Man accused of murdering jogger Vanessa Marcotte pleads not guilty

WORCESTER, Mass. — The man accused of killing jogger Vanessa Marcotte was formally arraigned on a murder charge in court Wednesday morning.

A grand jury indicted Angelo Colon-Ortiz last month after police say he killed the Google employee while she was out for a run in Princeton.

PHOTOS: Jogger found dead in Princeton

Her body was found about a half mile away from her mother’s home.

Colon-Ortiz waived his presence in court Wednesday because his attorney said there was an identity issue.

His lawyer entered a not guilty plea.

The prosecutor and the defense agreed Colon-Ortiz be held without bail.

MORE: Man accused of killing Princeton jogger indicted for murder

Investigators arrested Colon-Ortiz, 31, of Worcester, in connection to Marcotte’s murder in April when his DNA profile matched DNA samples taken from Marcotte’s hands.

At that time he was charged with aggravated assault and battery and attempted rape. He was arraigned in Leominster on those charges.

But last month a grand jury indicted Colon-Ortiz on a murder charge, and that’s the charge he was arraigned for on Wednesday.

This is the next step in what has been a very lengthy process to bring whoever killed Marcotte to justice.
Last August 27-year-old Marcotte was visiting her mother in Princeton and decided to go for a run. She never returned.

Investigators worked the case for eight months before Colon-Ortiz was arrested. The married father of three was working as a delivery man in the Princeton area at the time of Marcotte’s murder.

Colon-Ortiz is due back in court Aug. 24.

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