DNA analyst back on stand

posted on: May 24, 2010

A DNA expert formerly with the Washoe County crime lab testified this morning that he tested a pair of women's panties, and his own DNA contaminated the sample.

Biela's then girlfriend allowed DNA from her son to help identify Denison suspect

posted on: May 21, 2010

After James Biela's girlfriend allowed the police to take a DNA sample from the son she shared with Biela and they made a match with DNA from the crime scene, Beila was arrested.

Detecteve Adam Wygnanski said he met Biela at a daycare center and took him into custody before he went inside.

"He was concerned about his son, and I informed him we would make every effort to make sure his son was taken care of," Wygnanski said.

Biela told the detectives that their evidence against him was either "bull.." or "horse...," Wygnanski said.

Biela's former girlfriend also gave the police Biela's black sweatshirt that had "brownish stain" and his muddy gym shoes.

"Mud was important because the area Denison was found was muddy," Wygnanski said.
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2:20 p.m. update: A forensic investigator with the Washoe County crime lab found blood and teeth marks on the pillow Brianna Denison had used the night she disappeared.

Suzanne Harmon, testifying this afternoon in the James Biela murder trial, said she tested a list of swabs taken from the house - from the door knobs, glass on doors and the couch.

She also swabbed and examined the pillow.

The tan pillow has an "apparent blood stain" that had clotted blood, mucus and "a faint orange stain, possible vomit."

On the back side she found teeth marks that had some blood.

Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler asked Harmon based on her training, how did she think the pillow was used in the crime.

"It's my opinion the pillow was held over someone's face and there's a possibility their DNA was left behind on there," she said.
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noon update: When Reno police detective Adam Wygnanski first met with James Biela in early November 2008, they chatted about Chicago, but Biela changed his demeanor when the officer said he was investigating the Brianna Denison murder.

"He asked if this was about his dad. He had concerns about his dad because his dad had some problems," Wgnanski said. "I said no it is not."

Man who discovered Brianna Denison's body in South Reno field takes the stand

posted on: May 20, 2010

The brightly colored socks first caught his eye and as he approached, he thought he was looking at a mannequin in the ditch partially covered by a tree.

"I could see there were two bright pieces of fabric, but I couldn't make out what they were," said Alberto Jimanez, who worked at EE Technologies, a business next to the South Reno field.

"As I got closer, I realized those pieces of fabric were in fact socks, bright orange almost neon-like socks. They seemed to be attached to a pair of feet," he said.

Then he saw the rest of the body.

"There was a wound of some sort on the right arm," he said. "When I saw that, I realized this had to be the body of a deceased person."

He said he had heard about the search for Brianna Denison, but had not made the link.

"The face of that body did not look anything like the picture on that billboard at all," Jimanez said. But when the police arrived, an investigator told him that the body size and type matched her description, and said it was Denison.

Jimanez was walking back from a Subway restaurant that Feb. 15, 2008 day, when he saw the socks. It was a clear, cool day, and much of the snow from a recent storm had melted, he said.

As Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler showed photos of that field in South Reno, Jimanez described how he noticed the tree because it was out of place in a field of Sagebrush.

The jurors leaned closer as Sattler showed photos of the body, unclothed except for the socks. Her left arm was raised above her head and on her bent right arm was an open wound. A gray rock was on the right side of her body, and under her right thigh were two pairs of women's underwear.

The pink pair was lacy with hearts. The dark pair had a Pink Panther design.

Jimanez didn't have a cell phone so he went back to his office and told his boss about the body. The two men returned, and his co-worker called 911.

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Update at 2:11 p.m. A man who lived next door to the house from which Brianna Dension was abducted testified this afternoon that he saw a shadow outside his house and heard someone try to open the door the morning Denison disappeared.

Police officers who searched for Brianna Denison to take stand today in Biela trial

posted on: May 18, 2010

Law enforcement officers involved in the investigation of Brianna Denison's disappearance are expected to be among the people called to testify today in the James Beila murder and sexual assault trial.

The second week of the trial began yesterday with emotional testimony from Denison's mother, friends and boyfriend. Throughout the day they told stories of their final moments with the 19-year-old college student who was abducted Jan. 20, 2008, and found strangled to death 26 days later.

The prosecution said they won't finish putting on their case until Friday.

Biela is charged with murder and sexual assault in the Denison case, and with sexually assaulting two other college students.

The Bring Bri Justice Foundation has created the Brianna Guide to aid in the search for a missing person. Additionally, the Foundation has created a search team to work with law enforcement in recovering missing persons. Currently, the search team is undergoing training from the Washoe County Sheriff's Department. The Foundation Center, in the Smithridge Shopping Plaza, will serve as the search center, in the event that someone from Washoe County is missing. If so, we will be in need of both search volunteers as well as donations, so please add your name to the volunteer list and donate using this web page.
 

100% of proceeds go to The Bring Bri Justice Foundation