Death penalty sought in killing of Brianna Denison

<p>Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against James Biela, a construction worker charged with raping two women and killing a Reno coed who disappeared from a friend's couch about a year ago.</p><p>Biela, 27, is scheduled to stand trial next year for the death of Brianna Denison, formerly of Mendocino, who vanished a Jan. 20, 2008 from a friend's rented house near the University of Nevada, Reno.</p><p>Her body was found 26 days later hidden beneath a discarded Christmas tree in a vacant lot in a southeast Reno business district.</p><p>An autopsy showed she was raped and strangled.</p><p>Biela also is charged with raping a woman in a parking garage in October 2007, and kidnapping and sexually assaulting another woman two months later.</p><p>All the attacks occurred on or near the UNR campus.</p><p>Biela, who studied martial arts and served briefly in the Marines, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and three counts of sexual assault.</p><p>-- Associated Press</p>