GUILTY ME - Joyce McLain, 16, East Millinocket, 8 Aug 1980 *Arrest in 2016*

New Posts

I've been following this case since I was 14. I'm in my 50s now. We've been waiting decades for her killer to be found and held accountable. Her mother has been a pillar of strength, a tenacious victims' advocate, and I hope she, her family & community finally get the closure they deserve and her killer is brought to justice.
 
http://bangordailynews.com/2018/02/20/news/penobscot/judge-to-deliver-verdict-in-1980-murder-of-joyce-mclain/

A Superior Court judge plans to announce Thursday whether an East Millinocket man is guilty of killing 16-year-old Joyce McLain more than 37 years ago, according to the court clerk’s office.

Philip Scott Fournier, 57, was tried before Justice Ann Murray on one count of murder beginning in late January. Murray will announce the verdict fewer than three weeks after the trial ended Feb. 5 at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.
Click to expand...
 
Article from our local paper about the verdict.

I've been waiting a long time for this, I can hardly imagine how her family and community feel right now.
 
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/02/22/verdict-expected-thursday-in-38-year-old-maine-murder/

Pam McLain, Joyce’s mother, sat in the front row behind prosecutors during the hearing and smiled after the judge read the guilty finding. McLain, flanked by family, said outside the courthouse that after waiting decades for justice, she was the happiest a mother could be. McLain said she felt a variety of emotions as Murray read the extensive findings for more than an hour before announcing her verdict.

“I had a couple of iffy moments,” McLain said, before her trepidation turned to relief. “I was very satisfied” with the verdict.

McLain said she does not hate Fournier, and she empathizes with his relatives.
Click to expand...

McLain also delivered a message to the family members of Mainers whose murders remain unsolved.

“Keep on keepin’ on,” McLain said. “I’ll be with you, because I’m not gonna end here.”
Click to expand...

Read Justice Murray’s full judgment in the murder trial of Philip Scott Fournier
 
How Joyce McLain’s murder finally moved from cold case to conviction

A combination of dogged police work and luck made it possible to charge and convict Philip Scott Fournier of murdering 16-year-old Joyce McLain nearly 40 years after her body was found behind the high school in East Millinocket.

New detectives using modern interviewing techniques and a witness who came forward to say that Fournier confessed to him in 1989 led to a guilty judgment last month.

That was the consensus of a lead investigator and the prosecution team who sat down with the Bangor Daily News last week to discuss why, after laying dormant for nearly a decade from 1989 to 2008, the case finally came to fruition.
Click to expand...

Joyce McLain’s killer to be sentenced next month

The date for the sentencing of Joyce McLain‘s killer has been set for April 27 at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.

Philip Scott Fournier, 57, of East Millinocket faces between 25 years and life in prison on his murder conviction. Due to his age, the imposition of just the mandatory minimum sentence most likely means he will die in prison.
Click to expand...
 
Joyce McLain’s killer sentenced to 45 years in prison

Philip Scott Fournier, the East Millinocket man convicted of killing 16-year-old Joyce McLain nearly 40 years ago, was sentenced Friday at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor to 45 years in prison.

“This was a cruel and violent act,” Superior Court Justice Ann Murray said after hearing emotional testimony from McLain’s family and friends.
Click to expand...

The victim’s mother, Pamela McLain of East Millinocket, was too ill to attend the sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea said.

Victim witness advocate Renee Ordway read Pamela McLain’s statement in which the mother said she had spent nearly 40 years waiting for her daughter’s killer to be prosecuted.

“While I spent most of those 38 years seeking justice for Joyce, Scott [Fournier] spent them, using his own words, outsmarting the state police,” she wrote. “Scott told police that Joyce kicked him as he was attacking her. I hope he feels that kick for the rest of his life.”
Click to expand...
 
Pamela McLain's advocacy, tenacity and persistence in bringing justice for her daughter, and other victim's families, is phenomenal and inspirational. I truly believe we were only able to have closure because she never gave up.
 
What Happened to a Maine Cheerleader Who Went Jogging 38 Years Ago and Never Came Back? (with clip)

"On August 8, 1980, 16-year-old Joyce McLain set out for an early evening jog in her hometown of East Millinocket, Maine, to get in shape for her upcoming high school soccer season.

When the popular cheerleader, honor student, and band member failed to return home, her concerned mother, Pam McLain, began driving around town, looking for Joyce.

Two days later, the teen’s partially-clad, bound body was found in a clearing behind the high school soccer field....
The decades-long mystery is examined in-depth on next Monday’s episode of People Magazine Investigates on Investigation Discovery.

The episode, “Murder Among Friends,” airs on Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. ET. (An exclusive clip is shown above.)...

People Magazine Investigates: Murder Among Friends airs Monday, Dec. 10 at 10 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery."

What Happened to a Maine Cheerleader Who Went Jogging 38 Years Ago and Never Came Back?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Supreme court asked to toss conviction in cold case killing
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Lawyers for a man convicted in a 38-year-old slaying want the Maine supreme court to throw out the conviction.

An attorney for Philip Scott Fournier said Wednesday the judge erred by excluding evidence of an alternative suspect, allowing Fournier’s statements to a pastor, and excluding testimony about why detectives didn’t arrest him when they first interviewed him.
 
I'm so glad the verdict was upheld. He had his freedom, time to do the time
 
I am watching this case for the first time and my thought is this: so many cases go cold for a reason. so often IMO it is poor investigation on the part of law enforcement. They lost the initial interview notes with this killer: they allowed him to point the finger at others and they chased false leads based on this murderer deflecting. He was pretty cunning and the police look pretty stupid IMO--- glad they finally got him- hopefully he will die in prison after getting a 45 year sentence. The other thing is that this murderer confessed to his pastor and to another person (who never shared that info with the police).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 243 more.
Total: 4,632 (members: 244, guests: 4,388)

Online statistics

Members online
244
Guests online
4,388
Total visitors
4,632
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,667
Messages
17,972,770
Members
228,855
Latest member
Shaunie
Back
Top