Killing of Melissa Ann Tremblay

On the afternoon of September 11, 1988, eleven-year-old Melissa Ann Tremblay, of Salem, New Hampshire, disappeared after leaving the La Salle Social Club in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where she had accompanied her mother and her mother's boyfriend. Witnesses reported seeing her near the Boston and Maine Railroad tracks and later speaking with the driver of a tan-colored van. She was reported missing that evening. On September 12, a railroad worker discovered her body beneath a freight train near Andover Street and South Broadway, roughly one block from the social club. An autopsy determined she had been beaten and stabbed before her body was struck by the train. Investigators concluded her killer was left-handed and had likely attacked her from behind.

The Lawrence Police Department conducted an extensive initial investigation, questioning numerous local residents, railroad workers, and known sex offenders, and examining possible links to unsolved crimes elsewhere, but no charges were filed and the case became cold.

In 2014, investigators with the Essex District Attorney's Office reopened the case using advances in DNA analysis, developing a genetic profile from skin and flesh scrapings recovered from beneath Tremblay's fingernails. Working with the forensic genealogy firm Identifinders International, investigators traced the profile to the McClendon family surname, matching a retired prison guard who had lived and worked in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, at the time of the murder and had long been considered a suspect. The individual denied involvement when questioned in 2021 and again in 2022, at one point suggesting his brother might be responsible, but voluntarily provided DNA samples that reinforced the familial match. He was arrested as a fugitive from justice in Alabama on April 27, 2022, following issuance of an arrest warrant on April 26, 2022, and was later transported to Massachusetts. On May 13, 2022, he was formally charged with first-degree murder in Lawrence and pleaded not guilty; he was indicted by an Essex County grand jury the following month.

The suspect's first trial began December 7, 2023, before Judge Jeffrey Karp in Salem, Massachusetts. Prosecutors presented DNA evidence and testimony from law enforcement, forensic specialists, and family members, while the defense argued the DNA evidence did not conclusively identify him as the source. After more than 32 hours of deliberation, the jury reported it was deadlocked, and a mistrial was declared on December 27, 2023.

A second trial began October 15, 2024, again before Judge Karp, with similar evidence and arguments presented. On November 4, 2024, after five days of deliberation the jury reported it remained deadlocked on whether the DNA evidence originated from the defendant; the judge directed further deliberation, and on November 5, 2024, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Tremblay's family stated they continued to believe the DNA evidence proved guilt, while Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said he was disappointed by the verdict but praised those involved in the investigation and prosecution. The case remains legally unresolved.