On Wednesday, the authorities investigating the case finally arrested an Alabama man in connection with the 1988 killing of an 11-year-old girl found stabbed to death in a Massachusetts railyard.
On Friday, the family of 11-year-old girl Melissa Ann Tremblay released a statement that Marvin ‘Skip’ McClendon Jr., a former Massachusetts Department of Corrections worker, was charged in connection with the 1988 killing. The man will return to Massachusetts to face a murder charge following his arrest in his Alabama home.
District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement:
“I want to thank everyone involved in this investigation from beginning to end. Their tireless pursuit of justice for Melissa has brought us to this moment. We never forgot about Melissa, nor did we give up on holding her killer accountable.”
On Sept. 12, 1988, Melissa Tremblay, a sixth-grader from Salem, New Hampshire, was found dead at the Boston & Maine railway yard in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said at a news conference Wednesday.
She was stabbed to death and her body was run over by a train car after her death, amputating her left leg, Blodgett said.
Breaking911 has more details of the gruesome murder:
An investigation ensued and police learned that Melissa Tremblay had accompanied her mother and mother’s boyfriend to the LaSalle Social Club at 397 Andover Street in Lawrence on Sunday, 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.
That night, Melissa’s mother and mother’s boyfriend frantically searched the area and then reported her missing to the Lawrence Police around 9:00 pm.
Over the years, scores of witnesses, suspects, and persons of interest were interviewed by police.
Assistant District Attorneys and State Police Detectives assigned to the Essex District Attorney’s Office specializing in cold cases have worked diligently on this case since 2014. Evidence recovered from the victim’s body was instrumental in solving the case.
The investigation found that the suspect lived in Chelmsford in 1988, and had multiple ties to Lawrence. Specifically, investigators learned that he worked and frequented establishments in the city of Lawrence including the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Salem Street.
Essex Victim Advocates contacted surviving members of Melissa’s family last night and again this morning.
McClendon was arraigned in Alabama on Thursday and will later be transported to Massachusetts, where he will face murder charges, a spokeswoman for the Essex County DA said.
The timing of his return to Massachusetts is dependent on his decision to waive rendition, the DA’s office said.
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Source: Breaking911