MA - Melissa Tremblay, 11, fatally stabbed, Lawrence, 12 Sep 1988 * Former Alabama Corrections Officer Arrest in 2022*

[Fede]

"On Sept. 12, 1988, Melissa Tremblay, of Salem, was found stabbed to death and left in the path of a train in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The sixth-grader had been with her mother at the LaSalle Club, which is a block from the rail yard.
Tremblay had wandered out of the club and was never seen alive again."

Here is more info on her murder: Cold Case Murder Still On The Mind Of Former Lawrence Cop
New Hampshire unsolved case file: Who killed Melissa Tremblay?

 

[citizen_sleuth]

An arrest has been made!!!

Steve Cooper @scooperon7 via Twitter
Cold case cracked: suspect under arrest in connection with murder of 11 yr old Melissa Tremblay..her body found in Lawrence rail yard in 1988 #7News

 

[citizen_sleuth]

Arrest made in 1988 killing of 11-year-old girl from Salem, New Hampshire — WMUR 9
<snipped & BBM>
An arrest has been made in the fatal stabbing of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl in 1988, officials with the Essex County district attorney's office announced on Wednesday.

Details about the arrest were not immediately clear, but a press conference about the development in the case will be held at 11 a.m. WMUR will stream it live in the video player above.

 

[weepingangel]

Melissa Tremblay Murder: Arrest Made in 1988 Killing of NH Girl – NECN

 

[Hap]

!!!!!! Former Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer arrested in 1988 murder of 11-year-old girl found dead in Lawrence

 

[Bodhi]

What a relief for Melissa's friends, extended family, and the Salem/Lawrence community.

 

[DrQ]

Unfortunately, not all outcomes are happy but a sigh of relief must be what Melissa's family and friends are feeling.

 

[wary]

Former Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer arrested in 1988 murder of 11-year-old girl found dead in Lawrence

So, he’s 74 now, and was 40 at the time of the murder.

I’m somewhat confused about his occupation. He was a Department of Corrections officer, he was working in carpentry at the time of the murder, he worked for the Department of Corrections off and on between 1970 and 2002–all from the same article.

 

[joe jones]

Former Corrections Officer Arrested for Allegedly Murdering 11-Year-Old Girl in 1988 Cold Case

 

[Deleted member 287549]

Just read about this case. It was truly horrific what happened here. This type of crime is one of the reasons those of us who grew up in the '80's (and subsequent decades) were warned about "stranger danger" by parents/relatives.

It was poignant/touching that the victim's friend (who was younger than her) pushed the authorities to keep investigating this case, even years later.

I wonder what led the authorities to this guy they arrested here? Was it DNA evidence, or something else? Was he connected to the family in any way?! Hopefully we'll find out more details at some point. In any case, animals who assault/kill innocent children like this are truly evil. Sickening.

 

[rob525]

Sounds like there was DNA evidence of some type found.
The big question is; What else has this guy done in the years before and after this crime? I find it hard to believe that a guy who victimized and 11 year old child only committed one solitary crime in his lifetime.

 

[weepingangel]

Ex-corrections worker to return to Mass. to face murder charge in 1988 killing of 11-year-old girl



Melissa Tremblay Lawrence MA: Marvin McClendon Due in Court – NECN

 

[weepingangel]

'We have always prayed for justice': Family of girl killed in Lawrence in 1988 reacts to alleged killer's arrest

More at link

“Since her murder in 1988, we have always prayed for justice,” the statement says. “We have never stopped thinking of Missy, despite what others, who say they are her friends, have said in the media in the past years. My aunt Janet may not have used the best judgement (sic) in allowing Missy to play around the neighborhood of the social club, but that is between her and God. She loved Missy and never intended any harm to come to her.”

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Marvin McClendon: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

''According to the district attorney’s office, “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.”

Our view: Arrest in cold case a time to refocus on others | Opinion | gloucestertimes.com
May 2, 2022
''On a trip to Bremen, Alabama, reporter Jill Harmacinski found a lot of southern normalcy. McClendon collects cars, has a hand-painted mailbox, and lives on an 80-acre rural family complex. As with so many cases that go cold, this suspect – who would have been 41 at the time of the murder – is an old man in ill health now. Harmacinski talked to relatives who live nearby, and who expressed confusion over the charges.

“It’s been the biggest shock ever in my life”, McClendon’s brother-in-law, Dan Greenwood, said while at the suspect’s empty house Friday. “I’ve known him since I can remember.”

Another relative said he was just a grumpy old man who sometimes shouted at children playing nearby. But authorities last week said McClendon is someone far more sinister.

A cold case is an unsolved criminal investigation, such as in a murder or abduction, that due to lack of evidence has stopped being actively pursued. As technology advances, these cases are typically reopened, but not always. It takes loved ones who won’t stop trying no matter how much time passes. They often hold press conferences and reach out to the media and these days podcast producers to keep the story alive. And it takes determined detectives – often just one who is long retired but haunted by a case that couldn’t be cracked.

There are many other North of Boston cold cases that need the public’s help. Just a few of them follow.

• Michael O’Gorman

• , a 12-year-old boy who on March 18, 1974, was last seen at Fuller School in Gloucester. His body was found five years later near a rest stop off Route 128 in Manchester, Massachusetts.

• Claire Gravel

• , a 20-year-old North Andover native and sophomore at Salem State College, was last seen after a softball game June 29, 1986, at Major Magleashes’ pub at 268 Washington St. in Salem, Massachusetts. She took a ride back to the rooming house where she lived on Loring Street. Her body was found the following day off Route 128 in Beverly.

• Gabriel Gonzalez Jr.

• , 18, was murdered June 28, 2009, in a gang-related shooting near his Andover Street home in Lawrence, where he lived with his mother, Lee Fickenworth. She dedicated to finding the murderer, staying in touch with investigators, hoping to keep a focus on Gabriel’s killing.

• John “Jack” Magee

, 69, and

• Geraldine “Jeri” Magee

• , 67, were found shot dead in their home at 7 Orchard Crossing in Andover on the morning of Dec. 14, 2011. Their bodies were discovered by their daughter, Holly Senykoff, who was dropping off her children at the time. John died of a multiple gunshot woulds and Jeri of one.''

 

[Bodhi]

McClendon's sister and brother-in-law live nearby. His brother-in-law grew up with him in Massachusetts. The couple were called to bring his medications to the jail after he was arrested. They were interviewed while cleaning out his refrigerator.

He married his wife, Doreen, in Pelham, N.H. on Dec. 24, 1985. But in 2003, he filed for divorce in an Alabama court, stating he hadn’t seen her for 15 years and didn’t know where she was living.

He listed the reasons for divorce as “incompatibility of temperament between my wife and myself that we can no longer live together in peace and harmony,” irreconcilable differences and abandonment.

The papers say the couple had children, but relatives in Alabama said he is estranged from them.

In 2014, McClendon filed for divorce again in Cullman County. He and his wife, Charmaine, were married Nov. 23, 2005, in Cullman County and the records indicate they lived at his home on County Road 70.

In that divorce agreement, which is handwritten on lined paper, the couple agreed to the split “because of arguing.”

“It is not in our best interest to remain married,” according to the paperwork.

The decree states he and Charmaine had not lived together for four years prior to filing for divorce. They asked the court to grant the divorce “so we can get on with our lives.”

McClendon’s father, Marvin Carton McClendon, died in Alabama on Oct. 12, 2014, at the age of 88, according to an obituary posted by the Hanceville Funeral Home.

Hanceville is also located in Cullman County. His father’s wake and funeral were held in Bremen down the road at the Cold Springs Baptist Church.

* * * * *

In Bremen, other of McClendon’s relatives who live in the immediate area described him bluntly as “not a nice man.”

One relative said he yelled at area children if they were being loud or horsing around and making a ruckus on four-wheelers.

Family members said they didn’t think he was employed but lived off a combination of retirement pay and Social Security payments.

“We just avoided him,” a relative who asked not to be identified said.
​

Who is Marvin McClendon?: Cold case leads to Bremen, Alabama, and the arrest of an accused child killer

 

[DrQ]

IMO It is always with mixed feelings when these old cases get solved. The sadness that goes with the loss of a young child is indescribable. Relief is felt when the individual is arrested. Anger sets in because this repeatedly described mean individual has been able to live his grumpy life. I always thought it would be great if hatefulness was physically painful.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Alabama man pleads ‘not guilty’ to 1988 murder of Massachusetts girl

Marvin McClendon pleaded not guilty to murdering 11-year-old Melissa Tremblay in 1988 after DNA evidence linked him to the case. The former corrections officer had been living in Alabama during rec…

whnt.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A 74-year-old Alabama man has been indicted in the cold case murder of an 11-year-old New England girl who was killed nearly 35 years ago, prosecutors announced. An Essex County grand jury on Wednesday formally indicted Marvin “Skip” C. McClendon Jr. on the charge of first-degree murder for the 1988 slaying of Melissa Ann Tremblay.

The girl, whose family called her Missy, was found dead in the Boston & Maine Railway Yard in Lawrence, Massachusetts on Sept. 12, 1988. She had suffered multiple stab wounds and her body had been left in the path of an oncoming train. Her left leg had been amputated postmortem by a passing train car.

Following the indictment, the case against McClendon will be transferred from the Lawrence District Court to the jurisdiction of the Essex County Superior Court, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

It is expected that McClendon will be arraigned in Salem Superior Court in July. He remains held without bail.

Former Corrections Officer Indicted in 1988 Cold Case Murder of 11-Year-Old Girl

A 74-year-old Alabama man has been indicted in the cold case murder of an 11-year-old New England girl who was killed nearly 35 years ago, prosecutors announced.

lawandcrime.com

As Law&Crime previously reported, the defendant, a former officer with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, was arrested in Alabama back in April 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.”

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A former corrections officer was indicted for the stabbing death of a young girl in 1988. Alabama native Marvin McClendon Jr (74) was indicted for the first-degree murder of Melissa Ann Tremblay who was 11-year-old at the time. The murder would become one of the more known unsolved mysteries and cold cases of New England.

Former Alabama Corrections Officer Marvin McClendon Jr Indicted in the 1988 Stabbing Murder of 11-Year-Old Girl​

Marvin McClendon Jr had waived a rendition hearing while in Alabama and was arrested in April 2022. A native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Melissa Ann Tremblay disappeared on September 12, 1988. It was reported that the last people who saw her alive were a pizza delivery man and a railroad worker later that afternoon.

Tremblay’s body would be discovered the following day in the Boston and Maine Railyard. Her body was later run over by a train, according to Boston.com. The cause of death was determined to be stabbing. With no leads in the murder, Melissa Ann Tremblay’s case went cold for decades. Authorities have credited advances in DNA as a major breakthrough in finding the person responsible.

Her family had this to say of the developments:

“We never thought that after 33 1/2 years we would finally see someone arrested and facing a judge. While we know there are many more steps we are very confident that the District Attorney’s office will be just as vigilant in prosecuting this case as the detectives have been for all these years in finding Marvin McClendon.”

Former Alabama Corrections Officer Marvin McClendon Jr Indicted in the 1988 Stabbing Murder of 11-Year-Old Girl

A former corrections officer was indicted for the stabbing death of a young girl in 1988. Alabama native Marvin McClendon Jr (74) was indicted for the first-degree murder of Melissa Ann Tremblay who was 11-year-old

theovertimer.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Massachusetts man pleads not guilty to stabbing Salem girl to death

A man accused of stabbing a Salem girl to death in the 1980s was formally arraigned Thursday.

www.wmur.com

McClendon is being held without bail and is scheduled to be back in court next month.