BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CRESTVIEW HILLS -- The Lookout Farm Homeowners Association is circulating neighborhood warnings and urging residents who observe any unusual activity to call police.
Fliers were distributed this week, after the June 25 murder of Ramona Jean Williamson.
The information circulated by the Lookout Farm Homeowners Association urges residents to look out for their neighbors and and lock all doors at all times. Anyone who sees anything suspect is asked to call 911 immediately.
Residents with questions can attend the regular neighborhood watch meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lookout Farm clubhouse.
Mrs. Williamson, known as "Jean" to friends and family, was suffocated when the 66-year-old retiree surprised a burglar at her Calumet Court home, authorities have said.
"The No. 1 thing that people need to do is watch out for one another," said Lt. Col. Steve Schmidt, a veteran Covington police officer. "Almost every residential burglar who's been caught has been caught because a neighbor called."
Freddie Scott Furnish, 30, of Covington, is being held without bond, after he was arrested Sunday on charges of murder and first-degree burglary.
On Thursday, Kenton Commonwealth Attorney Don Buring refused to confirm or deny a published report that a witness who knew Mr. Furnish had spotted him near Mrs. Williamson's home on the day she was found murdered.
Fred Anderson, chief of the Lakeside Park - Crestview Hills Police Authority, said people shouldn't hesitate to call police, if they notice anything unusual in their neighborhood.
"A lot of times, people are just hesitant to call the police," Chief Anderson said. "I guess they feel like it's really not important, or they feel embarrassed, or they think they'll have to give their name and address. But nine times out of 10, your anonymous phone calls or your anonymous tips are the best ones to follow up on."
Jan Wuchner, a spokesman for the Dry Ridge post of the Kentucky State Police, said people need to trust their instincts when they feel something is amiss.
"We all get that little feeling when we're uncomfortable," Trooper Wuchner said. "You need to trust that little instinct, and give (police) a phone call."
Until Mrs. Williamson's murder, Chief Anderson said his department had never investigated a homicide in Crestview Hills.
"But it does show that those things happen anywhere, any time," he said. "That's why they have the neighborhood watch programs."
