an Athens-based organization trying to raise student awareness of crime.
“Ms. Stone’s death really demonstrates the everyday risks of independent living,” said Dave Blount, a spokesperson for Safe Campuses Now. “Students are out there for the very first time, living on their own. They need to be aware that things do happen and can happen to anyone.”
[Photo caption] Jennifer Stone, a University of Georgia student, was strangled and her Athens home was ransacked.