Marvin C. McClendon Jr. was arrested Tuesday in Bremen, Alabama, and placed in custody at Culman County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney Jonathan Blodget told a news conference.
McClendon “was arrested and charged with fleeing justice on the basis of an arrest warrant issued yesterday for the murder of Melissa Ann Tremblay,” Blodgett’s office said in a press release.
The suspect is expected to stand trial next week, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office told CNN on Thursday. CNN tried to contact a public defender who may represent McClandon, but offices were closed Thursday; The Culman County Sheriff’s Office told CNN earlier that it had no information whether McClandon had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
Melissa was found dead on September 12, 1988 at the old Boston and Maine railway station in Lawrence, according to a press release.
She was stabbed to death and a train ran over her body after her death, the statement said.
The girl was last seen playing in neighborhoods near a social club in Lawrence the day before, while her mother and mother’s boyfriend were inside, Blodget said. A railway employee and a pizza driver were the last people to see her alive.
Melissa’s mother is frantically searching the area before announcing that she disappeared around 9 pm ET, according to the press release.
“Over the years, dozens of witnesses, suspects and stakeholders have been questioned by police,” but the case remains unresolved, the statement said.
The cold case was reviewed by the authorities in 2014 and “the evidence extracted from the victim’s body was essential to resolve the case,” the statement said. Blodgett declined to comment on the specific evidence that led to his arrest as he spoke to reporters at a briefing Wednesday.
“The investigation revealed that the suspect lived in Chelmsford in 1988 and had multiple connections with Lawrence,” the statement said, noting that he worked and attended restaurants in the city, as well as a local church.
The surviving relatives of Tremblay have been notified of the arrest, the prosecutor’s office said.
“I want to thank everyone involved in this investigation from start to finish,” Blodget said. “Their tireless search for justice for Melissa has brought us to this point. We have never forgotten about Melissa, nor have we refused to hold her killer accountable.”
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