Vanessa Marcotte: Arrest Made In Murder Of Jogger

PRINCETON, MA—An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of Vanessa Marcotte, officials said Saturday afternoon. The body of Marcotte, a 27-year-old Boston University grad, was found in the woods after she went out for a jog near her mother's home in Princeton in August.

"Good afternoon," Worcester County DA Joseph Early said in a press conference. "We got him."

"Him" is 31-year-old Angelo Colon-Ortiz. He was arrested at his Worcester residence late Friday with the assistance of Worcester Police. Colon-Ortiz has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault and battery, and assault with intent to rape.

"I anticipate there will be a murder charge," Early said.

Colon-Ortiz is being held on $10 million bail at state police barracks pending his arraignment on Tuesday in Leominster District Court.

In February, Early's office announced that it had received a DNA profile on a person of interest that had been retrieved from a sample from Marcotte's hands, announcing to reporters a description of a Hispanic or Latino male in his 30s with an athletic build, short hair or shaved head and light to medium skin. The man is said to have driven a dark SUV that would have been in the vicinity of the murder that day and would have likely had scratches on his arms, hands and face.

A state trooper spotted a dark SUV in Worcester not long ago, said Early. The trooper wrote the license plate number down on his hand and followed up with a visit the next day. Colon-Ortiz was not home, so the trooper left his card, and the call was not returned. He returned the next day and retrieved a swab sample from Ortiz and a DNA match was made on Friday, said Early.

The 27-year-old Marcotte was found dead near her mother's home in Princeton on Aug. 7, 2016. An employee at Google's New York City office, Marcotte went missing during a jog. A K-9 police dog found Marcotte's body about a half-mile from the home, and investigators say she was last seen on Brooks Station Road that afternoon. Her body was reportedly burned and naked.

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Photo Credit: Massachusetts State Police