Student abducted in Reno was strangled by serial rapist
RENO, Nev. -- A 19-year-old college student missing since she was abducted nearly a month ago was strangled by a serial rapist who has attacked at least two other women and may strike again, Reno police said Saturday.
An autopsy confirmed that a dead woman found in a field on the city's south side Friday was Brianna Denison and that she died of strangulation, Reno Deputy Police Chief Jim Johns said.
Her body had been in the field for more than a week about 8 miles from the house where she last was seen early Jan. 20 at the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno, he said.
"I would say this is a serial rapist," Johns said at a news conference. "We have two, probably three (cases) linked through DNA."
"The totality of the information in this case leads us to believe it is a sexually motivated crime," he said. "I'm worried this guy is still out there, and I'm worried somebody else is going to get hurt."
Denison's body was discovered Friday in a grown-over lot by a business park on the city's south side. The spot is about 8 miles from the house where she last was seen early Jan. 20 at the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Campus officers will do all they can to support investigators "in hunting this animal down and bringing him to justice, said university Police Chief Adam Garcia.
Heavy snowfall over the past few weeks may have delayed the discovery of her body, police said.
Denison was abducted Jan. 20 by a suspected rapist that police have linked by DNA to a string of attacks near the Reno campus. A student at Santa Barbara City College in California, she was visiting her hometown over winter break and was last seen sleeping on a couch at a friend's rental house just off campus.
Denison's disappearance generated an outpouring of support from the community. Hundreds of volunteers aided in daily searches in and around Reno, and electronic casino marquees featured her photograph.
One of the "Bring Bri Back" fliers with her photo and information about a suspect and suspect vehicle was tacked to a telephone pole on the corner of the field where her body was found about noon on Friday.
Police said DNA evidence links Denison's kidnapping to two other attacks on women near the university late last year, and that an earlier on-campus attack also could be related.