ELKO, Nev. — The Las Vegas Sun reports that a man jailed in Reno on suspicion of murdering his ex’s boyfriend claims to have kidnapped, raped and killed an Amtrak passenger – throwing her body off the train while traveling through Elko County last month.
Elko County Sheriff Neil Harris said his detectives are following up on the claims by Robert McConnell, 30, but so far there’s no body and no evidence of a crime.
Harris said McConnell told Washoe County detectives he attacked the woman on the train somewhere between Wells and Elko near a bridge or a body of water.
The sheriff says it will take some time to research train records to determine if any female passengers were traveling alone from Chicago to California at the time who may be unaccounted for.
McConnell was arrested in the San Francisco Bay area two weeks ago and charged in the murder of Brian Pierce, 25, Reno. Pierce’s body was found shot and stabbed at a Sun Valley home.
McConnell allegedly kidnapped the girlfriend, but she managed to escape in San Mateo, Calif., and call police.