By  Seamus McGraw

October 19, 2006

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BURLINGTON, VT — Pol ice believe bloodstains found on his pants identify 36-year-old Brian Rooney as their chief suspect in the slaying of a young University of Vermont co-ed whose body was found last week, apparently dumped in a rocky gorge in Richmond, authorities said, but he has still not been charged in connection with that case.

In the meantime, authorities are reportedly planning to charge Rooney with soliciting a slaying, though details of that allegation were not immediately available.

At a hearing this morning, District Court Judge Michael Kupersmith turned aside defense objections and issued a revised order requiring Rooney to submit to a DNA test as part of the probe into the slaying of Michelle Gardner-Quinn. Authorities told the court that they had conducted DNA tests on the body of the slain co-ed and on a pair of jeans belonging to Rooney, a divorced contractor who was videotaped walking with the young woman minutes before she vanished. The samples, authorities contend, are a close enough match to warrant a DNA test on Rooney.

It was not immediately clear when Rooney would undergo the next round of testing. Though an autopsy, completed last weekend found that the 21-year-old senior was the victim of a homicide, authorities have released few other details about her death. They have not said how or precisely when she died, nor have they said whether there was evidence that she was sexually assaulted.

So far, authorities have not charged Rooney in connection with the slaying.

But his legal woes have continued to mount.

Next Page

Police Seek Witnesses in Hunt for Michelle Gardner-Quinn

Mystery Man Seen Walking With Michelle Gardner-Quinn

Search for Michelle Gardner-Quinn Stretches from Virginia to Vermont

Michelle Gardner-Quinn, Vermont Co-Ed Disappeared

Contact Seamus McGraw at seamusm@ptd.net

Seamus McGraw

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