Murder of Holly Piirainen
Holly Piirainen | |
---|---|
Born | Holly Kristen Piirainen January 19, 1983 Grafton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | August 5, 1993 Sturbridge, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 10)
Cause of death | Presumed homicide |
Holly Kristen Piirainen (January 19, 1983 – August 5, 1993) was a 10-year-old American murder victim from Grafton, Massachusetts. She and her brother had been visiting their grandparents in Sturbridge, Massachusetts when Holly was murdered.[1]
Piirainen and her brother had gone to a neighbor's house to see puppies. Her brother had returned to the cottage where the grandparents lived, but Piirainen did not. One of Piirainen's shoes was found by the side of a road.[1]
Searching for Piirainen took two months. On October 23, 1993, Piirainen's remains were found by hunters in Brimfield, Massachusetts. The killer still has not been found.[1]
Since Piirainen's death, the Holly Piirainen Scholarship Fund was established in her memory by her family.[citation needed]
Later investigative leads
On January 3, 2012, Hampden County Attorney Mark Mastroianni announced that forensic evidence found near Piirainen's body had been linked to David Pouliot, a suspect who died in 2003.[2] Investigators have not disclosed the nature of the forensic evidence, nor the type of testing that linked Pouliot to the evidence. Investigators said that, although Pouliot is a person of interest in the crime, as of January 2012[update] he has not yet formally been named a suspect. Pouliot frequently hunted and fished around the area where Piirainen's body was found.[3]
Connection to Molly Bish case
Fellow Massachusetts resident Molly Bish was murdered seven years later. Her body was also found in a wooded area in Hampden County. Police considered the possibility that the two cases could be related. Pouliot is considered a person of interest in both cases. It was discovered that Bish had written a letter to Holly Piirainen's family following Holly's disappearance.[3] This is an excerpt from Molly Bish's letter:
I am very sorry. I wish I could make it up to you. Holly is a very pretty girl. She is almost as tall as me. I wish I knew Holly. I hope they found her.[3]
— Molly Bish at age 10
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Holly Piirainen: New details emerge in 19-year-old murder case". Fox 25 Boston. Nov 19, 2012.
- ^ "Cold Case Murder of Holly Piirainen, 7, Linked to Dead Man". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
- ^ a b c Smith, Dave (January 3, 2012). "Holly Piirainen Case: David Pouliot Linked to Death of Missing Girl in 1993". International Business Times.
External links
- 1983 births
- 1993 deaths
- 1993 murders in the United States
- American people of Finnish descent
- Female murder victims
- Formerly missing people found dead
- Missing person cases in Massachusetts
- Murdered American children
- People from Grafton, Massachusetts
- People murdered in Massachusetts
- Unsolved murders in the United States