John Jefferson
Main: Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr. in court on Tuesday (WCVB). Inset: Melissa Ann Tremblay (Essex County DA’s Office).
A 76-year-old former corrections officer in Massachusetts has been acquitted in the murder of an 11-year-old girl who was stabbed to death in a railroad yard more than 30 years ago. An Essex County jury this week found Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr. not guilty of first-degree murder in the 1988 slaying of Melissa Ann Tremblay.
The verdict came down on Tuesday following six days of deliberation and only one day after jurors told the judge they were deadlocked, The Associated Press reported. The case reportedly came down to whether DNA recovered from Melissa’s body belonged to McClendon.
Prosecutors reportedly argued that the DNA recovered from Melissa’s body excluded 99.8% of the male population,” but defense attorneys claimed there was no poof the DNA came from McClendon.
This was the second time McClendon was tried for Melissa’s killing. Last year a deadlocked jury resulted in the presiding judge declaring a mistrial.
“Mr. McClendon was greatly relieved by the verdict,” his defense attorney, Henry Fasoldt, said in a statement to the AP. “We appreciate the jury’s careful and thoughtful deliberations.”
Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker told the AP he was “disappointed” with the jury’s decision, but thanked all of those involved with the case.
“I recognize the work and dedication of the jury during their long deliberations in this case,” Tucker said. “My thoughts are with the family of Melissa Ann Tremblay, who have suffered greatly due to the crime that took her life.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, McClendon was arrested in Alabama back in April 2022 and charged as a fugitive from justice. He entered a plea of not guilty to the murder charge.
According to authorities, investigators linked McClendon to the homicide through DNA evidence found at the scene.
“Evidence recovered from the victim’s body was instrumental in solving this case,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett said at the time of McClendon’s arrest. “The suspect lived in Chelmsford in 1988 and had multiple ties to Lawrence.”
Investigators previously said the defendant has been considered a “person of interest” in the case “for some time.”
The prosecutor’s office went into those details during McClendon’s court appearance leading up to McClendon’s first murder trial.
“Using various DNA advancements, the Commonwealth was able to focus on the name McClendon,” Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick said during the brief hearing.
Strasnick said that the Massachusetts State Crime Lab generated a DNA profile from Melissa’s remains which homed in on the paternal line of the potential suspect.
“Through investigation, the Commonwealth located various McClendons and took DNA samples,” Strasnick said. “DNA samples were taken from the defendant before you, Marvin McClendon, whose DNA profile was consistent with the DNA profile that was found on Melissa Tremblay’s body.”
The precise nature of the DNA evidence obtained from Melissa’s body was not disclosed.
Strasnick went on to allege that during several police interviews, McClendon relayed “information to investigators that was never made public” about Melissa’s death. Investigators also discovered that McClendon previously owned a van “consistent with what witnesses had seen [Melissa] speaking with.”
On the night she went missing, Melissa’s mother and her mother’s boyfriend were dining at the LaSalle Social Club while Melissa played outside in the nearby rail yard. Witnesses described a van in the area at the time of her murder.
While her mother and mother’s boyfriend remained inside the club, Melissa played in the adjacent neighborhood where she was last seen by a railroad employee and pizza delivery driver in the late afternoon.
A frantic search ensued and the girl was reported missing at approximately 9 p.m. that night. Her body was discovered the following day, only one block from the LaSalle Social Club.
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