Aquia Harbour's first slaying and the attempted abduction of a young girl one week ago have residents wondering just how safe their life is behind the North Stafford community's gates.

People who once felt comfortable leaving doors unlocked now bolt them, and even such routine tasks as gardening are done with an eye out for suspicious behavior.

Len Szafranski, a resident for more than 20 years, said Aquia Harbour once had a small-town feel, but those days have slowly slipped away as the development has grown.

Stafford County's largest residential community dates to 1969 and is now 90 percent developed, with 2,300 homes now selling at prices from $160,000 to $380,000. Boasting amenities such as a stable, swimming pool, golf course, private police force and gated entrance, the community off State Route 610 and U.S. 1 has attracted people looking for a nice place to retire or raise a family.

But last week's violent crimes have rattled some residents.

"I don't feel as safe as I did before," said a woman who has lived in the community for 14 years but did not want her name exposed to a killer.

A passing motorist discovered 27-year-old James Charles Hamilton George dead in his front yard about 6:15 a.m. last Thursday. He was apparently killed by a single gunshot to the head in what the Stafford Sheriff's Office said did not appear to be a random act or motivated by a robbery.

George, his pregnant wife and their young children had only recently moved to their Manila Cove home, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Some residents were more shaken by an incident that occurred the afternoon of the slaying. An 8-year-old girl was walking to a friend's home on Columbus Drive about 4 p.m. when two men approached in a silver van.

One man got out of the passenger side and walked toward the girl, yelling something indiscernible. Sheriff Charles Jett said the girl ran home screaming.

Ruth Thomas said she has been concerned about her daughter's safety ever since the unsolved slayings of Sofia Silva and Kati and Kristin Lisk in 1996 and 1997.

Authorities believe the abductions and deaths of the Spotsylvania County girls are the work of a serial killer.