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Police Investigate Hundreds Of Tips, Suspicious Person Reports After Princeton Murder

PRINCETON (CBS) - A source tells WBZ that State Police investigators have reached out to the FBI for assistance as they search for the man who had a physical struggle with Vanessa Marcotte before he murdered her, and left her in the woods nearly two weeks ago.

WBZ security analyst Ed Davis says in a case like this, the FBI has a lot to offer. "The ability to develop a profile based upon the method of operation of the suspect and what the crime scene looked like. It is a significant assistance to the investigators that are here, and the FBI is very good at that," said Davis.

Vanessa Marcotte
Vanessa Marcotte (WBZ-TV)

Investigators are also working off the Princeton Police blotter, which shows in the week after the murder, the tiny department took more than four times as many calls as usual.
The blotter shows 91 calls in seven days, including 31 suspicious vehicle reports and 18 suspicious person reports. Calls included "Male walking on railroad tracks near Brooks Station Road," and "Suspicious male in Pick-up truck…"

The 27-year-old Marcotte was living in New York City, where she worked at Google. She was visiting her mother in Princeton when she went out for a run on August 7th, and never returned. Police found her body a half mile from her mother's home. A source said she was naked and burned.

Last week, after District Attorney Joseph Early announced her killer would have had scratches and bruises, the blotter says Princeton Police took "two calls regarding suspicious male on the mountain, male had cuts on arms."

Tips can be called into (508) 453-7589.

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