Nevada court denies james biela death row appeal

Tuesday, April 23, Biela was convicted of first degree murder and sexual assault as well as first degree kidnapping.

James biela mother

Her remains were not discovered until weeks later in a ravine in south Reno. During that investigation, Biela was linked to the sexual assaults of two other young women near UNR. He was also convicted of assaulting those two victims and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court has already upheld the conviction and sentence. Biela challenged his convictions and sentence this time arguing he received ineffective assistance of counsel, which the district court denied after an evidentiary hearing.

The DNA from the door handle at that residence was matched to the swabs taken from one of the other victims, connecting Biela to that crime as well. In addition, the Supreme Court denied a petition for reconsideration by Frank Matylinsky. He has been in prison for first degree murder committed in Reno since December Biela loses latest appeal of his death sentence for murdering Brianna Denison.