Arrest made in stabbing death of high school senior

Friday, March 28, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Connor J. Harris, 18, was arrested around 3 a.m. and booked on a charge of open murder for Thursday's killing of Alison Shaw.

Both were seniors at Galena High School in the upscale region southwest of downtown Reno.

School officials said Shaw, 17, had asked for a pass to use the restroom during her second class of the day. She never returned.

"We assume at that point, she left," said Principal Ross Gregory.

Her body was found lying in a pool of blood around noon by a maintenance worker at Saddlehorn Park a short distance away.

William Morgan, a worker with Bill's Lawn Service, discovered the body when he stopped at the park to eat lunch.

"At first it looked like someone sleeping under the bench," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "When I got within 10 feet, I could see it was a girl."

Details of the arrest were not immediately available.

The victim was the daughter of Linda Shaw, who operates Sunshine Reporting Services in Reno. Her father, Bill Shaw, is a prominent Douglas County attorney.

School district spokesman Steve Mulvenon said grief counselors will be at the high school today to help students cope with the tragedy.

"The strategy is to identify students close to her and single them out for counseling," Gregory said. But he added counselors will work with any student that needs to someone to talk to.

"I personally feel each one of these kids is part of my family," Gregory said. "The tragedy here is that we're dealing with a young life that has a tremendous value. Her hopes, dreams and goals were so quickly taken away."