Topeka ? The mother of a Kansas University student who was murdered in Costa Rica urged senators Monday to endorse a bill making victims of crimes overseas eligible for compensation from the state.

Jeanette Stauffer, of Topeka, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that passage of the measure would show victims and their families that the state cares about them. Her 23-year-old daughter, Shannon Martin, was stabbed to death in May 2001 in Golfito, Costa Rica, while doing research for a thesis.

Stauffer said she and her husband spent $5,200 just to return her daughter’s body to the United States and that their expenses eventually reached more than $100,000.

“Not only were we dealing with the gut-wrenching pain of losing a daughter, we had to rely on people in Costa Rica to choose the casket, prepare her for burial and return her body in time for the planned funeral,” she said. “My husband and I were overwhelmed by all of the red tape we had to endure.”

The state established a victims’ compensation program in 1978, as a last resort for crime victims who could not have their expenses covered by an offender, the federal government, the workers’ compensation system, disability benefits or some other source. A state board determines whether a victim receives money.

However, under Kansas law, a victim or victim’s family cannot make a claim if the crime occurred outside the United States and is not the result of terrorism.

“It’s too late for Shannon’s family, but it’s hoped this bill would help others,” said Sen. Dave Jackson, R-Topeka, who supports the measure.

Last year, Costa Rican judges sentenced two men each to 15 years in prison for Martin’s murder. Stauffer said her daughter, who had spent the spring and summer of 2000 in Golfito doing research, had returned for only a week more in 2001. Her assailants attacked her as she left a nightclub close to her residence.

“She screamed and fought while the killers brutally stabbed her 14 times,” Stauffer said. “She knew she was being killed.”

The committee took no action on the bill Monday. However, Chairman John Vratil, R-Leawood, said after the meeting that he expected the panel to endorse it.

Victims’ compensation is SB 256.