Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 1

Program fosters special ties Jersey Shore Weather: Partly sunny Water Temperature: 60 Simon found guilty of libeling opponent Radio ads in sheriffs campaign IB mark 20 years 12A i i Casinos 2B COUM wmm Pulse 8C Jennifer Persia, 16, was beaten and stabbed in her home in 1994. Now, a neighbor who let Jennifer's parents stay; at his home that night is considered a suspect. Neighbor a suspect in death Persia was a Sterling High School track star and saxophonist. She was stabbed 22 times and beaten with a blunt object on April 4, 1994, in her family's home in the 100 block of Jefferson Avenue. Her mother and stepfather found her when they returned from work about 8:30 p.m.

There were no signs of forced entry, but there were signs of a struggle. There also was evidence Please see MAGNOLIA, Page 5A The parents, Georgia and Mickey MacNeir, said investigators told them O'Brien is a suspect and that his DNA is being tested against crime-scene samples. Sources close to the murder investigation confirmed O'Brien is a suspect and the subject of DNA tests. No one has been charged with Persia's murder, and police have no one in custody, officials said. Kaigh said his client was questioned at the time of the murder and again more recently.

student buried Police charge Camden teen in 4 killings night they found their daughter dead, Persia's mother said. Jaime Kaigh, a Cherry Hill criminal attorney hired by the suspect, said his client is innocent and hired him to put his side of the story forward. "Unfortunately, at that time frame he lived close to the murder victim's house, and that's it," Kaigh said. Kaigh would not identify his client, but Persia's parents identified him as Steve O'Brien, 42, who has since moved to a different address in Magnolia. Slain 7 1 c' By JEREMY KOHLER Courier-Post Staff MAGNOLIA More than four years after 16-year-old Jennifer Persia was beaten and stabbed to death in her family's living room, investigators have identified a man who was living next door as a suspect, the girl's family and the suspect's attorney said Tuesday.

The suspect was a friend of Persia's parents and allowed them to stay at his home the Vaccine for Lyme disease approved By LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. Government scientists reluctantly decided Tuesday the first vaccine against Lyme disease meets requirements for U.S. sale, but told the manufacturer to continue testing its safety. Despite backing SmithKline Beecham's LYMErix, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration listed complaints that could stifle the vaccine's use: Nobody yet knows how many booster shots are needed and if getting boosters year after year will prove safe. No one knows if it's safe for people with chronic arthritis or undiagnosed Lyme disease.

Unlike any other vaccine, it takes a year for LYMErix to build up optimal immunity. And while children most urgently need a vaccine, the FDA panel noted that LYMErix initially is just for people over age 15, because SmithKline is only now beginning pediatric studies. "It's rare that a vaccine be voted on with such ambivalence and a stack of provisos," said Dr. Patricia Ferried of the University of Minnesota, who chaired the FDA advisory panel. Because Lyme disease is a serious threat in parts of the country, "the benefits are on the side of the vaccine in the short term," said Dr.

Dixie Snider of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, the panel voted unanimously that LYMErix meets legal requirements for FDA approval but said it is not for people with chronic arthritis or for children, and that booster shots aren't to be given pending further study. Panelists also demanded that SmithKline continue to research long-term safety. Nation-World Opinion South Jersey Classified Money Business Dow down 150.71 to 8963.73 Taste Living Sports Scoreboard 01 CD has lived all his life and is known there as "Iv." "He was quiet. He never bothered anybody," said neighbor Tamyka Johnson, 23.

"If he was involved in drugs like they say on television, he didn't bring it home with him. He kept that part of his life over there. In fact, just the other day he helped me look for my dog which had gotten out. We found him entangled in a fence, and he helped me get him loose." "He's a good neighbor," said 19-year-old Nichole Jones. "His I father is a clergyman.

He ain't never been in no trouble." Camden police paint a different picture. They said King was asked to leave Camden High School when he turned 16 be-; cause of persistent disciplinary problems. He agreed to leave and enrolled in the school district's adult-education day program at the Jerrothia Riggs Education Center on Kaighn Avenue, police said. School district spokesman Bart Leff could not confirm the police information Tuesday night because school officials had left for the day. According to a court affidavit released by Rubenstein, police were sent to a Bristol Township I home on Beaver Dam Road around 1:15 a.m.

Saturday, after receiving a call about a snooting involving numerous victims. Please see BRISTOL, Page 4A I Ivory King, 17, has eluded police after allegedly shooting 4 people in Bristol, Pa. By LOUIS T. LOUNSBERRY Courier-Post Staff A Camden teen-ager with a history of high school disciplinary problems has been identified by authorities as the person who fatally shot four people at a party in Bristol Township, over the holiday weekend. None of the victims was the teen's target, police said.

Despite eluding authorities, Ivory "Youngin" King, 17, of the 1100 block MacArthur Drive in the Morgan Village section, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Also being sought on the same charges are Corey McCloud, 21, and Craig Jones, 23, both of Levittown, Pa. The trio also has been charged with illegal possession of a handgun, conspiracy, aggravated assault, and 15 counts of reckless endangerment and simple assault in connection with the shooting, which occurred at an apartment complex off Beaver Dam Road. They remained at large Tuesday night. News of the murder warrants, announced by Bucks County District Attorney Allen M.

Rub-enstein, shocked residents in the quiet neighborhood where King HQ in He said his client is upset about the investigation. "Anyone being looked at in a murder case would be upset," he said. Greg Reinert, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, would not comment. O'Brien could not be reached at home. A man who answered the door at his parents' home next door to the house where Persia was slain told a reporter, "No comment.

Get off the property." was charged with making terroristic threats after showing a teacher a drawing of a person being killed by a gun. Later, police seized 20 guns including two AK-47s from the boy's father, fearing the boy might have access to them, tories, Page 3A Ellis Island New Jersey property with landfill from 1891 to 1933, and that property was at the heart of the case. "We have long recognized that a sudden shoreline change has no effect on boundary," Justice David Souter wrote for the court about the impact of the landfill. "The lands surrounding the original island remained the sovereign property of New Jersey when the United States added landfill to them." New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman was elated.

"We in New Jersey take our place in history very seriously," Whitman said on the steps of the Supreme Court building. She Please see RULING. Page 4A At A Their first day of classes at Thurston High School since the tragedy was cut short so they could attend the funeral of Mikael Nickolauson, 17, one of the victims. Meanwhile, in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean County, a 15-year-old student Court rules is mostly in By PAMELA BROGAN Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Ellis Island is mostly in New Jersey, not New York, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, but the site where millions of immigrants first set foot on U.S. soil still belongs to the federal government.

The 6-3 decision ended a lively legal dispute between the two states over the 27.5-acre New York Harbor island. The bottom line: New York keeps about three acre8 the original size of the island and New Jersey gets the rest. The federal government created most of New Jersey's new TV By Jack Smith, Associated Press Grief: Jake Ryker, who subdued the Thurston High School shooter, consoles Michelle Calhoun, 17, fiancee of Mikael Nickolauson, who was buried Tuesday in Eugene, Ore. British protest guest iff- r'V 1 ft. 1 Students in Springfield, gathered outside their school to sing "Amazing Grace" Tuesday and later were encouraged to express their feelings about the shooting rampage that killed two young people and injured 22 others last week.

Terrorist plot Police round up 88 Islamic militants in raids across Europe, saying they had obtained evidence of a terrorist campaign to disrupt this summer's World Cup soccer championship in France. Page 6A Chance of rain HIGH Mid 70s LOW Low 50s Complete forecast 2A Got a news tip? Call the fourier-Post tip line from your touch-tone phone at 662-3636; enter code 8477 (TIPS) and leave a message. Astrology 16C Movies 13C i Classified 13B Obituaries 5B Comics 15C People 16C Crossword 16C Stocks 7B DearAbby 16C Television 12C Editorials 10A Weather 2A By Adrian Dennis, Associated Press Veterans turn their backs on Japan's Emperor Akihito as he rides in a horse-drawn carriage with Britain's Queen Elizabeth in London on Tuesday. The veterans were demonstrating against the way Japanese soldiers treated British civilians and veterans during World War II. Page 7A.