Tests defended in murder case

RENO -- A prosecutor has denied allegations that DNA evidence was destroyed in the rape and murder case against a former Marine.

James Biela has pleaded not guilty to charges of killing and sexually assaulting 19-year-old Brianna Denison, who was abducted from a home near the University of Nevada, Reno on Jan. 20, 2008. Her body was found in a vacant lot three weeks later.

Biela is also charged in two other sexual assaults on or near the UNR campus.

Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler told the Reno Gazette-Journal on Friday that analysts at the Washoe County Crime Lab followed established protocol when testing DNA samples in the case.

In a motion filed in September, Chief Deputy Public Defender Maizie Pusich claimed the crime lab destroyed DNA samples, preventing the defense from running independent tests.

According to the motion, the evidence collected was 70 to 100 times the amount needed to develop a genetic profile of a suspect. It said destroying what was left prevented the defense from conducting an independent analysis and violated Biela's rights.