A Day After Jury Deadlocked, Former Corrections Officer Is Acquitted in 1988 Killing of 11-Year-Old N.H. Girl

Mar. 15, 2025

Marvin C. McClendon Jr.Photo:Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP

Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP

A former Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer has been found not guilty ofkilling an 11-year-old New Hampshire girlwho died more than 36 years ago.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, a jury — which was deadlocked on Monday — found McClendon not guilty on the sixth day of deliberations, per theAssociated Press, which reports that the case hinged on whether or not DNA found on the victim belonged to the suspect.

Melissa Ann Tremblay.Essex DA

At the time of Melissa’s killing, McClendon had been living in Chelmsford, Mass., and working as a carpenter. Fasoldt tells PEOPLE his client would now be returning home to Alabama after being held for two and a half years.

“I recognize the work and dedication of the jury during their long deliberations in this case,” Tucker said, per the outlet.

“My thoughts are with the family of Melissa Ann Tremblay, who have suffered greatly due to the crime that took her life,” he added.

Marvin C. McClendon Jr.Cullman County Sheriff’s Office

Melissa’s body was found the day after she “accompanied her mother and mother’s boyfriend” to a social club in Lawrence on Sept. 11, 1988, authorities previously said in an Essex District Attorney’s Officenews release.

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During the trial, Essex County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick also told the jury that McClendon seemed to know key details about Melissa’s death, adding 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,” the AP reported.

Strasnick argued, as well, “that the DNA evidence taken from under Tremblay’s fingernails excludes 99.8 percent of the male population” as potential suspects.

But McClendon’s defense said there was no proof the DNA belonged to the suspect, or that it was found under the victim’s fingernails, the AP reported.

Tuesday’s decision came after a judge declared a mistrial in Dec. 2023 after the jury couldn’t reach a verdict,NBC10 Boston, the AP and theEagle-Tribunepreviously reported.

Per anonline obituary, Melissa’s mom, Janet M. Tremblay, died at age 70 on Nov. 20, 2015.

source: people.com