Judge keeps police interviews with murder suspect sealed

Recorded police interviews with the man charged with killing a University of Vermont student will remain sealed for at least a week, a trial judge decided Friday.

Chittenden County Judge Michael Kupersmith held that the audio and video recordings of interviews with Brian Rooney, 37, will be kept private to maintain Rooney’s right to a fair trial and until Kupersmith issues a ruling.

The Burlington Free Press and a local TV station have tried to obtain the recordings, which were conducted between the time when 21-year-old Michelle Gardner-Quinn disappeared and when her body was found about a week later in October 2007. The recordings also show Rooney after his arrest.