NY NABS IDAHO ‘KILLER’
Busted in rape, slaying of co-ed
A man accused of raping and murdering a bright Idaho college student — then dumping her naked body near a stream — was busted in New York City, police sources said Friday.
Bruce Marchant, 61, was arrested at a veterans hospital in Manhattan Thursday for the murder of 18-year-old Sierra Bush, according to police. He was charged with kidnapping, rape and murder in the high-profile case and is being held on Rikers Island, the sources said.
Bush, an honors student at Boise State University, disappeared on Sept. 27 and her body was found 30 miles outside of Boise the next month, according to the Idaho Statesman.
The cause of death was asphyxi- ation, the Boise County Coroner ruled.
The teen’s stepfather, Bart Green, demanded justice.
“We look forward to a successful conviction, so that it provides a measure of justice for Sierra and, hopefully, so that this individual is taken off the streets for the rest of his life — so he can never harm anyone again,” Green posted on Facebook Friday.
He added, “We are confident that the case will be successfully prosecuted.”
Marchant must be extradited back to Idaho to face trial, the Boise Police Department said in a statement.
Boise detectives flew to New York to help with the arrest after they “received information that Marchant was in a New York City hospital,” the cops said.
In 2014, Marchant was arrested on two counts of misdemeanor battery, but those charges were later dismissed, according to the Statesman.
He spent time in an Idaho prison and was released in 2008 but the charges, and the length of his stay, were not immediately clear, the newspaper reported.
Before her death, the young student participated in creative writ- ing and gender-equity groups on campus.
Some friends described her sexuality as “gender fluid.” Her stepfather said Sierra had attended at least one meeting at the Gender Equity Center at Boise State.
A heartfelt obituary written by her parents said: “Sierra was just beginning her adult life and blossoming in ways that made us proud.
“I loved her courage, her work ethic, her fun-loving attitude, her ability to start a movement,” the obituary read. “I looked forward to seeing what else she would do and who she would become.”
About 250 mourners honored her life at a vigil Wednesday night at Boise State, according to the Statesman.
“She has always been a very timid, introverted, very studious individual,” Green said.