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Number 6 noteworthy crime and punishment story 2008: Brianna Denison murder
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Brianna Denison (Reno Gazette-Journal/AP)
On Jan. 20, 2008, Brianna Denison, 19, was abducted from a friend's house in Reno, Nevada. She was on winter break from Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, California. Brianna and her friends had attended a party the night before and she had slept on her friend’s couch.
At 9 a.m. when her friends awoke, Brianna was gone. There was a bloodstain on the pillow she used, which alarmed her friends who immediately called Brianna's parents and the local police.
DNA was found near where Brianna was sleeping that belonged to an unidentified male. The DNA was also linked to a sexual assault on Nov. 13, 2007, of a University of Nevada-Reno student. Police believed the attacks were also linked to an attempted burglary at Brianna's friend's home on Jan. 19, 2008.
On Feb. 15, 2008, Brianna's body was found in a field near a Reno business complex. Police estimate she had been deceased for 2 weeks.
Hundreds of registered sex offenders living near the site of the abduction were interviewed, but Washoe County had fallen behind in processing DNA samples and the investigation came to stand still.
Booking photo of James Michael Biela (AP)
James Michael Biela, 27, was finally arrested in Nov. 2008, after a call to an anonymous tip line directed police his way. Biela had left Nevada in March for a job in Washington and when his girlfriend paid him a visit, she found women's underwear in his vehicle, which made her suspicious. She confided in a friend, and the friend anonymously alerted authorities.
Police received permission from Biela's girlfriend to take a DNA sample from Biela's son. The DNA sample linked Biela to Brianna's murder and the attack in Nov. 2007.
On Dec. 31, 2008, Biela entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping.
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