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05/07/2012 12:12 PM by The Associated Press
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Lawyers trying to get James Biela off Nevada's death row say his execution sentence was emotionally motivated by "an avalanche of news coverage" and the public campaign to bring j… Click to Read More and see additional updates
05/07/2012 12:12 PM by The Associated Press
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Lawyers trying to get James Biela off Nevada's death row say his execution sentence was emotionally motivated by "an avalanche of news coverage" and the public campaign to bring justice to the young woman he was convicted of raping and strangling.
The appellant lawyers told the Nevada Supreme Court Monday Biela deserves a new trial in the 2008 killing of Santa Barbara City College student Brianna Denison and sexual assault of two other college coeds around the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.
They say even if he's guilty of the crimes, he didn't deserve the death penalty. They say the jury was prejudiced and acted out of passion because of the media frenzy over the manhunt for a serial rapist, the blue ribbon campaign in Brianna's name and the Bring Bri Justice Foundation.
06/02/2010 03:29 PM
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A jury sentenced a 28-year-old Nevada man to death for raping and killing a college coed after sexually assaulting two others in Reno more than two years ago.
The same Washoe County District Court jury that convicted James Biela last week deliberated about nine hours before reaching a unanimous verdict Wednesday.
The former pipe fitter from Sparks will be sent to death row to await execution by lethal injection.
Biela's public defenders asked the jury to spare Biela's life because he had no previous criminal record and had been abused growing up in poverty in the Chicago area.
Nineteen-year-old Brianna Denison was raped and strangled to death during a string of attacks that shook the Reno community in early 2008.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
05/28/2010 08:11 AM by Kelly Bush
According to our Reno affiliate KRNV, a jury has found James Biela guilty of all five counts in the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Santa Barbara City College student, Brianna Denison. The jury deliberated for a total of six hours.
Biela kidnapped 19-year-old Denison from her friend's house in Denison's hometown of Reno in 2008. Her body was found about a month later in a field.
Biela was also convicted of two unrelated sexual assaults.
The penalty phase of the trial is just getting underway.
05/26/2010 10:40 PM
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A jury in Reno ended its first day of
deliberations without reaching a verdict in the trial of a
28-year-old Nevada pipe fitter accused of raping and murdering one college coed and sexually assaulting two others.
Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes Wednesday in James
Biela's trial. Washoe District Court Judge Robert Perry told them to return Thursday.
Prosecutors say a mountain of evidence - including a DNA match as rare as 1 in 125 quadrillion - proves Biela is the serial rapist who terrorized the community in 2008.
Biela's lawyers argued that the case's publicity put pressure on law enforcement officers and caused them to make mistakes.
The assaults near the University of Nevada, Reno, campus
culminated in the kidnapping and strangulation of 19-year-old Brianna Denison in January 2008.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
04/02/2010 03:39 PM
RENO, Nev. (AP) A judge in Reno says prospective jurors for the trial of the man accused of killing Brianna Denison won't automatically be thrown off the jury because they believe in the sanctity of human life in the case that could bring the death penalty.
Washoe District Judge Robert Perry denied a request by James Biela's lawyers Friday to give the prospective jurors an extended questionnaire with probing questions about religion and capital punishment. But he says a juror's opposition the death penalty isn't a problem as long as they think they can set aside the belief and follow the law.
Biela is accused of sexually assaulting two other young woman in addition to the kidnapping, rape and murder of the 19-year-old Denison in 2008. Jury selection begins May 10.
03/31/2010 06:15 PM
RENO, Nev. (AP) The judge in a high-profile murder case in Reno says he will decide by Friday what special steps to take to seat a jury impartial enough to ensure a fair trial for the alleged serial rapist accused of kidnapping and killing Brianna Denison.
James Biela is scheduled to go to trial in May on charges he murdered the 19-year-old college coed in 2008 and raped two other young women.
Washoe District Judge Robert Perry says the cost of the trial expected to last at least three weeks is not the primary concern. But he says it must be considered when seeking the fairest jury possible for such an emotional case.
Biela's lawyers say it will be an uphill battle given all the publicity of the attacks that gripped the community for months.
08/26/2009 12:19 PM
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
RENO, Nev. (AP)
The man charged with raping and killing a college coed and sexually assaulting two other women near the University of Nevada, Reno has a new lawyer.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports Washoe County Chief Deputy Public Defender Maizie Pusich has taken over as lead attorney for James Biela. She replaces another public defender who left the office for private practice.
Biela faces a possible death sentence if convicted of raping and killing 19-year-old Brianna Denison.
Authorities say the 19-year-old Denison was abducted while sleeping on a couch at a friend's house in January 2008. Her body was found three weeks later in a vacant lot in southeast Reno.
Biela also is charged with two other sexual assaults near the UNR campus.
His trial is scheduled to begin in February.
---
Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
06/09/2009 01:38 AM
Monday, June 8, 2009
RENO, Nev. (AP)
Lawyers for the man accused of killing Briana Denison and sexually assaulting two other young women in Reno are asking a judge to once again consider holding three trials instead of one.
Washoe District Court Judge Robert Perry rejected a motion last month to separate the three cases.
Lawyers for James Biela say in the new motion they fear a jury could confuse details of the cases and harm his right to a fair trial.
Biela is charged with raping and killing the 19-year-old Denison after he abducted from her friends house near the UNR campus in January 2008.
He also is charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a UNR student in December 2007, and raping another student in a UNR parking garage in October 2007.
---
Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
05/05/2009 12:19 PM
Monday, May 4, 2009
Reported by: Kelly Bush
The man accused of raping and killing a Santa Barbara City College student and sexually assaulting two other women will be tried on all three cases at the same time.
Monday, a judge denied a request for separate trials by James Biela's defense. Public defenders had argued he would not receive a fair trial if the cases were combined.
Biela is accused of abducting and killing 19-year-old Brianna Denison in her hometown of Reno last January. He is also accused of attacking two other college students.
Biela's trial is set for February.
01/28/2009 10:54 PM
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Reported by: Emily Kiefer
A lawyer for the man accused of killing a Santa Barbara City College student is asking to move the location of his client's trial. He says he wants to move the case out of Reno because of the pretrial publicity of the attack.
27-year-old James Biela is scheduled to stand trial in February of 2010. He is also accused of sexually assaulting two other college students.
Biela's lawyer says he plans to ask the court to hold three separate trials for the three attacks.
Prosecutors have already said they will push for the death penalty in Denison's case.
Denison disappeared last January while sleeping on a friend's couch in Reno. Her body was found nearly a month later in a vacant lot.
01/08/2009 03:46 PM
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Reported by: Colin Seiler
Nevada prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a Santa Barbara City College student.
James Biela is set to stand trial in February of 2010 in the murder of Brianna Denison.
Denison disappeared while staying at a friend's house in Reno in January of 2008. Her body was found on February 15.
Biela is also charged with sexually assaulting two other women in 2007.
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