Suspect In Custody In Murder Of 19-Year-Old College Coed
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Suspect In Custody In Murder Of 19-Year-Old College Coed
A 27-year-old man was in custody Wednesday in the January abduction and murder of a 19-year-old college coed.
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(November 26, 2008)—James Michael Biela, 27, of Sparks, Nev. was in custody Wednesday in connection with the Jan. 20 abduction and murder of 19-year-old college coed Brianna Denison who disappeared from the home of a friend she was visiting.

Denison was, a student at Santa Barbara City College in California and was last seen sleeping on the couch at a friend’s rental house near the University of Nevada Reno campus in her hometown of Reno.

Reno police arrested Biela Tuesday with the help of agents from the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service.

Officers obtained an arrest warrant based on analysis of DNA recovered during the investigation and a DNA sample from Biela’s son.

Denison was the focus of a major search.

Her body was found on Feb. 15 in a field in a light industrial area in southwest Reno.

Investigators said the DNA evidence gathered from the scene linked Denison's killer to at least two other sexual attacks on women at or near the UNR campus from October to December 2007.
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