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Family of cold-case murder victim Melissa Ann Tremblay speaks out after mistrial: ‘Justice needs to be served’
Eleven-year-old Tremblay was killed in Lawrence in 1988. Last week, a jury said they were deadlocked in the trial of her suspected killer.
The family of a New Hampshire girl who was killed 35 years ago has released a statement calling for justice following the recent mistrial of her alleged murderer.
Melissa Ann Tremblay, 11, of Salem, New Hampshire, was found beaten and stabbed to death in a Lawrence railroad yard on Sept. 11, 1988. Three decades later, Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr., 76, of Bremen, Alabama, was charged with the girl’s murder following DNA evidence linking him to the killing. McClendon pleaded not guilty.
On Wednesday, McClendon’s murder trial ended in a mistrial after the jury said they were deadlocked, according to an Eagle-Tribune report. Prosecutors said they plan to retry McClendon in the future, though no new trial date has been set.
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On Friday, Tremblay’s family released a statement via Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office saying the mistrial “isn’t the end” and highlighting the importance of a retrial because “justice needs to be served.”
“[McClendon] has had 35 years that he has gone unpunished, walking free for 33 of those years. He has lived his life with his family, including his children and stepchildren, but yet my aunt spent the rest of her life without her child, and our family has been missing a part of us for 35 years,” Tremblay’s family said in the statement.
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The family also thanked prosecutors and detectives for their emotional support and their work on the case and expressed appreciation for jurors who deliberated through the Christmas holiday.
The family’s full statement is below:
“As Missy’s family we feel it is important to address the media now that the trial has ended. While we would have preferred a guilty verdict we thank God that it wasn’t not guilty and that this isn’t the end. The last month has been a very long one and we would like to thank all those that have been there to support us. It truly has taken a village to get us through.
The daily support we have received from the Essex County District Attorney’s office, the previous detectives like Detective Murphy and Trooper Kelleher and the current detective on Missy’s case Lt. Sherber has truly been what has helped us through this trial. They were there every step of the way and sat with us and made sure we were OK. It was very hard hearing and seeing some of the information revealed at trial but they were always there with a hug, a kind word and often a box of tissues when needed. We consider them all family and know they will continue to do their best to get justice for Missy.
Also during the trial we had the privilege of meeting Nicole Lydic and the Quinto family, Stephen, Lisa and Jessica. Jessica and her brother Stephen were childhood friends of Missy’s as was Nicole. The day of closing arguments having them along with all the police officers, Troopers and staff from the district attorney’s office all sitting in that courtroom was like they all had their arms around us comforting us.
Our friends and families support and prayers have also been a big help. Uprooting our lives to come back for the trial involved a lot of moving parts and without everyone’s love and support we might not have all been able to attend court.
Someone asked why retrial is so important and honestly it is because justice needs to be served! He has had 35 years that he has gone unpunished, walking free for 33 of those years. He has lived his life with his family, including his children and stepchildren but yet my aunt spent the rest of her life without her child and our family has been missing a part of us for 35 years. Missy would be 46 years old and probably have a family of her own if he hadn’t taken her life. I don’t know what possesses someone to do what he did to Missy. Did she interrupt something he was doing and she became a threat to his life and his chance to go back to the Dept. of Corrections or did he just prey on an innocent young girl? I guess we will never know why and that will always haunt us. At least we know who is responsible for her death. We might have got a mistrial but in our hearts we know the right man was on trial and we look forward to seeing him finally punished.
We would also like to thank the jurors. We know at least some of them believed he was guilty and the fact they fought so hard, deliberating through Christmas means so much to us.”
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