A retired correctional officer has been arrested in the murder of an 11-year-old New Hampshire girl more than three decades after she was stabbed to death, authorities said on Wednesday.
Marvin Carlton “Skip”, 74, McLendon Jr. was arrested Tuesday night at his home in Bremen, Alabama, Essex County, Massachusetts and District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. He is accused of killing Melissa Ann Tremblay in 1988 and dumping her in Lawrence Railroad Park, Massachusetts. After she died, a freight car ran over Tremblay’s body, cutting off her left leg.
“It was brutal and the man was horrible [I eventually became] it has a lot to do with her and her loss in such a brutal way, “Andrea Ganley, a childhood friend of Tremblay’s, told The Daily Beast.
McClendon, who worked for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, is now in custody at the Culman County Detention Center in Alabama, Deputy Chad Weiley confirmed to The Daily Beast.
On September 11, 1988, Tremblay went with his mother and his mother’s boyfriend to the LaSalle Social Club in Lawrence, Massachusetts, about a 20-minute drive from their home in Salem, New Hampshire. Sometime during the afternoon, Tremblay went outside to play while the adults had fun at the club. They never saw her again.
After a frantic search of the area, Tremblay’s mother and boyfriend reported her missing. The little girl’s body was found the next day. Investigators questioned “dozens of witnesses, suspects and stakeholders” in the coming weeks, months and years, Blodget said.
Then the case cooled down.
In 2014, a team of assistant district attorneys and state police detectives specializing in unsolved crimes redoubled their efforts in the Tremblay case, according to the Essex County Attorney’s Office.
Investigators say McClandon lived in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, about 16 miles from Lawrence, at the time of Tremblay’s murder. He works as a carpenter and “works and visits restaurants in Lawrence, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Salem Street,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The evidence from Tremblay’s body was “instrumental in resolving the case,” the statement said.
McClendon “has been an interesting man for some time,” Blodget told reporters.
In an email, Essex County Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Kimball told The Daily Beast that she was unable to comment further on the details of the evidence that would end the case, but that more details would be given in his indictment.
Tremblay, who was a sixth-grader at Lancaster School in Salem, New Hampshire, was “forever 11 years old” at the time of her death. murder, he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
Ganley, who was four years younger than Tremblay, told The Daily Beast she had experienced an “emotional train” since learning of McLendon’s arrest.
“I was very shocked at first,” Ganley said. “I am still in shock. This day is really here and it is really happening. We’ve always hoped this day would happen… There are times when you lose hope, but I want other families and other friends who are victims of what is now called the “cold case” – never lose hope. “
Renowned serial killer Tommy Lynn Sales, who confessed to 13 murders in seven states and was executed by lethal injection in 2014, was at one point seen as a potential suspect. But later the carnival worker who drove the railroad was released, and detectives continued to hope for a solid lead.
Ganley said she had never heard of McClandon’s name before the arrest was made public and that investigators had never picked him up before.
“While this is a train of emotion, grief, sorrow and happiness that someone will be held accountable, it is shocking that he was a ministerial minister,” Ganley said. “The fact that he is a law enforcement officer has never occurred to any of us.
Over the years, Ganley has said she has always wondered who could kill her boyfriend so callously.
“People don’t just kill a child when you’re a predator,” she said. “He wasn’t an uncle or a parent or anything, so what kind of person would do that?” How did she cross his path? Did you watch her? Did he come across her the other day? Are there other families waiting to close? There are many questions that have yet to be answered. “
McLendon’s arrest clearly does not bring Tremblay back, Ganley admitted. But, she explained, seeing him in handcuffs opens the door to what she described as the second stage of the grief process.
Tremblay “touched many lives,” Ganley said, adding, “Everyone at school knew Missy.”
“Her mother died a few years ago, her father was very indifferent [and] I don’t know if he’s still alive or not, “Ganley explained. “I know she has a cousin.” I share their grief. I’m glad they have a closure, I’m glad for everyone [of Tremblay’s] friends. People of all ages, her friends, all the school staff, the Salem Boys ‘and Girls’ Club – everyone’s lives were affected.
As for McClendon, Ganley is looking forward to further details along with everyone else.
“What made him do that?” she asked. “If he’s a parent, that’s something I’d like to know. If he has children, I feel terrible for them. “
Detective Thomas Murphy was the lead investigator in the case in 1988. After his retirement, his son joined the force and monitored the progress of the investigation. At a news conference Wednesday, Blodget thanked the Essex State Police Detective Unit, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the FBI, Tewksbury, Massachusetts PD, the Culman County Sheriff’s Office and the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation. “Work. He also paid special attention to calling Murphy for his assistance after examining the case from day one.
“I want to thank everyone involved in this investigation from start to finish,” Blodget said. “Their tireless pursuit of justice for Melissa has brought us to this point. We never forgot about Melissa, nor did we refuse to hold her killer responsible.
McClanden is due to stand trial in a courtroom in Alabama on Thursday.
Add Comment