Authorities named David Pouliot, a Vietnam veteran who worked for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, as a “person of interest” in the disappearance of 10-year-old Holly Piirainen from Massachusetts in 1993.
Investigators stopped short of naming David Pouliot, who died in 2003, as a suspect.
Holly Piirainen was abducted during a family vacation in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, on August 5, 1993, and her remains were discovered two months later eight miles away in Brimfield.
No one has ever been charged with Holly Piirainen murder, but analysis of forensic evidence found at the scene has revealed a new suspect.
At a press conference today, Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni released the name of David Pouliot, a 49-year-old man from Springfield who died in 2003.
David Pouliot was a Vietnam War veteran, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard and worked for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services in Westfield, Fox News reported.
The potential new suspect is the first new lead in the case for more than 10 years.
David Procopio, a spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, told The Boston Globe: “We hope the new evidence may spark someone’s memory, or someone’s conscience.
“Holly’s family has waited for justice for almost two decades.”
Holly Piirainen disappeared after she and her brother went to a neighbor’s house to look at a litter of puppies.
Rick Piirainen, her father, was planning to go to attend a news conference in Hampden Superior Court this morning along with sons Andrew and Zachary – who were eight and five at the time of her disappearance.
Investigators have speculated Holly Piirainen’s abduction and murder could be linked with that of Molly Bish, who disappeared on June 27, 2000, after she was dropped off at Comins Pond in Warren where she was a lifeguard.
The 16-year-old’s remains were found in 2003 in a wooded area near Comins Pond.
