LAWRENCE — Jury selection began Monday in the retrial of an Alabama man charged in a 1988 Lawrence cold case.
Marvin “Skip” McClendon Jr., 77, is charged with killing Melissa Ann Tremblay, 11, of Salem, New Hampshire, in Lawrence on Sept. 11, 1988.
Following a mistrial in December, a judge later denied bail for McClendon, who has been held at Middleton Jail since his April 2022 arrest.
Jury selection is scheduled to take place in Lawrence Superior Court this week. His trial is expected to start there later this month.
Tremblay’s murder went unsolved for more than three decades until prosecutors in April 2022 said DNA found under Tremblay’s fingernails linked McClendon to the girl’s murder.
On Sept. 11, 1988, Tremblay’s stabbed and beaten body was found in a South Lawrence railroad yard.
The girl was known to play in the neighborhood while her mother and her mother’s boyfriend frequented the LaSalle Social Club on Andover Street. She was last seen alive by a railroad employee and a pizza delivery driver, authorities said.
Tremblay’s mother has since died.
After more than a week of testimony from detectives, crime lab workers, relatives and others, the prosecution rested its case on Dec. 15, 2023.
Among the prosecution witnesses were retired State Trooper Kenneth Kelleher and Lawrence Police Detective Thomas Murphy, the original murder case detectives from 1988.
State police Lt. Peter Sherber, who most recently investigated and went to Alabama to question McClendon and his relatives, also testified.
Daniel Hatch, who was a 13-year-old homeless boy in 1988, also testified that he saw Tremblay sitting on the front steps of the LaSalle Club that day with an area man named Michael Therrien. He said the two later walked across Broadway to the State Street area, where they met up with another man.
On Dec. 18, 2023, Fasoldt called three defense witnesses, all doctors with backgrounds in DNA or forensics.
McClendon did not testify in his own defense. He is a retired Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer who lived in Massachusetts in the past. He lived for many years in Bremen, Alabama, where he owns a home near his sister, Rebecca Greenwood.
Jurors deliberated for 29 hours but remained deadlocked. A mistrial was declared by Judge Karp on Dec. 27, 2023.
McClendon suffers from a number of chronic health conditions and requires daily medication including blood thinners, medication for gout, and diuretics. He used a walker in court during the trial.
McClendon’s defense attorney is Henry Fasoldt. Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Strasnick and Marina Moriarty are prosecuting the case.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter/X @EagleTribJill.