DNA testing led to new suspect in Montana girl's 1996 murder. He was found dead hours after being questioned.
CBSN
Nearly three decades after 15-year-old Danielle "Danni" Houchins was found dead near a fishing access site in Montana, authorities say DNA has finally led them to her killer — a married father of two who died by suicide just hours after he was interviewed by investigators about the cold case.
The Gatlin County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy recently led authorities to identify Houchins' killer as 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson.
On September 21, 1996 at about 11:00 a.m., Houchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana and when she never returned, her family called the police. Her mother found Houchins' truck at a popular fishing access site on the Gallatin River, and later that night, Houchins' body was found face down in shallow water, the sheriff's office said.
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