
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 30, 1990                   TAG: 9005300488
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BRISTOL, VA.                                LENGTH: Medium

POLICE BELIEVE SERIAL KILLER SHOT WOMAN ON I-81

Authorities say they believe the February shooting of a Bristol woman on Interstate 81 may have been the work of a killer who has committed similar crimes across the nation.

Investigators reached their conclusion after conducting more than 150 interviews with potential witnesses and comparing notes with law enforcement agencies around the United States, Bristol police Chief Tom Stone said Tuesday.

"There are some similarities that would almost lead us to a person like a serial killer that just goes around randomly shooting at people in different states, and there's no rhyme, reason or pattern," Stone said. "It just happens whenever the mood strikes them."

Tammy Salyer, 18, of Bristol, was killed by a single gunshot fired from the passenger's side of a passing car as she drove home from work along the interstate shortly after midnight on Feb. 28.

Bristol Lt. James Myers said correspondence with other law enforcement agencies has produced evidence of two very similar highway shootings in Layton, Utah. A shooting involving a pedestrian in Jacksonville, Fla., also has similarities to the other cases, Myers said.

Myers said Bristol police also have gotten reports of several crimes elsewhere that were similar to the killing of Salyer and the other shootings.

Those findings, coupled with evidence indicating Salyer was a random choice by the killer, has led police to believe the killer may have been someone moving across the country, Myers said.

Bristol police said their investigation also has turned up a second I-81 shooting on the night of Salyer's death. The second shooting did not involve any injuries, police said.

by CNB