Suspect’s Sketch

A month before Brianna went missing, a sketch of a suspect and a vehicle description was given to police by another rape victim. The truck description matched that of James Biela’s own truck. Biela was actually brought in for questioning, but he denied any wrongdoing in the case. He also refused to provide a DNA sample at that time, and the police couldn’t force him into giving one.

Reno Police Detectives Department

Police decided to question Biela’s girlfriend and mother of his 4-year-old son. She allowed the authorities to take a DNA sample from her son, which showed that the DNA found in Brianna’s case, as well as the previous rape case, reported the month before, positively matched that of Biela’s son. From this evidence alone, they were able to get a warrant for Biela’s arrest.