Death penalty sought for Biela

RENO " Prosecutors announced on Thursday they will seek the death penalty against James Biela, a construction worker charged with raping two women and killing a Reno coed who disappeared from a friend's couch about a year ago.

Biela, 27, is scheduled to stand trial in February 2010 for the death of Brianna Denison, who vanished Jan. 20, 2008 from a friend's rented house near the University of Nevada, Reno.

Her body was found 26 days later hidden beneath a discarded Christmas tree in a vacant lot in a southeast Reno business district.

An autopsy showed she was raped and strangled.

Two pair of women's thong underwear were found entwined and tucked under her leg. Medical experts have said they believe one pair was used to strangle the 19-year-old woman, and DNA from at least one pair ties Biela to the crime.

Biela also is charged with raping a woman in a parking garage in October 2007, and kidnapping and sexually assaulting another woman two months later.

All the attacks occurred on or near the UNR campus.

Biela, who studied martial arts and served briefly in the Marines, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and three counts of sexual assault.

In a court filing, District Attorney Dick Gammick, who is prosecuting the case with Deputy DA Elliott Sattler, said the sexual assault of Denison and violence against the other victims are aggravating circumstances that qualify the prosecution as a death penalty case.

Biela pleaded not guilty to the crimes during his arraignment last month.

Gammick said no plea negotiations are under way. He said he would not consider withdrawing the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas.

"We do not use the death penalty as a plea chip," Gammick said at Thursday's news conference.

Biela's public defender Richard Davies did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Biela became the focus of the 10-month investigation on Nov. 1 after police received a tip from a caller who reported that Biela's girlfriend had confided to her that she found a pair of thong panties in the glove compartment of his pickup truck.

When questioned, detectives said he refused to provide a voluntary DNA sample to clear himself as a suspect.

The mother of Biela's son granted permission for police to take a DNA swab from the child. From that, forensic experts determined the boy's father could not be ruled out as a suspect, and an arrest warrant was issued.

Biela was arrested Nov. 25 in the parking lot of his son's Reno preschool.

Authorities said a swab taken from Biela after his arrest matched DNA from the crime scenes.