Arrest made in SBCC student killing

By DAILY SOUND STAFF REPORT

The City of Reno Police Department yesterday announced the arrest of 27-year-old James Michael Biela for allegedly killing 19-year-old Brianna Denison, who was a student at Santa Barbara City College.

A statement from Nevada authorities said DNA taken from Biela’s juvenile son matched DNA discovered on Denison’s body.

“The DNA analysis concluded the biological father of the child is the same person whose DNA was discovered on Denison’s body…” the statement says.

Denison, a native of Reno, went missing on Jan. 20 from a home near the University of Nevada, Reno. Her body was found a month later in an undeveloped field southwest of that city.

The police statement said Biela was identified as a potential suspect on Nov. 1 by a tip received through a secret witness program.

During the course of the investigation, police say they received roughly 2,278 tips through a police tip-line that was established the day after Denison’s abductions and was up and running as late as Tuesday.

Within days of Denison’s disappearance, police obtained a suspect description from the earlier attack. It included a description of a pickup truck, which was apparently sold by Biela, but was located by police on Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and is in police custody.

Biela was arrested in Sparks, Nevada without incident.

Authorities say Biela, who was employed in the construction trades, was arrested on a charge of open murder in the Denison case and first degree kidnapping and sexual assault charges in the earlier case.

Comment on this article

Subject:

Body:

Poster:

Enter text seen above: