Washington DC: Still No Leads In Woman's Brutal Murder...
Slimpickins
Dread Lingers in Aspen Hill Park
Police Reopen Path in Montgomery Where Woman Was Fatally Attacked
By Phuong Lyand Michael H. Cottman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 27, 2001; Page B03
Montgomery County police yesterday reopened the popular wooded trail in
Aspen Hill Park where a jogger was beaten and left to die Wednesday, but few
people ventured onto the path, just outside Rockville.
Police stationed at the trail's two entrances questioned people who walked
by and continued to question residents about whether they had seen anyone
suspicious. By the end of the day, investigators said they still had few
leads on the brutal daylight attack that killed Sue Wen Stottmeister, 48.
Stottmeister who lived on Drake Drive, about a half-mile from the park, had
been taking her regular jog about 2:30 p.m. when she was assaulted, police
said. She struggled with her assailant, who may have bruises and scratches
from the incident, police said.
Police said Stottmeister, a preschool teacher and mother of two, had been
dragged, and her body was found about 50 feet from the winding trail, about
a half-mile from park's Baltic Avenue entrance.
Investigators say exposure to the cold for several hours before she was
discovered may have contributed to her death. But police declined to discuss
how she was assaulted, saying it was important to their investigation.
"We wish we could assure the community," said Capt. Bill O'Toole, a county
police spokesman. "We just don't know who did this."
Maryland-National Capital Park Police are patrolling the three-mile trail in
four-wheel-drive vehicles, and Montgomery County police are cruising the
neighborhood. County police have scheduled a community meeting about the
assault at 7:30 p.m. today at the Bauer Recreation Center, 16625 Bauer Dr.
in Aspen Hill.
Steve Taylor, of Bethesda, and his friends plan to run the Aspen Hill trail
this morning in memory of Stottmeister. Taylor, a consultant, said that he
didn't know Stottmeister but that he was struck by her death.
"She's just like so many of us," said Taylor, 53. "The trail should not be a
scary place. I don't like the thought of having a fear of running."
Yesterday, several cars drove through the Baltic Avenue entrance to the
park, but the drivers did not park or get out.
Resident Kathy Drake said she usually walks the trail three times a day, but
goes armed -- with two dogs, a can of pepper spray and a whistle. "It's
scary," she said. "I saw someone earlier [on the trail] who looked strange,
and I turned around and walked the other way.
Bill Blair said that the woods are picturesque, but that he worries about
continuing his daily walk there. "I can understand why people are fearful,
and I'm concerned about children and women walking out here alone," he said.
Yesterday morning, Stottmeister's father, brother and husband visited the
site where her body was found. They left a dozen red roses on a patch of
grass.
Police ask that anyone with information call the county major crimes
division at 240-773-5070 or Crime Solvers at 800-673-2777.
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53928-2001Jan26.html