Nearly three decades after a teenage Montana girl was found dead near a fishing access point, a married father of two identified as her suspected killer took his own life, hours after being interviewed by investigators, authorities said Thursday.
Advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy led authorities to identify 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson as the killer of 15-year-old Danielle “Danni” Houchins. “We never gave up on finding the truth for Danni and her family, exhausting all means necessary to bring closure to this heartbreaking chapter,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
Houchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana, around 11 a.m. Sept. 21, 1996, and never returned. After reporting her missing, the teen’s mother found her truck at the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access point on the Gallatin River. Later that night, Houchins’ body was found face down in shallow water.
DNA evidence was collected and several suspects were interviewed over the years, but the case eventually went cold. In 2021, Springer hired private investigator Tom Elfmont, a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, to assist in the investigation.
Hair collected from Houchins’ body was sent to labs in California and Virginia, where Hutchinson was identified as a suspect.
On July 23, Elfmont and Sgt. Court Depweg of the Newport Beach Police Department, who specializes in solving homicides using DNA technology, interviewed Hutchinson. During the nearly two-hour interview, Hutchinson appeared nervous and showed signs of being uncomfortable when he was shown a picture of the late teen, authorities said.
Investigators noted he sweated profusely, scratched his face and chewed on his hand. The next morning, Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, saying he needed assistance before hanging up. He was later found by deputies on the side of a road with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
Houchins and Hutchinson had no connection prior to her death. Investigators described the killing as a “crime of opportunity.” They believe the pair randomly encountered each other at the river and that Hutchinson raped and suffocated her in shallow water.
At the time of the murder, Hutchinson had just become a student at Montana State University, where he graduated with a degree in fisheries wildlife biology. He worked for the state Bureau of Land Management for 22 years. He had no criminal or traffic history, authorities said.
“When the time came to face up and account for his violence, he instead chose to end his life,” Houchins’ younger sister, Stephanie Mollet, said at a press conference. “He knew of his guilt and couldn’t face my family or his family and the pain he had caused.”
“Our commitment to justice for victims and their loved ones is unwavering, and we will continue to use every resource at our disposal to solve these cases, no matter how much time has passed.”
