On December 16, 2007, a University of Nevada, Reno, student reported that as she parked her car at 2 AM to enter her off campus apartment, she was knocked to the ground by an unknown assailant. She was then forced into her assailant's extended cab pickup truck, driven to a remote local location, sexually assaulted, and then allowed to escape her kidnapper, the latter who kept the victim's underwear, likely as a trophy of his crime. This is a trait associated with serial offenders, to include serial rapists and serial killers.

Shorty more than a month later, and within sight of the December 16 assault and kidnapping, 19-year-old Brianna Denison, a local resident who attended college in California, was kidnapped from the couch of a friend's residence where she was staying for the night. Blood, identified as Denison's, was discovered on the blanket she used that night and on the pillow that rested under her head. As the crime scene suggested a kidnapping, an extensive investigation was conducted in the local area, to include the residence from which Denison was believed to have been taken. Unidentified male DNA was recovered from the door knob at the rear of the residence, but Denison was nowhere to be found. Police were able to link DNA recovered from the December 16 assault victim and that found at the Denison crime scene. It appeared likely that a serial rapist could be stalking the local college neighborhood.

On February 15, 2008, the remains of Brianna Denison were discovered in an open field miles from where Denison and the other victim had initially been assaulted. Under her body investigators discovered two pairs of woman's panties, one of which, bearing the design of the "Pink Panther," received nationwide coverage as police attempted to identify the owner of the panties. Investigators were also looking for a truck meeting the description provided by the December 16 victim, a truck that had a young child's shoe in it, suggesting the driver/assailant might have a child of his own.

DNA foreign to Denison, who was strangled to death, was discovered on the panties found under her body. Was this a mistake on the part of the killer or was he taunting police? Now investigators had three crime scenes to consider: the residence where Denison was initially attacked, the vehicle in which she had been transported to the body disposal site, and the remote, windswept site where her body was discovered. The CSI investigation at the latest crime scene revealed unidentified matching male DNA on one of the two pairs of panties and on Denison's body, DNA that also matched that recovered from the house Denison had been taken from and also matched that associated with the December victim. Now not only did police need consider the likelihood of a serial rapist, but one that had turned to murder to conceal his crime.

As I walked in the Reno neighborhood surrounding the residences of both female victims with an NBC Dateline crew, we could see how easy it would be for an offender to stalk this neighborhood, this street at night. A suspect could easily look directly into the home in which Denison stayed, and could just as easily see her as she slept on the couch that fateful night. He would know his previous victim's residence was just up the street, a stone's throw from where he watched from the dark as Denison slept. He would have found the doors to the residence unlocked, easy access to Denison who text messaged her boyfriend at 4:23 AM, indicating she was probably kidnapped between that time and 9 AM when she was discovered missing. Her assailant must have identified her as his next victim, entered her residence, hit her so hard as to cause her to bleed, carried her small body from the apartment to his truck, and driven her to the remote disposal site, a location that would strongly suggest his connection to both the Reno area and, perhaps, to the college itself.

The site where Brianna's body was discovered was rather unremarkable had it not been for the many flowers, candles, crosses, and other tributes that had been left by her friends and complete strangers who still mourned her death. Winter would see these momuments to her life fade away, but what was really missing from the crime scene was the name of her killer, someone who could strike again at any time.

Police had Brianna's killer's DNA signature and a description of his vehicle. As we indicated on NBC Dateline, Denison's murderer would likely flee the area and dispose of his truck, waiting until the investigation stalled before he returned to the Reno area. We indicated that he probably worked and lived in the local area, possibly with a woman who had a young child.

In the months following Denison's murder, hundreds of suspects would be considered and eliminated by DNA, the gold standard for such investigations. All the police needed was a break, one name that could be matched with the crimes. That break came on November 1, almost a year after the first assault and 10 months after Denison's kidnapping and murder. Someone called in on the local Secret Witness Line and indicated James Michael Biela was a likely suspect in Denison's murder. When located and interviewed by police, his alibi didn't hold water, he appeared very nervous, avoiding eye contact with investigators, and he refused to provide a DNA sample, one that could clear him or positively link the 27-year-old man to the unknown rapist, kidnapper and killer. Police noted that Biela met the physical description of the December assailant, he had resided in the local area and worked at the college at the time of the two known crimes, and had moved from the Reno area shortly after Denison's body was discovered, selling his Toyota extended cab pickup in another state.

Not to be deterred, investigators identified Biela's local girlfriend, someone with whom he had a 6-year ongoing relationship and one that resulted in the birth child a few years ago. Obtaining a DNA sample from Biela's biological son, police were able to match it with the DNA evidence from the December sexual assault, the DNA found on the door knob at the apartment from which Denison was abducted, the DNA found on the panties located under Denison's body, and from that found on Brianna's body dead. DNA, unlike most murderers, doesn't lie and the man likely responsible for the December sexual assault and the rape and murder of Denison was finally off the street.

Investigators still have a number of challenges ahead of them. Biela's girlfriend indicated that he was absent from their residence for days at a time during the winter months of 2007-2008; with him indicating that when gone he slept in his truck. If linked to the two crimes related to the Univ Nevada/Reno, what other similar crimes might he also be responsible for? Police learned that Biela allegedly moved to Washington State in March 2008, where he was thought to have resided until September of this year. It was during this period that he sold his pickup truck and acquired another vehicle. Police must first put together a rock solid case charging Biela with the assault of his December victim and the assault and murder of Denison; and secondly determine what other crimes in the Reno area he might be responsible for. At the same time the FBI's VICAP program will be trying to determine if Biela is linked by MO and/or physical evidence to any other similar crimes across the country, especially in the State of Washington. It's highly likely he is.

DNA has been to 20th and 21st century law enforcement what the two-way radio was to their earlier police counterparts. Although much of what is portrayed on TV concerning crime scene investigations, and the technicians who perform this difficult work, is pure fiction, what is true is that DNA solves crimes and gets criminals off the street. Biela has now been linked to at least three local area crimes. The case against Biela will be built on linking physical evidence and supported by evidence of him having had the opportunity to commit these crimes. The lies he told will be used against him and his moving to Washington and selling his vehicle, one that police will be seeking to find and process for additional physical evidence, will add to the weight of potential evidence against him.

If guilty of these crimes, Biela is likely a serial offender, one who took the panties of his victims as personal souvenirs of his terrible crimes. Remember the two pairs of panties found under Denison's body have yet to be linked to their owners; therefore it is likely that they, like those of his known victims, were taken by him to help him fantasize about and relive his crimes against the women who wore them. There is, at times, a fine line between a man and a monster, and the killer of Brianna Denison surely is the latter. That Biela likely considered a college environment to be a target rich stalking ground is a terrible thought, but one that accounts for his ability to identify potential victims across the area. Other victims will likely be identified as it is unlikely that Biela waited until he was 27-years-old to begin to commit such crimes. If the physical evidence against Biela stands up to review and challenge, he will likely be convicted of these and possible other offenses. Little consolation for Brianna Denison's family and friends, but if convicted, his stalking activities are over. The streets of Reno are now a little safer, but such crimes, and the criminals who commit them, will, unfortunately, always be with us.