Killing Stuns Forest Hills – Coed is 2d Victim

A second murder in 6 weeks has shocked residents of the exclusive Forest Hills Gardens section of Queens. Last nights seemingly senseless murder of 20-year-old Columbia coed Virginia Voskerichian came on the first full day of operations of a new citizens patrol formed partly in reaction to the earlier killing. “The first was regarded as an isolated incident,” said Dr Gerald Gavin, a dentist and president of the Forest Hills Gardens Corp, which maintains the private community. “Now people are very concerned.”

Detectives said, however, they do not now believe the slaying of Miss V. is related to the earlier murder. In the earlier case Christine Freund was shot 3 times with a large caliber gun Jan 30 while sitting with her boyfriend in a car parked within a stone’s throw of the scene of Miss V.’s death. “We do not believe this is the same person at this time,” said one detective. He pointed out that the guns used in the two murders were quite different.

He was described as a white male, about 5-8 and between 16 and 18 years old. One passerby told the police that the youth blurted, “Oh, Jesus,” as he ran by realizing that his face had been seen.

Excerpt from William Slattery March 9, 1977 New York Post