Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 2, 1981)
' P Page 10 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, APRIL 2,1981 :C < National Sex not discounted as motive in Atlanta child killing! United Press International ATLANTA — Authorities said the decomposed body of a black male pulled from the Chattahoochee River late Tuesday was a young man with probably no connection to the city’s string of 23 slain and missing children. The partially nude body was found in the river several miles from where the body of Timothy Hill, the 21st victim, was discovered Monday. Clad only in a T-shirt, the body appeared to officials to be that of a black teen-ager at first, but an autopsy early Wednes day established the victim as being over 20 years of age. There had been immediate speculation that the body might have been that of 15-year-old Joseph Bell, missing since March 2. But the autopsy, conducted at a funeral home in suburban Douglasville, ruled that out. “This is not Joseph Bell,” said Douglas County Sheriff Earl Lee. “This is a black male who looks about 70 inches tall and weighs about 150-175 pounds.” Lee said he could give no opinion on whether the body might be connected to the child murders, “but it is coinciden tal that the body was recovered from the same river just a day apart” from the body of Hill. A spokesman for the special police task force, which is investigating the slayings of 21 black children and disappear ances of two others over the last 20 months, refused comment. Lee said there were no visible wounds on the body, which had been in the water several days, but “we are investigating it as a homicide.” The body was discovered, lodged against a tree trunk, by a canoeist. Just as the youth found Tuesday night was almost nude, so was the mudcaked body of 13-year-old Timothy Hill, the 23rd black victim. His body had been fished from the Chatta hoochee Monday and identified Tuesday. Dr. John Feegel, assistant Fulton County medical examin er, said Hill died of asphyxiation—“suffocation, if you will” — at the hands of a killer who apparently dispatched the youngs ter as gently as possible. Forensic experts and officials investigating the unsolved murders say they are more certain than ever that sex is probably the motive in most, if not all, of the slayings. The removal of all of Hill’s clothes except undershorts “may be strongly suggestive of a sexual motive,” Feegel said Tues day. His statement echoed the beliefs of other investigators in the baffling case. Dr. Larry Howard, director of the state Crime Laboratory, has said that a sexual motive appeared to be a likely reason for the murders. No investigator has discounted the sexual mo tive. Hill disappeared while playing near his home March 13, but his name had never been added to the list of the special police task force investigating the murders because author ities stuck to the belief for nearly three weeks that he was a runaway. Hill’s death was likely to center police attention on his College dean says kids learn easier Clowns vie for spots in school United Press International , BALTIMORE — Lou Jacobs, 78, the dean of clowns for the Greatest Show on Earth, watched with keen eye as 37 of his students vied for admission to the one and only Clown College in the United States. “I got to think it’s easier for these kids now,” said Jacobs, as Ron Sederini, the college “dean,” put the applicants to the test. “These kids can learn in nine weeks what it took me five years to learn. You just watched. Every day — every day — every day.” Jacobs, a German immigrant, broke in with Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey in 1924, working as a contortionist. Later that same year, he got his break, and began training as a clown. Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey began the Clown College in 1968 a at the behest of Irvin Felt, its president. Each year since then, about 50 students have been selected from a pool of as many as 4,000 for nine- weeks of training in Venice, Fla. Auditions for the college are held annually in 40 U.S. cities. circus comes whenever town. Many of those trying out Tues day in Baltimore viewed clowning as a way to break the routine of the work-a-day life. Bruce Forcheimer, 25, of Balti more, described himself as the United Press International BATON ROUGE, La. — Tele vision evangelist Jimmy Swaggart said Wednesday a letter he re ceived threatening President Reagan’s life probably was sent by acquaintance or other connections with at least seven c murdered children. Hill lived around the comer from Joi Bell, 15, who vanished earlier this month. He may alsoli known Anthony Carter and Jeffery Mathis, two other j dered children. Hill’s older brother Richard was once a maintenance nuil a housing project where two other victims, Curtis Rogers Aaron Wyche, lived and which one other murdered 1 Aaron Jackson, frequented. Feegel said the fact there has been no evidence ofs molestation on any of the victims’ bodies does not discoui sexual motive. “One can abuse a person without leaving any marks,"|| said. “Little boys in their underwear are in their unden because someone has probably been fooling around \ them.” Most of the victims, however, have been found I clothed. MM “head go-fer” at the Baltimore Civic Center, site of the try-outs. “I’ve waited for this a long time, and I really want it,” he said. Bill Hechert, 20, is studying natural sciences at Towson State University, but said he’d rather be a clown. “I like to make people laugh, and I’d like to travel,” he said. The tryouts lasted about two hours and included slap-stick, pantomimes and other improvisa tions, along with the unicycling and juggling. Sederini asked the first seven people called up to feign happi ness, then sadness. Sederini next had them act as though they were peering through a restaurant win dow and persuading a customer to toss them a pork chop. Chuck Sidlow, one of two “Boss Clowns,” said he saw “one or two” people whom the admissions board might want to take a clow look at. Final notices will be seal out before Sept. 15. Admission is a good step toward becoming a professional cl but it is no guarantee. Only about one-half of "college” graduates get contracts with Ringling Bros, anil Barnum and Bailey, clowns said Jim Killebrew and Brian Smiti, two 1979 graduates who signed contracts, expressed satisfactioi with the clowning life. “It’s been a blast,” said Killeb rew. "The money is sort of secon dary. But I’m like Steve Martin- I’m just amazed that I’m getting paid anything for having fun.” Jacobs, who boasts owning "tbe smallest automobile in the world — 3-feet by 3-feet,’ agreed. He signed an autograph for a young admirer and said, “Let’s keep tbe world happy.” Letter predicted shooting a “kook,” but he gave the note to the FBI on a chance it might be linked to the president’s would-be The note — postmarked March 25 in Grand Junction, Colo, and opened Tuesday — read: “Ronald Reagan will be shot to death and this country turned to the left.” A ZIP code check of Swaggart’s computers containing the names of thousands of previous letter- writers showed a name in the Grand Junction area similar to that of John W. Hinckley Jr., the Ever green, Colo, drifter accused of shooting Reagan and three others. “It was very similar to Hinc kley,” Swaggart said. “It was very close. It started with an ‘H’ and ended as it should have ended to be similar. ” Swaggart stressed Hinckley’s name was not on the letter nor had the accused gunman been linked to it. turned over to the FBI, he said “I personally think it is not valid. I personally think it is a coincidence. We receive thiskini! of mail every day, not threats but people who say God told them something.” FBI agent-in-charge Ed Grims- ley said the note and a second let ter to Swaggart also postmarkedin Grand Junction were sent to tbe FBI’s national laboratories for testing. SE One w liams, Iromh oz “There is no real reason to feel that they were connected with tbe attempt on the president, but they are being tested, ” Grimsley said Wednesday. The note was written on a pre printed “prayer request” en velope inserted in Swaggart’s tionally-circulated monthly maga zine, “The Evangelist.” Tbe ]^n words were scrawled with a felt- tip pen beneath the pre-printed phrase, “Jimmy, please pray that “We get up to 300,000 letters a day,” Swaggart told reporters in the television studio of his large, multi-building office complex. “Always in that conglomeration of mail there will be what you call kook letters or crazy letters. “We usually discount them be cause you’ve got a lot of religious nuts in the world as well as other kinds.” The second Grand Junction let ter was also printed on a prayer request envelope. Although it idergrour contained no threat — reading “Right wing KKK trash mail” - Swaggart said it was written similar handwriting and the same type ink as the note threatening the president 'ipe, United ballin inters, Te led to Pat for tre ived whe § off an e Truitt Bi iramore I iiteforan e dozer 1 ■e, said E Because of Monday’s assassina tion attempt, the evangelist said he called the FBI. “In view that it came from Col- gy orado and was not so much a threat 0000000006 as a statement, we felt it should be save energy Bentley, percent nergency 'est Texas in Angelo irkland, 'ednesday proved. Sun Theatres 333 University 846- The only movie in town Double-Feature Every Week 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 846-9808 No one unde' 1 8 a very bright idea BOOK STORE A ?5e PEEP SHOWS Every leprechaun has a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... unless someone STEALS it! MSC Cepheid Variable Thursday, April 2 7=30 & 10:15 601 Rudder $1 finian’s rainbow (