Possible Break In Cold Case Murders Of Molly Bish and Holly Piirainen

[Whisper]

Family of Holly Piirainen hopes I-93 billboard provides clues about the 10-year-old's unsolved abduction and slaying
MARCH 29 2011

The family of Holly Piirainen hopes that a digital billboard featuring a picture of the 10-year-old Grafton girl who was abducted and murdered in 1993 will finally bring the answers they have been seeking for the past 18 years.
“We don’t want her case to be forgotten,â€￾ Holly’s aunt, Carla M. Piirainen Bourassa, said.
“We’re hoping that because we’re putting it on the billboard that thousands of people will see it and it will generate interest and possible leads in her case,â€￾ Bourassa said.
Holly disappeared after taking a walk to see collie puppies near her grandmother’s Sturbridge summer home that August. Two and a half months later, her remains were found in woods in Brimfield.
Bourassa said the family is appreciative that Clear Channel Outdoor is donating space on the billboard on Interstate 93 in Medford for Holly. It is expected to be up for a month. It made its debut over the weekend. Medford was chosen because a digital billboard was available there.
The billboard features a photograph of the smiling, brown-eyed girl, and says: UNSOLVED, 1993 Abduction & Murder, Find Holly Piirainen’s Killer, along with a number for the state police detectives investigating the case, (413) 747-4809, and the word REWARD. Holly’s family is offering $30,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the girls’ killer.
“Justice does need to be served so another family doesn’t have to suffer a nightmare because of this person,â€￾ Bourassa, of Grafton, said.
She said her niece was vacationing at her grandmother’s home on South Pond with her father and brothers. Holly and her 5-year-old brother went to see the neighbor’s puppies.
“He returned back to the summer house without her. We don’t know if he saw something and blocked it out,â€￾ Bourassa said.
Holly’s father sent her other brother, who was 8, to get her, but all he found was her shoe. Police initially believed she was lost; hundreds of officers searched for her in the nearby woods. On Oct. 23, her body was found in Brimfield by a hunter, approximately five miles away.
Bourassa described her 10-year-old niece as responsible and mature for her age, and aware of the danger of strangers.
“She was just a wonderful little girl ... even though so much time has gone by, she’s always on our minds. It would be wonderful if the right person came forward and we could move on,â€￾ Bourassa said.
She said the family will be meeting soon with the new Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni to discuss the case. She said her mother Maureen Lemieux still has the home on South Pond, but for a long time, the family didn’t go there, because of the painful memories.
Holly’s cousins, her brothers, are all in their 20s and 30s now, Bourassa said. Holly would be 28. Bourassa said her own daughter, three years younger than Holly, suffered post-traumatic stress symptoms due to what happened to her cousin.
“This person didn’t just ruin one life. It had a ripple effect,â€￾ Bourassa said.
State Police Capt. Peter J. Higgins said the detective unit continues to get leads regularly on the Piirainen case.
“Unfortunately none of them have revealed the circumstances that led to her death,â€￾ Higgins said.
Higgins said it is great that Clear Channel Outdoor is giving the family space on the billboard, and hopes it will lead to information about Holly’s death and abductor.
The way police respond to missing child cases has changed in the last 20 years. Higgins said they are now treated as a crime until proven otherwise. Back then, police had thought Holly may have wandered away.
Bourassa said the family contacted Clear Channel Outdoor after they found out that the company donated a billboard to the Bish family, to help the Bishes in their quest to find Molly Anne Bish’s killer.
[...]

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/family_of_holly_piirainen_hope.html

Molly Bish Foundation​

The "abduction" of Molly Bish took less than 8 minutes…
On the morning of June 27, 2000, Magi Bish drove her 16 year old daughter, Molly to her Life Guard post at a rural pond in Western Massachusetts. When swimmers arrived minutes later, the only traces of Molly were her water-bottle, sandals, a police radio and an opened first aid kit.
Molly was the victim of of an abduction and murder by a predator.
[...]
Molly was Missing! The disbelief that a 16 year old could go to work and be taken from her life guard post was daunting and a haunting experience for the Bish family and the small community of Warren. They hung yellow ribbons and posters in hope of her return. Molly's case became the most extensive search in Massachusetts history. Molly's story has been told on America's Most Wanted, 48 Hours, Court TV, Unsolved Mysteries, Larry King, Nancy Grace and untold National and local media. After three long years, the search for Molly came to a heartbreaking end. In June 2003, 26 of her bones were found scattered on the side of a mountain only five miles from her home. Molly was buried on her 20th Birthday.
This year marks the ten year anniversary of Molly's abduction. We still do not know "who" or "why" Molly was taken from those she loved.
A Grand Jury was held, but no arrests have been made.
The Molly Bish Foundation is dedicated to providing safety education, awareness and prevention of missing and exploited children. The Bish's have spoken locally and nationally to communities, schools, law enforcement and legislative leaders. They have fought to improve legislation by working on the National and Massachusetts Amber Alerts Systems, along with the National Adam Walsh Act and the current passage of National DNA Database.The Bish's efforts and advocacy prove their continued committed to all children, so that they might live, work and play in a world that is safe.
Our motto is: "IF YOU SAVE ONE LIFE YOU SAVE THE WORLD."
"We will find... the person that harmed her. It's been a journey, a story of love and loss, but we are still hopeful and we want Molly to know we'll never give up."

Pictured to left, Molly's father,John stands along with mother of Molly, Magi Bish, and sister to Molly, Heather Bish at a news conference in 2003 following the discovery of Molly's remains​

Molly Bish case not cold after 10 years
Nov 2010

FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - It doesn't matter if it's ten years, five years, or a year. It seems like it just happened.
Worcester County DA Joseph early is now the second DA to take on the Molly Bish murder investigation. And after ten years, the DA believes this case has not grown cold.
In some regards we're hopeful. In some regards we are frustrated. We want to see something happen. We want to see something break.
[...]
One break in the case may be the emergence of Rodney Stanger as a suspect. As FOX25’s Bob Ward first reported, Stanger is awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend in Florida. But at the time of Molly's murder, Stanger lived nearby. He fished at Comin's Pond, where Molly was taken, and he hunted in Palmer where her remains were found three years later.
Stanger has a long history of violence, and he is a dead ringer for the sketch of the man Molly's mother saw at Comin’s Pond the day before the murder.
“You look at Rodney Stanger, and you say, yeah, there's a resemblance to the composite. He may have owned a white car. It's a lead we've pursued,â€￾ Early said.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news...ly-bish-case-not-cold-after-10-years-20100624

Gerald Battistoni​

Nov 19 2011

WARREN, MA (WSHM) -
It's been 11 years and several possible break throughs in the sad story of Molly Bish have come and gone. But today one more person of interest emerged.
"He was just doing his daily work and then all of a sudden there were things that were coming out that made him stop and think, 'oh my God this might have something to do with the Bish case,'" said Molly Bish's mother, Magi Bish.
Bish, who has never given up her fight to find the truth, is talking about Vermont state trooper Daniel Malley. Malley's own research on a child sexual abuse case led him closer and closer to Molly Bish, and ten-year-old victim Holly Piirainen.
[...]
That person is 49-year-old Gerald Battistoni. He's currently serving 10 to 12 years in state prison for raping the daughter of a former girlfriend. Officials now have reason to believe his whereabouts and prior history could connect him to the cases of Molly and Holly.
This morning, Worcester County's District Attorney Joseph Early spoke out on the possible connection on the Jim Politto radio show.
"There are a lot of parallels between Molly Bish's and Holly Piirainen's cases. There are people who think that the person who killed one of the girls killed both and that would include people in and out of the state police office," Early said.
It all became apparent after Battistoni's second ex-wife was shown comparative photos of her ex-husband's mug shot and artist renderings based on Bish's descriptions of a man seen at the pond the day before Molly's disappearance.
Today, Bish looks at another face of another man who may have taken her daughter's life, and it never gets any easier.
"I have to believe there's always been hope in Molly's case. The goodness of the people have always come through. Our family is saying possibly this could be it this time," Bish said.

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/story/16078800/new-lead-in-molly-bish-case
NOV 21 2011

Could a convicted child rapist be involved in the unsolved murders of Molly Anne Bish and Holly Piirainen?
That is one possibility being looked at by investigators eager to close the cold cases, according to a report by The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester.
Gerald Battistoni, 49, of Ware was convicted in August of raping a young girl nearly 20 years ago by a Hampden Superior Court jury in Springfield after a private investigator uncovered the information during a custody dispute.
In 1993, 10-year-old Holly Piirainen disappeared after taking a walk to see collie puppies near her grandmother’s Sturbridge summer home. Two and a half months later, her remains were found in woods in Brimfield.
June 27, 2000, Molly Anne Bish, 16, disappeared from her lifeguard post at Comins Pond in Warren. Three years later, her remains were found, in a wooded section of Palmer known as Whiskey Hill.
According to Battistoni's second wife, as quoted by the Telegram & Gazette, her convicted ex may have been involved in the brutal slayings.
The second wife told the newspaper that on the day Bish disappeared, Battistoni said he was working on their car, a white Chevy, and had taken it for a drive in the Warren area.
A sketch artist's rendering of the smoking man in the white car seen by Molly Bish's mother when she dropped the teen off at Comins Pond in Warren the day she disappeared. Bish's mother reportedly said that she saw a man sitting in a white car smoking a cigarette when she dropped her daughter off at Comins Pond that day.
A sketch artist's rendering of the smoking man in the white car shared similarities with Battistoni, according to Bish's mother, who wonders if the convicted child rapist had anything to do with her daughter's murder.
The connection to the disappearance and murder of Holly Piirainen lies with the child he was convicted of raping, according to the Worcester newspaper.
The second wife told reporters that Battistoni had a connection to the area where Piirainen 's body was found.
[...]

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/possible_break_in_cold_case_mu.html

Family members have waited years for answers in the unsolved murders of Molly Bish, left, and Holly Piirainen.​

 

[Whisper]

I tried to include some back ground on both girls cases but there are millions more articles if you GOOGLE

A sketch artist's rendering of the smoking man in the white car seen by Molly Bish's mother when she dropped the teen off at Comins Pond in Warren the day she disappeared​

 

[62julietandvoid]

That thing looks like a bloated wild swine with it's head wrapped tightly in wire. omg looking closely at it's eyes, just sickening. I want to stab them. He has cleavage too. uke2:

 

[Whisper]

Molly Bish's sister sees connection to "person of interest"
WARREN, MA (WSHM) -
More than 10 years after her disappearance from a Warren Pond, a private investigator says he's found evidence that could solve the mystery of who killed Molly Bish.
"No part ever gets easier or better or harder or worse, it's just a continued horrific experience," says Heather, Molly's older sister."
Former Vermont State Trooper turned private investigator Dan Malley says Gerald Battistoni could be the person responsible for Bish's death.
[...]
"He liked blonde haired girls, he had a history of raping girls, he's in jail right now for raping a girl," Heather said.
Heather has been the closest of the Bish family to Malley's work. She says similarities like Battistoni's appearance and his connections to Warren makes her believe he deserves to be a person of interest in her sister's case.
[...]

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/stor...s-sister-see-connection-to-person-of-interest

 

[Chinchillazilla]

Battistoni certainly looks like he could have been the guy in the sketch back then. I'm guessing that a decade ago, he had a mustache.

I've been following Molly's case for a while. I really hope it's closed someday.

 

[Whisper]

Sources: Possible Suspect To Be Named Holly Piirainen Murder Case

BOSTON (CBS) – After 18 years, there is a possible break in the Holly Piirainen murder case.

Investigators say recently discovered evidence has led to new developments. They plan to reveal exactly what that is Tuesday morning in Springfield.

Someone kidnapped 10-year-old Piirainen outside her grandmother’s Sturbridge home in 1993.

Hunters discovered her remains in a wooded area several months later.
[....]

Sources tell the I-Team that investigators are going to name a man as a possible suspect in the case.

That man, David Pouliot, died in 2003 at the age of 49. He lived in Springfield.

Police are only saying they have forensic evidence from the crime scene and they’ll make a plea for more help from the public.

Pouliot still has family in Springfield. WBZ reached out to them, but they did not return any phone calls.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/01/02/sources-suspect-to-be-named-holly-piirainen-murder-case/

 

[Whisper]

Cold case in killing of 10 year-old girl offers new evidence

(CNN) -- A "very significant lead" has surfaced in the 1993 killing of 10-year-old Holly Piirainen, linking a dead man to the case through forensic testing, authorities said Tuesday.

The man is linked to a piece of evidence found in the vicinity of the area where Piirainen's skeletal remains were uncovered nearly two decades ago, said Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastrioanni.

Considered an avid outdoorsman before he died in 2003, the man is not being named by CNN because authorities say he is not considered a suspect in the killing.

Prosecutors say the man had frequented a wooded area in Brimfield, Massachusetts where Piirainen's body was found three months after she was reported missing.

Authorities did not reveal what the piece of evidence was.

A $15,000 reward is being offered for any information that leads to an arrest or conclusion of the investigation.

Holly's grandmother, Maureen Lemieux, told reporters Tuesday that she was "cautiously optimistic" the new evidence would bring the case to a close. But, she noted, four or five other people previously had been named by authorities as linked to the case.

Piirainen disappeared from a home in the neighboring town of Sturbridge in 1993.
[...]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/03/justice/massachusetts-forensic-evidence/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

 

[Whisper]

The late David Pouliot is being called a "link" in the Holly Piirainen case.​

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Forensic evidence collected in the investigation into the disappearance and murder of 10 year-old Holly Piirainen has been matched to a now-dead Springfield man.
Based on testing of evidence in the case, a match was made to David Edmund Pouliot of Springfield, who died in 2003.
[...]
District Attorney Mark Mastroianni says Pouliot (b. Jan. 4, 1954) was familiar with area where Holly disappeared, and the area where her remains were found. He says Pouliot was an outdoorsman who had hunted in the area several times.
According to Mastroianni, Pouliot is being called a "link" but is not being considered a suspect in the case at this time. They will not reveal what piece of evidence was matched to Pouliot, or where the item was found. Though he is not a suspect, Mastroianni says that this is a "turning point" in the investigation, and that Pouliot's identification will hopefully help the investigation by allowing people who knew him to come forward. They want to have information such as what vehicles he may have driven and who his friends are.
[...]
Members of Piirainen’s family were present during Tuesday morning’s news conference at the Hampden County Hall of Justice. Her grandmother, Maureen Lemieux, said she is full of gratitude for all the work that his been devoted to this still-open case. "My thanks are endless, they've worked tirelessly for 15 years and we appreciate the work they've done,â€￾ she said.
In the past year, investigators had stepped-up their efforts to find Piirainen’s killer , even teaming-up with media company Clear Channel to put up a digital billboard to encourage people to come forward with information.
[...]
If you have any information, you are urged to call (413) 505-5933 or text "crimes" to 274637.
Often linked with the Piirainen case is the disappearance and murder of 17 year-old lifeguard Molly Bish . Bish disappeared from her lifeguard post in neighboring Warren back in 2000.
[...]

http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hampden/DNA-in-Piirainen-case-matches-dead-man?hpt=ju_bn4

Holly Piirainen​

 

[Icy]

Convicted Killer Rodney Stanger's Wallet Sheds Light On Case Of Molly Bish

New evidence in the case of a 16-year-old girl killed 12 years ago has police focusing on a convicted killer.
Molly Bish was abducted in June, 2000 from Comins Pond in Warren, Mass. No one has ever been charged in her death.

But MyFox Boston reports that police have new evidence, including a wallet believed to belong to Rodney Stanger, who was convicted in 2008 of killing his longtime girlfriend, Chrystal Morrison. Stanger was already a person of interest in the case.

The wallet was recovered by Morrison's sister, Bonnie Kiernan, who went to the Stanger and Morrison's home in Summerfield, Fla., to retrieve some of her sibling's belongings.

The wallet contains Stanger's Massachusetts Firearms Identification Card, which was renewed on April 17, 2000, just two months before Bish's disappearance.

The F.I.D. card has a picture of Stanger that "bears a striking resemblance to the mystery man Molly's mother, Magi Bish, saw at Comins Pond the day before the abduction," MyFox Boston reports.

Kiernan told the News Telegram she's sure the sketch matches the picture.

“He looks just like the sketch,â€￾ Kiernan said. “It's him. I have no doubt it's him.â€￾
Molly's sister said she hopes authorities will take a close look at the newly revealed evidence.

“I'm hopeful the state police will follow up with this,â€￾ Heather Bish said. “We appreciate the people that come forward because it gives us a reason to push the investigation.â€￾

MyFox Boston reports that Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early told reporters he might send Massachusetts State Police investigators back to Florida in an attempt to re-interview Stanger.

Just last month, family and friends of Molly held a vigil to mark the 12th anniversary of her death, according to the Republican.
Family members remain hopeful that Molly's killer will be found and prosecuted.

"We have to keep hoping and we have to keep persevering and we have to keep Molly's memory alive," Heather Bish told the Republic.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/molly-bish-case_n_1680955.html?utm_hp_ref=crime

 

[Whisper]

The family of slain teenager Molly Bish is hoping that some evidence in the unsolved killing turns up at the site of a racetrack being built in Palmer.
Bish’s mother, Magdalene Bish, says the family is optimistic that construction workers will find something that identifies a suspect — maybe a piece of clothing with DNA — while they’re clearing the site.
[....]
State police brought a cadaver dog to the racetrack site on Friday, but didn’t find anything.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/09/29/probe-of-girls-killing-turns-to-racetrack-site/

 

[Whisper]

14 years after Molly Bish's disappearance, still no arrests

Friday marks 14 years since Molly Bish vanished from her lifeguard post at Comins Pond in Warren and her family has never given up hope they may one day find her killer.

In the years since the 16-year-old's remains were found, suspects have come and gone in the case.

Investigators have told CBS 3 that they have questioned a man that's currently in a Florida prison named Rodney Stanger who they believe may have some connection to her death.

But no arrest has ever been made.
[...]

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/story/25892809/14-years-after-molly-bishs-murder-still-no-arrests

 

[Valasca]

Bish's murder is ice cold. Hopefully they can connect this guy. It's obvious he's the smoking man.

 

[mybum62]

I have followed this case since day one. I hope they find the person that did this. Its been way too long in coming. I truly wish this for the family.

 

[Sue sue]

http://www.fox25boston.com/news/arr...-unsolved-murder-of-holly-piirainen/614737717

STURBRIDGE, Mass. - An unsolved case that's been intriguing police for the past 24 years has been brought back to focus after an arrest was made for a similar case.

The story of the abduction and murder of Holly Piirainen has been on of the state's most disturbing unsolved cases, and to this day, it remains unsolved.

On August 5, 1993, Holly Piirainen and her brother were looking at puppies near her grandmother's cottage in Sturbridge.

She disappeared without a trace, and all that was left of the 10-year-old girl was one of her shoes left on the road.

Despite a massive search, Holly's body wasn't found until three months later on Oct. 23, 1993.

Over the years, police have been looking at a list of potential suspects, however, none of which led to solving the case.

Holly's family never lost hope, and last week they were reminded to keep their faith.

The same DA and State Police working Holly's case announced they broke another big case: the 1992 abduction and murder of Lisa Ziegert.

Authorities say a DNA match led to them a man named Gary Schara.

His DNA will now be run against other unsolved cases like Holly's. In the meantime, Holly's family has their own questions that have been haunting them for years.

Maureen LeMieux, Holly's grandmother, wonders if the suspect was even from the area.

"Is he familiar with the Sturbridge area? Where has he been the last 25 years? There's a lot of questions that we don't know about him," LeMieux said.

Right now, there is no publicly known link between Schara and the murder of Holly Piirainen. Yet, now that he's under arrest, detectives who worked the Ziegert case, are now focusing on Holly's Piirainen's case.

Today, Holly would've been 34-years-old.

Holly Piirainen's family is hoping that all this talk about the DNA and the suspects may finally cause someone to speak up and talk to police about what may have happened to Holly. They also want to emphasize that the reward for this case is now up to $40,000.

 

[Sue sue]

Holly Piirainen: Family holding first vigil ahead of 25-year anniversary

<p>Tuesday will mark a dark anniversary; it will be 25 years since the body of <a href="https://www.boston25news.com/news/new-englands-unsolved-holly-piirainens-murder-1/139232073" target="_blank">Holly Piirainen</a> was found in the woods of Brimfield weeks after the 10-year-old disappeared. </p>

www.boston25news.com

 

[Sue sue]

Bish family reacts after person of interest named in 2000 murder

Massachusetts authorities have named a person of interest in the 2000 murder of Molly Bish, a lifeguard who disappeared nearly 21 years ago.

www.wcvb.com