Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993 TAG: 9312020202
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
RICHMOND - A Chesterfield County couple fatally shot in their home after a struggle had been dead for at least 48 hours before they were found, authorities said.
Richard A. Rosenbluth, 40, and his wife, Rebecca, 35, were found by police who were called to the home Tuesday morning by a concerned family member.
Their two vehicles were missing, and police were investigating whether the disappearance was related to the slayings. The couple, who had no children, were last seen early last weekend. Their small dog was found alive in the house.
Police have issued a bulletin to surrounding localities to be on the lookout for the vehicles: a black or dark-green 1988 Nissan Pathfinder with license plate number KGC-265; and a black 1988 Honda Accord with license number LRA-288. - Associated Press
Manger is empty after thieves take nativity
CHARLOTTESVILLE - A nativity set was stolen from the lawn of a house in an Albemarle County subdivision, police said.
Figures of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were reported missing Tuesday, along with a donkey, a shepherd and three wise men.
Only an empty manger remained of the nativity, valued at $1,000, that for six Christmas seasons has adorned the lawn in front of Ruth and Gordon Shira's house.
Ruth Shira, a retired principal and teacher, and her husband, a retired minister and current chaplain at the Salvation Army, are hoping the set will be returned. - Associated Press
North Anna plant gets nuclear chief's praise
MINERAL - The head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Virginia Power's North Anna nuclear power plant exemplifies how a station should be run, in marked contrast to how it looked a few years ago.
"This place was a very dirty mess six years ago," said Ivan Selin, chairman of the NRC, after touring the plant Tuesday. But now, "by any measure, it's a well-run plant."
The Louisa County plant had some problems earlier this year with a valve malfunction that led to a temporary shutdown. In the past decade, the station has had recurring problems with leaks in pipes that carry radioactive water. - Associated Press
Without lemon law, Va. at risk, group says
RICHMOND - Virginia could become the dumping ground for automobiles that cannot be sold in other states if it doesn't strengthen laws to protect used-car buyers, a consumers group warned.
At its annual conference, the Virginia Citizens Consumer Council said it will again ask the General Assembly to pass a law protecting consumers from defective cars.
The group failed to convince lawmakers to act on the proposed lemon law last year. Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia have such laws.
According to one Maryland official, used-car dealers in his state say they send cars that cannot be sold to Virginia and North Carolina.
- Associated Press
Teen's `unique' weight makes him a suspect
NEWPORT NEWS - The girth of a teen-ager arrested for a Newport News shooting made him a suspect in an armed robbery case in Hampton, authorities said.
The 14-year-old, who weighs 300 pounds, was arrested Monday and charged with both crimes.
A woman was shot in the thigh Nov. 19 outside a car in Newport News. The detective who made the arrest, noting that the teen was overweight, then contacted Hampton police, who were looking for an obese young man in a Nov. 17 robbery at the Coliseum Mall.
"We don't have that many robberies in which the suspect is so obese, which made this case very unique," said Sgt. Donnie Moore, a Hampton police spokesman.
The youth's identity is being withheld because of his age.
- Associated Press
Va. infant death rate reaches record low
RICHMOND - Virginia's infant death rate reached a record low of 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births last year, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday.
But Virginia still lags behind the national rate of 8.5 deaths per 1,000 births. Also, black babies are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday as white babies.
"It is clear that Virginia's efforts to attack the rate of infant deaths are beginning to show results," said Howard M. Cullum, secretary of health and human resources.
The infant death rate in Virginia was 10 in 1991. The figure had been 10 or slightly higher since the late 1980s.
- Associated Press
Daughters go on trial in mother's slaying
HARRISONBURG - A juvenile court judge on Wednesday began hearing the case against two daughters accused of murdering their mother the day before she wanted them to report to a new school with strict discipline.
Marilyn Fries was found dead in her home after her children, 12-year-old Stephanie and 13-year-old Camellia, called 911 to report that they had hid from an intruder and emerged to find their mother stabbed to death.
The Rockingham County Sheriff's Department said the third defendant, 14-year-old Shawn Roadcap, is Stephanie's boyfriend.
The family's minister said Fries, a 35-year-old nurse, "dearly loved her children" but had discipline problems with the pair since separating from her husband, Darrell, about two years ago.
The three children charged in the death have been held at the Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Detention Home in Staunton since their arrest the day after Fries' death.
The Fries girls spent last school year at a middle school and were to report Sept. 5 to Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal.
- Associated Press
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB