Crime: Profile of a Murder Suspect

Can competition to become a high school cheerleader get so hot that it leads to murder? Police in the comfortable suburban San Francisco community of Orinda had to consider that possibility last week. They arrested Bernadette Protti, 16, and charged her with the killing last June of Kirsten Costas, 15, a fellow student at Miramonte High School. Kirsten had beaten out Bernadette and other applicants for a cheerleader's position. The stabbing had shocked the affluent city.

The arrest was made after police spent six months trying to find a suspect matching the description provided by a lone witness, who said that Kirsten had been attacked by a blond teen-age girl driving a gold Pinto. The owners of nearly 750 Pintos had been checked to see who might have had access to the autos. Quizzed earlier, Bernadette had calmly denied any involvement. She was arrested only after a psychological profile provided by the FBI suggested that the murderer would be convinced the slaying was justified and would show little reaction under questioning. The FBI also projected the likely income class and possible motives of such a killer. Said Sheriff Richard Rainey about the profile: "It was right on the money."