By Seamus McGraw
(Continued)
"The manner of Michelle's death appears to be homicide pending confirmation from the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner's Office," the statement read. "We expect that the medical exam will also confirm her identity."
Authorities say they expect Rooney to be arraigned Monday in Caledonia County District Court.
Authorities had been focusing their attention on Rooney almost from the beginning of the probe after learning that he had been with Michelle, and had even lent her his cell phone, in the moments before her disappearance.
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Michelle Gardner-Quinn |
Though they had withheld his name, on Friday they released a series of surveillance photographs in which he could be seen walking along with Michelle on what was to have been her trek home early Saturday.
Word of the arrest capped an afternoon of feverish activity in the hunt for the young woman, who was last seen walking toward her college dorm early Saturday accompanied by a man police have not yet identified.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, a backhoe was brought into a backyard in Richmond, a bedroom community about 15 miles from downtown Burlington, and according to a report published on the Burlington Free Press Web site, construction workers had said that they were concentrating on a hole that had been filled with fresh concrete, perhaps as late as Monday.
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Police Seek Witnesses in Hunt for Michelle Gardner-Quinn
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