PRINCETON � It's been nearly seven months since Vanessa Marcotte left her mother's Princeton home for an afternoon jog and never returned. More than half a year since her body was found in the woods off Brooks Station Road, her murder remains unsolved.



Investigators are still searching for her killer, but in the months that have passed that search has gotten narrower, and last week, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early announced that that hunt has gotten a step closer. They do not know the name of the man who killed Vanessa, but they do know another key to his identity: they have his DNA.



In a press conference outside of the Princeton Town Hall Annex, a tiny parking lot usually filled with municipal employee cars, Early stood before reporters and television news cameras last Thursday to announce a new development in the case � that the man's DNA, combined with with information from more than 1,300 tips that have poured in since August, have led to some key clues as to who Vanessa's murderer is.



Early said that they have narrowed their search and are looking for a Hispanic or Latino male with light to medium complexion, of average height and with an athletic build. At the time of the murder, he had a shaved head or very short hair. He is approximately 30 years old and would have sustained scratches around the face, neck, arms, hands and upper body on Aug. 7 and dates forward of that, Early said.



Sifting through more than 1,000 tips and a very precise science yielded the new description of the person of interest in the case � the first major development that's been announced since police said they were looking for a dark SUV in connection with the murder last November. Along with testing at Massachusetts State Police labs, the DNA�was sent for more detailed testing at Parabon NanoLabs, a small Virginia-based company whose "DNA engineers" are performing groundbreaking work.







Staffed by a team of scientists and technologists, Parabon is leveraging the enormous power of DNA with recent advances in DNA sequencing, processing and manufacturing technologies. They offer a forensic DNA analysis service that predicts the physical appearance and ancestry of an unknown person from DNA, used by law enforcement across the country for generating investigative leads, narrowing suspect lists, and identifying unknown remains.



"DNA carries the genetic instruction set for an individual's physical characteristics, producing the wide range of appearances among people," according to their description of DNA phenotyping. "By determining how genetic information translates into physical appearance, it is possible to �reverse-engineer' DNA into a physical profile. Snapshot reads tens of thousands of genetic variants (�genotypes') from a DNA sample and uses this information to predict what an unknown person looks like."



"We're very confident in our description that we've given you today that this is our person of interest," Early said at last week's press conference. Since it is an active investigation, Early said he was limited in the questions he could take, but emphasized the coming up with the physical description is a very significant development in the case.



Indeed, similar clues have been a turning point in other unsolved cases. Just last week, police investigating a 20-year-old cold-case rape and killing in Costa Mesa, California, used DNA phenotyping to pinpoint the identity of a suspect.



Early would not say if Marcotte was specifically targeted, nor exactly where the DNA was collected. He said police officials have been able to rule out a connection to the murder of a female jogger in Queens around the same time.



"We are asking the public's help in locating this particular person of interest," Early said, but cautioned that the man should



not be confronted. "I'm here today to urge the public to please, if you think you have something, give a call on the tipline."



Vanessa Marcotte's naked and partially burned body was found in the woods not far from her home on Brooks Station Road. She worked for Google and lived in New York City, but was home that weekend visiting her family. Marcotte, 27, went out for a jog several hours before she was due to catch a bus to New York. When she did not return, a search was undertaken. Early thanked police chief Michele Powers, MSP detective lieutenant Dennis Hunt, Colonel Richard McKeon and Secretary of Public Safety Dan Bennett for their efforts, assistance and resources in this investigation.



"State police detectives, Mass. State Police and Princeton Police are continuing to follow every tip and every lead they get in this case," Early said.



After the news conference, Vanessa Marcotte's uncle, Steve Therrien, released the following statement: "The family of Vanessa Marcotte wishes to thank the District Attorney, his staff, the detectives of the Mass State Police assigned to the case, and the Princeton Police Department for their relentless efforts and the tremendous support that they have shown us throughout this ordeal.



"The family thinks that this development of a profile of a person of interest will be very helpful in getting the public to rethink and re-examine the events of Aug. 7, 2016 and help identify an individual who might have been on Brooks Station Rd on that day and subsequently had scratches and cuts that were clearly visible on his person. No tip is too small to call in.



"Vanessa went for a walk on the lovely afternoon of Aug. 7, 2016. She did nothing wrong. She deserves justice."



Anyone knowing a man fitting the description is asked to call the MSP tipline at 508-453-7589. The tipline is anonymous.