LOS ANGELES — Police are exploring the possibility the deaths of Marina Habe, 17-year old daughter of screenwriter Hans Habe, and that of 13-year- old Virginia Lynn Smith of nearby Claremont were linked to the Michigan coed murders.

A sheriff’s homicide spokesman said two Michigan detectives who established a connection between co-ed murder suspect John Norman Collins and Roxie Ann Phillips, 17, who was killed June 30 in Salinas, Calif., were interested in “several other” Los Angeles area murders of young women.

The Michigan detectives were expected to return to California after a preliminary hearing for Collins. They conferred with sheriff’s homicide investigators here briefly Wednesday before flying back to Michigan for the court action.

Miss Habe was abducted from the driveway of her West Hollywood home of her mother, actress Eloise Hardt, whom she was visiting during her Christmas from the University of Hawaii. Her body was found New Year’s Day, lying in heavy brush beside a mountain road. She had been stabbed to death.

Miss Smith’s nude, bruised body was found June 23 in a creek near Claremont in an area frequented by motorcyclists.

A deputy said there were similarities between the deaths of the two teenagers and of the Michigan victims, but noted, “in any given number of murders, you almost always turn up some similarity.”

Police said there was insufficient evidence to charge Collins with Miss Phillips’ death, although Nancy Albrecht, 17, confirmed she had mentioned Miss Phillips to Collins the day before the girl disappeared. She was found strangled two weeks later.