The murder of Holly Piirainen
Sturbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts · August 5, 1993
A ten-year-old who walked down a lake road to see a neighbor's puppies was found by hunters eleven weeks later — and the case has moved in jolts ever since: a dead man linked to the scene by re-tested evidence in 2012, a grave opened in 2020 in search of a letter, a thirty-year-old tank top shown to the public in 2023, and cheek swabs collected in Brimfield in 2025.
Overview
On August 5, 1993, ten-year-old Holly Piirainen was on the second day of a vacation at her grandparents' cottage in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, when she and her five-year-old brother walked down the road at about 11:45 a.m. to see a neighbor's puppies. Her brother came home; Holly did not. Within the hour her father found one of her sneakers on South Shore Road, and a search involving local and state police and officers from Connecticut and Rhode Island turned up nothing more. On October 23, 1993, hunters found her remains in a wooded area off Five Bridge Road in Brimfield, about five miles away. The death was ruled a homicide. No one has ever been arrested. In January 2012 the Hampden County district attorney announced that re-tested evidence from near her body had been linked to David Pouliot, a Springfield man who had hunted the area and died in 2003; he was called a person of interest but not a suspect. In 2020 investigators exhumed a young man's body in search of a letter said to concern the case. In February 2023 the district attorney showed the public a white "Boston" tank top recovered near her remains and said persons of interest remained, and in October 2025 his office announced a genetic-genealogy DNA drive in Brimfield to generate new leads.
Where it stands
The case is open and active under Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, whose office has led it since the remains were found in Brimfield, and it has produced more official movement than most thirty-year-old homicides. The first jolt came on January 3, 2012, when then-District Attorney Mark Mastroianni announced that items collected near Holly's body in 1993 had been re-examined with newer forensic methods and that one of them was linked to David Pouliot of Springfield. Mastroianni called it a turning point in the investigation, said it placed Pouliot or people associated with him in the immediate area around the time of the disappearance, and said the case remained under investigation. He was equally clear that Pouliot, who had died of congestive heart failure in August 2003 at 49 and whose only record was a 1999 cocaine arrest, was a person of interest and not a suspect, because there was not enough information to designate him one. The details of that evidence have never been released. In October 2020 investigators exhumed the body of a man who would have been 18 in 1993 from a Hampden County cemetery after a tip that a letter in his coffin concerned the case; the family was reportedly told the remains had suffered significant water damage. On February 1, 2023, Gulluni said items from 1993 had been selected for further testing within the previous six months and released photographs of a white adult-size tank top printed with "Boston" that was found near the remains, asking who had owned or sold it. He said the investigation remained very open and that persons of interest still existed, but he declined to identify them; Holly's aunt later said the family counts a half dozen strong ones. On October 23, 2025, the office announced its second forensic investigative genetic genealogy event, inviting the public to give cheek swabs in Brimfield on November 9 and saying each new DNA sample could bring investigators closer to the truth. Nothing has yet been charged, and the identity of the person who took Holly from the road outside her grandmother's cottage remains unknown.
Persons of interest
The theories below are reported strictly as attributed to the cited sources. Naming a person here is not an accusation. Individuals are named only where they are deceased, were formally charged, were officially named by authorities, or have been publicly cleared.
- David Pouliot
On January 3, 2012, Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni announced that forensic re-examination of items collected near Holly's remains in 1993 had linked Pouliot, a Springfield man who hunted and fished in the Brimfield woods, to the area around the time she disappeared. The district attorney called him a person of interest but said there was not enough information to designate him a suspect, and suggested he may not have been alone. Pouliot had a single 1999 drug arrest and no record of violent or sexual offenses, and died of congestive heart failure in August 2003 at 49. The evidence has never been publicly described.[3]
- A man exhumed in 2020 who would have been 18 in 1993Deceased
In October 2020 investigators exhumed the body of a young man from a Hampden County cemetery after a tip that a letter placed in his coffin contained information relevant to the case. Reports said the remains had suffered significant water damage and investigators were unsure they would recover anything useful. Authorities have not publicly identified him or said what, if anything, the letter contained.[9]
- Undisclosed persons of interestNot publicly named
At the February 1, 2023 news conference District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said persons of interest still exist in the case but declined to identify them. Holly's aunt told Boston 25 News in August 2024 that the family counts a good half dozen strong persons of interest and that different people point to different ones. None has been charged.[12]
Sources
- Hampden District Attorney releases evidence in Holly Piirainen homicide investigation, calls on the public for help
“Her father immediately began searching for her, finding only her sneaker on South Shore Road. Sadly, on October 23, 1993, Holly’s remains were found by hunters in a wooded area off Five Bridge Road in Brimfield.”
- 32 years and still searching: join the effort to bring justice for Holly Piirainen
“This marks the second FIGG event the office has hosted in hopes of advancing Holly’s case. Each new DNA sample has the power to bring us closer to the truth.”
- Possible suspect in Holly Piirainen murder probe
“Pouliot, who died in August 2003 at age 49, is not considered a suspect at this time. Piirainen was last seen alive at her grandmother's house in Sturbridge in August 1993.”
- Family of Molly Bish reacts to new evidence announced in Holly Piirainen case
“Holly Piirainen was abducted and murdered back in 1993 when she was just 10 years old. Her body was found a few months later in Brimfield, and the tank top was also found at the scene.”
- Holly Piirainen case: David Pouliot linked to death of missing girl in 1993
“Besides the one drug incident, officials say Pouliot has no other records of violent crimes or sex offenses. Pouliot died from congestive heart failure in August 2003.”
- Information sought on piece of evidence in Holly Piirainen homicide case
“It is described as a white tank-top style shirt that has a blue, purple, and pink 'Boston' on the outside front. There is no manufacturer tag or size information, but they believe the shirt to be an adult size.”
- Investigators seek information about shirt found near Holly Piirainen in Brimfield after 1993 murder
“Among the items found nearby was a white, tank top shirt with "Boston" written on the front, according to Gulluni. "The investigation is still very open," he said.”
- Sources: Authorities exhume body in Hampden County as part of investigation into disappearance, murder of Holly Piirainen
“Investigators say the abduction took place on the second day of the weeklong vacation. The only publicly known piece of evidence recovered at the scene was one of Holly's shoes.”
- Investigation continues into unsolved murder of 10-year-old girl
“A little more than two months later, on October 23, Piirainen’s skeletal remains were found by hunters in Brimfield. However he was not formally named as a suspect, and the details of the evidence have never been shared.”
- 23 years after girl's death, family makes new appeal
“The death was ruled a homicide. Investigators have probed but found no links between Holly’s killing and the still-unsolved death of Molly Bish,”
- Family creates new plea for information in 1993 cold case
“No arrests were ever made. A $40,000 reward is being offered to anyone who has information that could lead to an arrest.”
- 'It never goes away': Holly Piirainen's family still looking for answers 31 years after girl's murder
“Holly's killer has never been caught. There's a good half dozen people that are really strong people of interest.”