Officials have linked forensic evidence from the 2004 murder scene of a Juilliard student to the scene of a recent Occupy Wall Street subway vandalism, NBC 4 New York has learned.

Investigators have connected DNA evidence from the scene of Sarah Fox's murder in Inwood Hill Park eight years ago to DNA collected at the scene of an Occupy Wall Street subway station vandalism in March.

Fox, 21, was found nude and strangled in the park in May 2004, days after she disappeared during a daytime jog. Investigators recovered her pink CD player in the woods just yards from her body.

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Sources said Tuesday the DNA found on the CD player is linked to DNA found on a chain left by Occupy Wall Street protesters at the Beverly Road subway station in East Flatbush on March 28, 2012. 

Read the original story at NBC New York

That Wednesday morning, protesters chained open emergency gates and taped up turnstiles in eight subway stations and posted fliers encouraging riders to enter for free.

A "communique" posted online later that day by the "Rank and File Initiative" described the act as a protest against service cuts, fare hikes and transit employees' working conditions.

It was attributed to "teams of activists, many from Occupy Wall Street ... with rank and file workers from the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Amalgamated Transit Union."

Sources said they have not connected a person to the common DNA found on the CD player and the chain. There's no immediate evidence that the DNA belongs to the Occupy Wall Street protesters who chained open the gates.

No one was arrested in the March incidents. Police are continuing to investigate, and are now working to identify the source of the DNA found in common with the chain and the CD player.

Dr. Lawrence Koblinsky, a forensics expert at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the DNA link was a major clue in the investigation, one that could potentially break the case. 

“You’ve got the same DNA left at two distinct sites," said Koblinsky. "Until they find the individual who left that DNA, we won’t know. But the likelihood is high the person who left that DNA on the CD player is the killer of Sarah Fox.”  

Dimitry Sheinman, 47, has long been considered a suspect in the Fox murder. He has since moved to South Africa and started a family. He was never charged in the case.

Sheinman recently returned to New York City, proclaiming to be a clairvoyant with knowledge of the killer's identity. The information he gave police was unclear.

Sources said he remains a leading person of interest.

Sheinman did not respond to a request for comment.

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The Tea Party and Occupy movements have each generated considerable attention and helped shape the conversation heading into the 2012 presidential election. But seldom have the two sides engaged in a dialogue.

NBCPolitics.com aims to change that on Wednesday with a Web-only discussion between six members of the two movements – three Occupy protesters and three members of Tea Party affiliated groups. And we'd like you to participate.

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The one-hour event, which will be live streamed on Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. ET, will be moderated by MSNBC TV’s Richard Lui. See below for an introduction to our panelists, all of whom are activists we’ve encountered in the course of reporting on the two movements.

 

Among other things, we’ll ask them about the issues most important to them, similarities and differences between the two movements and the impact they feel they are having on the political process.

Related story: Occupy 2012: Firmly disorganized, driven by dreams

We’d also like to involve you in the discussion and invite you to submit questions for our panelists in the comments area below, on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus.

Then check back on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET to watch the event live, or look for it after the fact on msnbc.com.

Here are our panelists, who will be participating from various locations via webcams:

‘Occupy’

Sergio Ballesteros, 30, from Los Angeles area. A high school teacher for four years, he is now pursuing his master’s degree in urban teaching at UCLA and working occasionally as a substitute teacher. He camped outside City Hall for about six weeks at the Occupy Los Angeles encampment and was among those arrested when police cleared the site on Nov. 30.

Tim Weldon, 35, of Poughquag, N.Y., left his part-time job helping the disabled to find work to take up “occupation” He helped kick start the working group think tank at OWS. He has a master’s degree and used to work in post-conflict reconstruction and development in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. He came home two years ago to find a job but could only find the part-time one.

Elli Whiteway, 21, a senior Christian ethics major at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., who is involved in the Occupy Nashville protest. Her interest in community, dialogue, ethics and social justice motivated her to seek out and support the local movement. Her parents are Tea Party supporters. 

Tea Party

Monica Boyer, 36 of Warsaw, Ind., works as a college secretary. Boyer founded a Tea Party-affiliated group named for her county, Kosciusko Silent No More, which has about 200 regular members. She also co-founded Hoosiers for a Conservative Senate, aimed at defeating longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar in the primaries next spring.

Chuck MacNab, 79, a retired airline captain from O’Fallon, Mo. He is a founder of K & N Patriots--named for the high traffic intersection of state supplemental roads K and N, where the group holds a rally and meeting every two weeks at a corner gas station. His main concern is that we have gone too far in the direction of big government, and have too many constraints on freedom. 

Sharon Snyder, 74, of Madison Heights, Mich., is a member of MODESCO and the Troy Area Tea Party Michigan, a Christian Tea Party affiliated group. She says she got involved in the movement on Income Tax Day in 2009 and ended up helping to organize a bus trip to Washington, D.C., for a Tea Party event.