MELISSA TREMBLAY: Man arrested in 1988 killing of 11-year-old girl from Salem, New Hampshire

You may remember this case:

Former Massachusetts corrections officer arrested for 1988 slaying of 11-year-old girl

A 74-year-old man was arrested this week for the 1988 murder of an 11-year-old girl in Massachusetts.

www.foxnews.com

Melissa Ann Tremblay disappeared in Lawrence, Massachusetts, at the age of 11 on a Sunday evening in 1988 and was found the next day after being stabbed to death and hit by a train.

More than three decades later, her alleged killer was arrested in Alabama and will be returned to Massachusetts to face justice. Marvin McClendon, Jr., a 74-year-old retired Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer, was taken into custody by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and will be arraigned in an Alabama court later this week.

Tremblay went with her mother to LaSalle Social Club in Lawrence on September 11, 1988.

"While her mother and mother’s boyfriend remained inside the club, Melissa played in the adjacent neighborhoods and was last seen by a railroad employee and pizza delivery driver during the late afternoon hours," Blodgett said.

Tremblay's mother and her mother's boyfriend searched the area before reporting her missing to police that evening around 9:00 p.m.

Law enforcement located her body in a railway yard a couple of blocks from the social club the next day and an autopsy determined that she had been stabbed to death.

 

[Regina]

That would make the most sense. And then add to it what he was looking at online in later years, although it wasn't allowed in....

Yeah, you know, the thing about that case is that there was no evidence at the scene that indicated motive and I remember thinking that if I'd looked into the case before the perp was identified, motive would have been a real head-scratcher for me.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Yeah, you know, the thing about that case is that there was no evidence at the scene that indicated motive and I remember thinking that if I'd looked into the case before the perp was identified, motive would have been a real head-scratcher for me.

Pretty sure I'd never heard of it. Wiki said he apparently wore gloves, no prints.

One shouldn't assume but 99 out of 100 times the motive is sexual UNLESS the two people knew each other, then it could be something else. Didn't seem to be any indication they knew each other.
It's a shame two different people decided not to accompany her although I guess she still could have ended up alone at that point even if they had. Unsure if they would have driven alone or ridden with her had they went along.

 

[Regina]

Pretty sure I'd never heard of it. Wiki said he apparently wore gloves, no prints.

One shouldn't assume but 99 out of 100 times the motive is sexual UNLESS the two people knew each other, then it could be something else. Didn't seem to be any indication they knew each other.
It's a shame two different people decided not to accompany her although I guess she still could have ended up alone at that point even if they had. Unsure if they would have driven alone or ridden with her had they went along.

I don't remember having heard of it before the trial but yeah, it appears he was prepared and no, there was no evidence of a connection.
Off topic but I don't think I'll ever see another a trial that'll bring back for me so many memories from a particular time period.
Anyway, while looking into cases, I often come across some little something- could be almost anything, lol- I find interesting and/ or sparks my curiousity and that happened the other day when I came across an old footbridge over the train tracks in Larwrence. It's dilapidated and of course, closed off, but I'm wondering how long it's been that way. Apparently, the city hasn't decided what to do with or about it.
If you're as curious as I am (lol), from the west side of the tracks, it's at the end of Boyd St.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I don't remember having heard of it before the trial but yeah, it appears he was prepared and no, there was no evidence of a connection.
Off topic but I don't think I'll ever see another a trial that'll bring back for me so many memories from a particular time period.
Anyway, while looking into cases, I often come across some little something- could be almost anything, lol- I find interesting and/ or sparks my curiousity and that happened the other day when I came across an old footbridge over the train tracks in Larwrence. It's dilapidated and of course, closed off, but I'm wondering how long it's been that way. Apparently, the city hasn't decided what to do with or about it.
If you're as curious as I am (lol), from the west side of the tracks, it's at the end of Boyd St.

You mean the other case you are talking of brings memories from a particular time period? Not totally following.

There were a lot of left over trestles, bridges, former track beds in my area where I grew up both in town and out. In fact we grew up right on one that was turned into a trail I guess you'd call it although all the cinder was still down and it would stink in heat and a lot of ties and plates and bolts one would find in piles all over the place for years. It was eventually cleaned up and now is more of a normal trail. In town there was what we called the trestle and they used the old building for a warming house and flooded underneath for a skating rink each winter. Not sure if those tracks were still in or not but they weren't in use. No trains existed as they did here in Lawrence in the late 80s nor was there any active railway yards nor transients, etc.

Sounds like a it of a different world to me. In 1988 I was 25 years old, far older than Melissa and there were no trains or rail yards. I do have a vague memory of the trains running on the track next to our rural home (the one that became a trail) until I was perhaps 5 there were trains. I remember a major scare with my older sister one time. There were also two older teen boys who died when hit by a train when they did not stop at the crossing. This was right next to our house.

Anyhow... I don't know that any of it means anything other than she was left there and it was attempted to disguise the fact she was murdered imo. And imo they arrested the right man.

It's so long ago but I think of things like what a shame she couldn't have just stayed with the lady with the kids when her mom was out, sounded like she liked to help with the younger ones. Or that they couldn't play that day. I guess that's a lot of crimes though--the what ifs are hard, if just ONE thing had went differently... BUT it is ONLY the fault of the evil perp.

I don't mind some history or learning some things about the area, I really havent had nor taken the time to look at the area or anything, but again I think they have/had the right perp.

 

[Regina]

You mean the other case you are talking of brings memories from a particular time period? Not totally following.

There were a lot of left over trestles, bridges, former track beds in my area where I grew up both in town and out. In fact we grew up right on one that was turned into a trail I guess you'd call it although all the cinder was still down and it would stink in heat and a lot of ties and plates and bolts one would find in piles all over the place for years. It was eventually cleaned up and now is more of a normal trail. In town there was what we called the trestle and they used the old building for a warming house and flooded underneath for a skating rink each winter. Not sure if those tracks were still in or not but they weren't in use. No trains existed as they did here in Lawrence in the late 80s nor was there any active railway yards nor transients, etc.

Sounds like a it of a different world to me. In 1988 I was 25 years old, far older than Melissa and there were no trains or rail yards. I do have a vague memory of the trains running on the track next to our rural home (the one that became a trail) until I was perhaps 5 there were trains. I remember a major scare with my older sister one time. There were also two older teen boys who died when hit by a train when they did not stop at the crossing. This was right next to our house.

Anyhow... I don't know that any of it means anything other than she was left there and it was attempted to disguise the fact she was murdered imo. And imo they arrested the right man.

It's so long ago but I think of things like what a shame she couldn't have just stayed with the lady with the kids when her mom was out, sounded like she liked to help with the younger ones. Or that they couldn't play that day. I guess that's a lot of crimes though--the what ifs are hard, if just ONE thing had went differently... BUT it is ONLY the fault of the evil perp.

I don't mind some history or learning some things about the area, I really havent had nor taken the time to look at the area or anything, but again I think they have/had the right perp.

Sorry, I meant the case I linked to that's from Dec of 1979. Testimony of the new mall and the stores there and the items sought to purchase brought back so many memories! Michelle had worn a rabbit fur coat and I'd had one of those too, not a jacket but a coat- tri-color (lol).

Yeah, that's quite a train yard in Lawrence. There seems to be a lot of tracks for the size of the town. We have trains in my town but nowhere is there that many tracks.

What's sad to me is that Melissa didn't have a home to go to, I mean, her home was in another town and all she had was a bar or a car to go to.
Still, indeed, the perp is soloey responsibile for what ultimately happened to Melissa!

I'm not convinced that her body was placed on the tracks to be run over. I know that was someone's impression but I don't know what formed that impression.

Do you have any questions as to the timeline?

 

[Tresir]

Sorry, I meant the case I linked to that's from Dec of 1979. Testimony of the new mall and the stores there and the items sought to purchase brought back so many memories! Michelle had worn a rabbit fur coat and I'd had one of those too, not a jacket but a coat- tri-color (lol).

Yeah, that's quite a train yard in Lawrence. There seems to be a lot of tracks for the size of the town. We have trains in my town but nowhere is there that many tracks.

What's sad to me is that Melissa didn't have a home to go to, I mean, her home was in another town and all she had was a bar or a car to go to.
Still, indeed, the perp is soloey responsibile for what ultimately happened to Melissa!

I'm not convinced that her body was placed on the tracks to be run over. I know that was someone's impression but I don't know what formed that impression.

Do you have any questions as to the timeline?

I think the impression came from the fact she was on the tracks between two trains, yet the evidence of the struggle and her pocketbook was 60 feet away from her body. If she was alive and died on the tracks, she would presumably still have her pocketbook with her there.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Sorry, I meant the case I linked to that's from Dec of 1979. Testimony of the new mall and the stores there and the items sought to purchase brought back so many memories! Michelle had worn a rabbit fur coat and I'd had one of those too, not a jacket but a coat- tri-color (lol).

Yeah, that's quite a train yard in Lawrence. There seems to be a lot of tracks for the size of the town. We have trains in my town but nowhere is there that many tracks.

What's sad to me is that Melissa didn't have a home to go to, I mean, her home was in another town and all she had was a bar or a car to go to.
Still, indeed, the perp is soloey responsibile for what ultimately happened to Melissa!

I'm not convinced that her body was placed on the tracks to be run over. I know that was someone's impression but I don't know what formed that impression.

Do you have any questions as to the timeline?

I recall a lot of those years I guess, never really thought about it but then you only recently brought up that case. Those years many malls opened, etc., for sure.

Yes, Lawrence "sounds" like a train hub, maybe a lot of switches there? No idea. At least at that time.

My mom would probably shoot me if she knew I was going to mention this but we were raised a bit that way, it just wasn't all that uncommon. NOT to the point Melissa's mom was doing it and my folks were married. For instance my dad worked in our local small town and my mom worked at a retail store in the bigger small city (it would be a town to most people, about 8,000) that was a bit further away. She'd work Thursday nights til 9, at first it was Fridays but then town switched the one night retail was open to Thursdays, so first it was one and then the other. My dad would get done with work, get cleaned up and we would to and he'd take I and my youngest sister to town with him to pick up mom. She worked til 9 as I said and we and he'd do the weekly grocery shopping then. He then headed, us with him, to the bar to wait for her. It was my sister and I and we were allowed to go to the two dime stores, etc. my mom worked at one and we'd go see her, then head to the other, etc. We'd check back with dad or do whatever. Mom would get done at 9 and then she'd join dad for a few drinks and we'd sit at the table and have a pop and some chips, etc. It wasn't usually too long but on occasion, they'd really get to talking to some others and it would be a later night than the norm. And we weren't the only children in the bar, I'd often see a classmate or two with their folks. It just wasn't unusual. But it wasn't our every day life and my folks weren't dating someone, divorcing, etc. However, we had nowhere to go say to sleep if tired, we were 8 miles from home.

They'd do the same occasionally on a Sunday afternoon and we were allowed to walk a stretch of town and so forth, some number of blocks. It just wasn't unusual at all for more than a few families and folks to do that. Or kids to be in a bar either. I think I was raised very well and 95 percent of the time we were home at our rural home with our family/parents. In Melissa's case it was a bit more than that and I think her mother was reeling perhaps due to divorce and major life changes. However, as you say, and I say, the fault lies with the PERP and the PERP only.

I probably don't judge though because again it wasn't all that unusual, however, in our case, there were two of us and we checked in and such but still, we were unsupervised for parts of such times. It was just a different day and age. I'm talking more 70s than 80s though.

My mom even would never agree with anyone doing that nowadays but again it was far from unusual in my day and age or when they were raising kids.

Usually I liked being able to "go to town" but there were times it got long, boring and we got tired if I am honest.

The only thing I wonder about with the timeline is I don't believe the then 13 year old.

I think she was placed on the tracks for the very likely reason that a train hit was hoped to obliterate any sign of an intentional homicide.

 

[Regina]

I think the impression came from the fact she was on the tracks between two trains, yet the evidence of the struggle and her pocketbook was 60 feet away from her body. If she was alive and died on the tracks, she would presumably still have her pocketbook with her there.

It doesn't sound to me like her body was positioned so that it'd be hit by a train.
It sounds to me like if her body was moved from where she was murdered, it would have been to try to hide it. but I'm not sure it was moved in the first place.
I wonder if it was the train operator who first saw her body...
And I wonder when and wher exactly her pocketbook was found.

 

[Regina]

I still have questions re the timeline. When did Maryann see Melissa?
Now, since Maryann lived "next door" to the bar, I'd imagine her sighting may follow the bartender's but I don't know whether Melissa left the bar prior to the bartender's last sighting so I think it could have been sometime before his.
The other family - the "O's", lived "across the street" from the tracks but I don't know exactly where and I still don't know when but since it's near the tracks, it seems that sighting would be close to the rr employee sighting.
When and where was the pizza employee sighting?
Lastly, are others finding my questions annoying? lol!

Just as I posted that, I heard the train whistle in the distance...

 

[Tresir]

It doesn't sound to me like her body was positioned so that it'd be hit by a train.
It sounds to me like if her body was moved from where she was murdered, it would have been to try to hide it. but I'm not sure it was moved in the first place.
I wonder if it was the train operator who first saw her body...
And I wonder when and wher exactly her pocketbook was found.

I believe the train severed her leg at the thigh so she was across at least one of the tracks. Her pocketbook was found where the evidence of the struggle happened. I read it was found as soon as LE got there and examined/looked around the whole scene. That was how she was identified so quickly, from the pocketbook contents. To me that indicates a quick struggle and death, then she was tossed on the rails. Maybe one train was already there and she was put on the rails next to it to help conceal her. Then later, the second train ran over her body.

 

[Tresir]

I still have questions re the timeline. When did Maryann see Melissa?
Now, since Maryann lived "next door" to the bar, I'd imagine her sighting may follow the bartender's but I don't know whether Melissa left the bar prior to the bartender's last sighting so I think it could have been sometime before his.
The other family - the "O's", lived "across the street" from the tracks but I don't know exactly where and I still don't know when but since it's near the tracks, it seems that sighting would be close to the rr employee sighting.
When and where was the pizza employee sighting?
Lastly, are others finding my questions annoying? lol!

Just as I posted that, I heard the train whistle in the distance...

No i like questions, as it often helps to work stuff out like that.

Train whistle !!!!! That's spooky. Are you on a train or live/work near a train track?

Is that the same day her kids and Melissa were breaking bottles? If so,she probably heard rather than saw them LOL.

 

[Tresir]

A little more info in this article. It mentions that the accused knew some details about her injuries that had not been released. Also it says he placed her body against a train wheel in the hope it would disguise the injuries she had. The other point to mention is that he frequented the 7th Day Adventist Church and this was a Sunday. I have seen that church on google earth and it is very close to the railyard.

Jury begins deliberating in trial of Alabama man accused of murdering 11-year-old girl in 1988

A jury has begun deliberating in the case of an Alabama man accused of killing an 11-year New Hampshire girl more than 35 years ago.

apnews.com

From the link-

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — A jury on Monday begun deliberating in the case of an Alabama man accused of the beating and stabbing death of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl more than 35 years ago.

Prosecutors and the defense attorney for Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr. made their closing arguments Monday in a case that hinges in part on whether the jury believes DNA found under Melissa Ann Tremblay’s fingernails came from McClendon.

This is the second murder trial for McClendon, after a judge last year declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.

The body of the Salem, New Hampshire, girl was found in a Lawrence, Massachusetts, trainyard on Sept. 12, 1988, a day after she was reported missing. She had been stabbed in the neck.

The victim had accompanied her mother and her mother’s boyfriend to a Lawrence social club not far from the railyard and went outside to play while the adults stayed inside, authorities said last year. She was reported missing later that night.

The girl’s mother, Janet Tremblay, died in 2015 at age 70, according to her obituary. But surviving relatives have been attending court to observe the latest trial.

After initially ruling out several suspects including two drug addicts early on, authorities turned their attention to McClendon.

He was arrested at his Alabama home in 2022 based in part on DNA evidence.

Essex County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick told the jury that comments McClendon made during his arrest showed he knew details of the crime and that he was “fixated on the fact that she was beaten, ladies and gentlemen, because he knew that she wasn’t just stabbed that day, that was she was beaten.”



A left-handed person like McClendon stabbed Tremblay, Strasnick said. She told jurors that the carpenter and former Massachusetts corrections officer was familiar with Lawrence, having frequented bars and strip clubs in the city. He also lived less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) away at the time of the killing.

“He assumed he had gotten away with it after 33 years,” Strasnick said.

“He assumed that if he left her beaten and stabbed body against the wheel of a railroad train, it would look like she got run over,” she said. “He assumed they wouldn’t investigate. He assumed that he would stay under the radar.”

Strasnick told the jury that the DNA evidence taken from under Tremblay’s fingernails excludes 99.8% of the male population.

“This 11-year-old girl used the last energy she had to fight for her life by scratching him and clawing him,” Strasnick said. “Because of that, she was able to get his DNA under her fingernails ... That’s why, after all these years, his past finally caught up with him.”

But McClendon’s lawyer, Henry Fasoldt said there is no proof the DNA came from under Tremblay’s fingernails or was from McClendon. “Their initial assumption that the DNA came from the murderer is a bad assumption,” he said after the court hearing.


Fasoldt also said evidence shows that a right-handed person, rather than a left-handed person, could have stabbed Tremblay. He also argued that McClendon had “no meaningful connection” to Lawrence — other than that he lived 16 miles (25 kilometers) away in Chelmsford. He moved to Alabama in 2002 to a plot of land his family owned.

“I’m concerned. He is 77 years old and in poor health and he has to go through this again,” he said. “I don’t believe he did it.”


MICHAEL CASEY
Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston.

 

[GrandmaBear]

It doesn't sound to me like her body was positioned so that it'd be hit by a train.
It sounds to me like if her body was moved from where she was murdered, it would have been to try to hide it. but I'm not sure it was moved in the first place.
I wonder if it was the train operator who first saw her body...
And I wonder when and wher exactly her pocketbook was found.

I would imagine or think these answers were in the trial. Perhaps @Takeitfromme knows.

I put a LOT of stock in how family and friends feel. We knew who our perp was and NO ONE would have convinced us otherwise. Believe me they had to rule out some things and people first. However, we KNEW. Not quite the same situation but regardless I put a lot of store in that.

The facts are also here in my opinion as well as the DNA. And he knew she was beaten if I recall and seemed a bit centered on that.

I think it pretty clear she was killed and then moved.

I think the move was definitely to probably both hide the body and mask the fact she was murdered but more so the latter.

I'd have to refresh but the first to see her was someone who moved a train or some such wasn't it...?

 

[GrandmaBear]

I still have questions re the timeline. When did Maryann see Melissa?
Now, since Maryann lived "next door" to the bar, I'd imagine her sighting may follow the bartender's but I don't know whether Melissa left the bar prior to the bartender's last sighting so I think it could have been sometime before his.
The other family - the "O's", lived "across the street" from the tracks but I don't know exactly where and I still don't know when but since it's near the tracks, it seems that sighting would be close to the rr employee sighting.
When and where was the pizza employee sighting?
Lastly, are others finding my questions annoying? lol!

Just as I posted that, I heard the train whistle in the distance...

I'm sure these answers exist I'd think. I have the impression she was maybe in and out of the bar once or twice. I think this would also be typical of a child whose "folks" are hanging in a bar for hours. Child goes off, looks for something to do, finds nothing, gets bored, goes back to see what's up and if "folks" ready to go yet and so on or to see if anything exciting there or something to do. I know the bartender made her some popcorn at some point, read that somewhere.

Let's keep in mind there was no arrest for years on end until there was DNA. It isn't like they were after this particular man although he had been on their radar, as had many.

 

[Tresir]

I recall a lot of those years I guess, never really thought about it but then you only recently brought up that case. Those years many malls opened, etc., for sure.

Yes, Lawrence "sounds" like a train hub, maybe a lot of switches there? No idea. At least at that time.

My mom would probably shoot me if she knew I was going to mention this but we were raised a bit that way, it just wasn't all that uncommon. NOT to the point Melissa's mom was doing it and my folks were married. For instance my dad worked in our local small town and my mom worked at a retail store in the bigger small city (it would be a town to most people, about 8,000) that was a bit further away. She'd work Thursday nights til 9, at first it was Fridays but then town switched the one night retail was open to Thursdays, so first it was one and then the other. My dad would get done with work, get cleaned up and we would to and he'd take I and my youngest sister to town with him to pick up mom. She worked til 9 as I said and we and he'd do the weekly grocery shopping then. He then headed, us with him, to the bar to wait for her. It was my sister and I and we were allowed to go to the two dime stores, etc. my mom worked at one and we'd go see her, then head to the other, etc. We'd check back with dad or do whatever. Mom would get done at 9 and then she'd join dad for a few drinks and we'd sit at the table and have a pop and some chips, etc. It wasn't usually too long but on occasion, they'd really get to talking to some others and it would be a later night than the norm. And we weren't the only children in the bar, I'd often see a classmate or two with their folks. It just wasn't unusual. But it wasn't our every day life and my folks weren't dating someone, divorcing, etc. However, we had nowhere to go say to sleep if tired, we were 8 miles from home.

They'd do the same occasionally on a Sunday afternoon and we were allowed to walk a stretch of town and so forth, some number of blocks. It just wasn't unusual at all for more than a few families and folks to do that. Or kids to be in a bar either. I think I was raised very well and 95 percent of the time we were home at our rural home with our family/parents. In Melissa's case it was a bit more than that and I think her mother was reeling perhaps due to divorce and major life changes. However, as you say, and I say, the fault lies with the PERP and the PERP only.

I probably don't judge though because again it wasn't all that unusual, however, in our case, there were two of us and we checked in and such but still, we were unsupervised for parts of such times. It was just a different day and age. I'm talking more 70s than 80s though.

My mom even would never agree with anyone doing that nowadays but again it was far from unusual in my day and age or when they were raising kids.

Usually I liked being able to "go to town" but there were times it got long, boring and we got tired if I am honest.

The only thing I wonder about with the timeline is I don't believe the then 13 year old.

I think she was placed on the tracks for the very likely reason that a train hit was hoped to obliterate any sign of an intentional homicide.

I was raised that way and to some degree raised mine like that too. At weekends especially we would travel to our local sports club or to opposition clubs with our kids, who would play around and in the various clubs we frequented. Talking 70's and 80's.

 

[GrandmaBear]

A little more info in this article. It mentions that the accused knew some details about her injuries that had not been released. Also it says he placed her body against a train wheel in the hope it would disguise the injuries she had. The other point to mention is that he frequented the 7th Day Adventist Church and this was a Sunday. I have seen that church on google earth and it is very close to the railyard.

Jury begins deliberating in trial of Alabama man accused of murdering 11-year-old girl in 1988

A jury has begun deliberating in the case of an Alabama man accused of killing an 11-year New Hampshire girl more than 35 years ago.

apnews.com

From the link-

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — A jury on Monday begun deliberating in the case of an Alabama man accused of the beating and stabbing death of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl more than 35 years ago.

Prosecutors and the defense attorney for Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr. made their closing arguments Monday in a case that hinges in part on whether the jury believes DNA found under Melissa Ann Tremblay’s fingernails came from McClendon.

This is the second murder trial for McClendon, after a judge last year declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.

The body of the Salem, New Hampshire, girl was found in a Lawrence, Massachusetts, trainyard on Sept. 12, 1988, a day after she was reported missing. She had been stabbed in the neck.

The victim had accompanied her mother and her mother’s boyfriend to a Lawrence social club not far from the railyard and went outside to play while the adults stayed inside, authorities said last year. She was reported missing later that night.

The girl’s mother, Janet Tremblay, died in 2015 at age 70, according to her obituary. But surviving relatives have been attending court to observe the latest trial.

After initially ruling out several suspects including two drug addicts early on, authorities turned their attention to McClendon.

He was arrested at his Alabama home in 2022 based in part on DNA evidence.

Essex County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick told the jury that comments McClendon made during his arrest showed he knew details of the crime and that he was “fixated on the fact that she was beaten, ladies and gentlemen, because he knew that she wasn’t just stabbed that day, that was she was beaten.”



A left-handed person like McClendon stabbed Tremblay, Strasnick said. She told jurors that the carpenter and former Massachusetts corrections officer was familiar with Lawrence, having frequented bars and strip clubs in the city. He also lived less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) away at the time of the killing.

“He assumed he had gotten away with it after 33 years,” Strasnick said.

“He assumed that if he left her beaten and stabbed body against the wheel of a railroad train, it would look like she got run over,” she said. “He assumed they wouldn’t investigate. He assumed that he would stay under the radar.”

Strasnick told the jury that the DNA evidence taken from under Tremblay’s fingernails excludes 99.8% of the male population.

“This 11-year-old girl used the last energy she had to fight for her life by scratching him and clawing him,” Strasnick said. “Because of that, she was able to get his DNA under her fingernails ... That’s why, after all these years, his past finally caught up with him.”

But McClendon’s lawyer, Henry Fasoldt said there is no proof the DNA came from under Tremblay’s fingernails or was from McClendon. “Their initial assumption that the DNA came from the murderer is a bad assumption,” he said after the court hearing.


Fasoldt also said evidence shows that a right-handed person, rather than a left-handed person, could have stabbed Tremblay. He also argued that McClendon had “no meaningful connection” to Lawrence — other than that he lived 16 miles (25 kilometers) away in Chelmsford. He moved to Alabama in 2002 to a plot of land his family owned.

“I’m concerned. He is 77 years old and in poor health and he has to go through this again,” he said. “I don’t believe he did it.”


MICHAEL CASEY
Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston.

Yes I've mentioned he KNEW she was beaten and seemed a bit obsessed with it. He also did work for the church.

I don't understand why the D keeps saying they don't know the DNA came from under her fingernails. Was there an issue with chain of custody or something?? Where do they THINK the P got it??

Maybe @Takeitfromme can fill us in on that.

 

[Takeitfromme]

Yes I've mentioned he KNEW she was beaten and seemed a bit obsessed with it. He also did work for the church.

I don't understand why the D keeps saying they don't know the DNA came from under her fingernails. Was there an issue with chain of custody or something?? Where do they THINK the P got it??

Maybe @Takeitfromme can fill us in on that.

There was no doubt the dna came from under her fingernails. There was no issue with chain of custody and there was no issue with How it was preserved.
The defense had an issue with basically calling it junk science. Y STR was the type of dna testing done that narrowed it down to the McClendon family. Y gene being the males only.

 

[GrandmaBear]

There was no doubt the dna came from under her fingernails. There was no issue with chain of custody and there was no issue with How it was preserved.
The defense had an issue with basically calling it junk science. Y STR was the type of dna testing done that narrowed it down to the McClendon family. Y gene being the males only.

Well then I don't know why I keep reading the D says can't even show it came from under her nails! That's false then??

The science is a different story altogether and I disagree such is junk.

He needs to stop saying it did not come from under her nails if that is UNTRUE. As*hole.

 

[Tresir]

Found this article that gives the name of the family that lived opposite the railyard, with whom Melissa would play.

Murder trial begins for ex-corrections officer charged with killing NH girl

The murder trial for a man accused of killing a New Hampshire girl back in 1988 began Thursday in a Massachusetts courtroom. Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr., a former Massachusetts corrections officer from Alabama, was arrested last year after investigators identified him as the man who killed...

www.nbcboston.com

"After the conclusion of opening statements, the prosecution began calling witnesses, including a retired railyard worker who said he saw Melissa Ann playing at the railyard before she died, an employee at the LaSalle Social Club who knew Melissa Ann and her mother, and Jessica Keyza, a childhood friend of Melissa Ann, along with Keyza's mother and father.

"We would play outside, a few times we went up on the train tracks right across the street from my house, she would help my mother with my younger sisters. We would play dress up and sing in my bedroom," Jessica Keyza, that childhood friend, recalled.

The afternoon before she died, Melissa Ann went to their house, asking to play.

"I had told her she couldn’t come in that day because my kids were grounded," Lisa Quinto, Keyza's mother said.

Melissa Ann's body was found the next day."

More at link.

 

[Takeitfromme]

Well then I don't know why I keep reading the D says can't even show it came from under her nails! That's false then??

The science is a different story altogether and I disagree such is junk.

He needs to stop saying it did not come from under her nails if that is UNTRUE. As*hole.

It is untrue!!!! Every single step was documented and testified to in court. Back in 1988 the lead investigator bagged her hands at the scene. He then attended the autopsy. He witnessed the ME clip her fingernails. He knew someday they could be evidence because dna was brand new. At McClendons arraignment I was there. And the DA officially announced that day for the first time that was WHERE the dna came from.