DA’s office asking residents to submit DNA samples to help solve 1993 murder

The Hampden District Attorney’s Office is hosting a voluntary DNA sample collection to potentially find new leads in a 1993 murder case.

Holly Piirainen, 10, disappeared after leaving her grandparents’ house in Sturbridge to see a litter of puppies at a neighboring house near Allen and South Shore roads at around 11:45 a.m. on Aug. 5, 1993, according to the DA’s office.

After an hour, her father reported her missing, and he later found her sneaker near South Shore Road, officials said.

A subsequent search of the area by local law enforcement and officials in Rhode Island and Connecticut lasted for weeks.

Holly’s skeletal remains were found in a wooded area off Five Bridge Road in the neighboring town of Brimfield two months later on Oct. 23, the DA’s office said.

A white tank top with “Boston” written in pink and purple over the skyline was found near her remains, the DA’s office announced in 2021, per The Boston Globe.

Now, over three decades since Holly’s death, the DA’s office is hosting its second Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy event in Brimfield on Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Public Safety Complex, 34 Wales Road. Community members will be asked to provide a “simple cheek swab.”

“DNA collected from crime-scene evidence can be compared against publicly available genealogy databases to identify distant relatives of unknown suspects — sometimes reaching fourth, fifth, or even sixth cousins,” officials wrote in the event’s announcement. “Investigators then use those connections to build family trees, narrow down possibilities, and, in some cases, identify offenders who have eluded justice for decades.”

The voluntary participants in the DNA-collection event will receive their full ancestry and family-tree information, worth over $700, for free, the announcement states.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said, “Each new DNA sample has the power to bring us closer to the truth. Holly deserves justice, and her family deserves answers. This effort is about remembering her and using every available tool to find the person responsible.”

The investigation into Holly’s murder remains active and open. Anyone with information regarding Holly’s disappearance or death should contact Holly’s tip line at 413-426-3507.

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