The Murder of Brianna Denison

A week after her body was found, a "Live, Love and Unite" ceremony was held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in memory of Brianna Denison. More than 3,000 mourners attended as police continued the search for her killer. Police advised people to be aware that the attacker's behavior and appearance might have changed since the discovery of Denison's body, noting that such changes would be apparent to people who were close to him. They asked anyone noticing unusual behavior or someone making marked appearance changes to contact the police.

By early April 2008, police had received more than 4,000 tips in the case, but none of them had led to a suspect. The Regional Sex Offender Unit, which comprises officers from the Reno and Sparks police departments and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, interviewed 100 sex offenders residing within a mile of the MacKay Court residence, and contacted more than 1,700 registered sex offenders living in Washoe County, creating a backlog in DNA processing. Funds were quickly raised to help speed up the process, but a suspect remained elusive.