NEW YORK DNA recovered from a chain at the site of an Occupy Wall Street protest in March has been matched with DNA linked to the unsolved killing of a Juilliard student in 2004, law-enforcement officials said Tuesday.

The student, Sarah Fox, 21, disappeared while on a jog in Inwood Hill Park in May 2004, and her naked body was found in the park almost a week later surrounded by yellow tulip petals. The DNA on the chain, the officials said, was matched with DNA found on her portable compact-disc player, which was found in the park several days after her body was discovered. Police said she was strangled.

Investigators were seeking to determine the significance of the DNA match. One law-enforcement official said it was unclear who might have touched both items and why, noting that it might not have been the killer.

"Whether it's a friend or the bad guy, we have to find out," the official said.

The chain was used in March to prop open an emergency-exit door at a subway station as part of an Occupy Wall Street action to allow passengers to ride free.

The police later released surveillance video of people in hoods and masks wrapping a long silver chain around the door.

The investigation of the killing had focused on an artist and construction worker. Seven months after her body was found, the district attorney at the time said he was the "No. 1 suspect," but that there was not enough evidence to charge him.

The new findings raise questions about whether they have focused on the wrong person. Through his lawyer, the artist has denied any role in the killing.

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DNA ties protest site to killing 8 years ago