For the first time during his trial, testimony Friday centered around the man accused of killing Nicole VanderHeyden.
The arrest of George Burch came out in witness testimony Friday, as investigators described learning of him as a possible suspect. Before the arrest, investigators found an unknown DNA match on VanderHeyden's sock. It matched the profile for Burch.
Then, the investigation turned to finding out more. Investigators found Burch at a Green Bay home and put him under surveillance.
"At that point it was just background, finding out who is George Burch," Brown County Sheriff's Sergeant Brian Slinger said. "What are his ties to Green Bay, where does he live, where does he work?"
With a DNA sample matching Burch, the state's crime lab compared it with previous pieces of evidence and found several matches.
"the Y (male) profile that I detected from George Burch is consistent with the Y profile one that I had detected from the items of evidence," state crime lab analyst Kevin Scott said.
The evidence are key components of the case. Burch's DNA profile was found on several places of VanderHeyden's body, as well as a black cord that may have been used to strangle her.
