Police: Dead student victim of serial rapist

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- A 19-year-old college student missing since she was abducted nearly a month ago was strangled by a serial rapist who has attacked at least two other women and may strike again, Reno police said Saturday.
An autopsy confirmed that a dead woman found Friday in a brush-covered field near a business park was Brianna Denison and that she died of strangulation, Reno Deputy Police Chief Jim Johns said.
Her body had been in the field for more than a week about 8 miles from the house where she last was seen early January 20 at the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno, he said.
"I would say this is a serial rapist," Johns said at a news conference. "We have two, probably three (cases) linked through DNA."
"The totality of the information in this case leads us to believe it is a sexually motivated crime," he said. "I'm worried this guy is still out there, and I'm worried somebody else is going to get hurt."
Campus officers will do all they can to support investigators "in hunting this animal down and bringing him to justice," said university Police Chief Adam Garcia.
Heavy snowfall over the past few weeks may have delayed the discovery of her body, police said.