Email this to a friend   Print this story

The following was gleaned from http://www.kvom.com/tuesday.htm

The family of a New Jersey woman killed over two years ago at the west-bound rest stop of Interstate 40 near Morrilton hopes the Arkansas Highway Department will consider closing the rest area. Kristen Laurite was 25-years-old when she was found stabbed to death in August of 2000. Authorities say she had been sexually assaulted by her killer, who was never found. Laurite would have turned 28-years-old today. Her aunt, Renee Frietag, tells K-V-O-M she's glad to see the Morrilton City Council pass a resolution urging the closure of the rest area -- and hopes the Conway County Quorum Court will pass one soon. The Quorum Court referred the passage of the resolution to a committee when it met Monday night. On the two-year anniversary of the murder, law enforcement officials held a press conference where they revealed a link between Laurite's death and that of a California woman four months later. State Police say genetic evidence shows that the same person likely killed Laurite near Morrilton and Jackie Travis in Merced, California. The new information generated new interest in the case -- and in March, "America's Most Wanted" and "The San Francisco Chronicle" will both feature stories on the cases of Laurite and Travis...