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NEARLY 30 years after a teenager was found dead near a fishing access site, police have identified her killer through DNA evidence, but he won’t be going to trial.
On September 21, 1996, Danielle “Danni” Houchins, 15, was found murdered after she had been reported missing by her family.
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That morning, the Belgrade, Montana teen had driven out to the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access along the Gallatin River just 20 minutes west of Bozeman.
When she failed to return later that day, Danni’s mother went out looking for her and found her daughter’s truck with Danni nowhere to be found.
Later that evening, authorities led a search for the teenager and found her face down in shallow water.
An autopsy conducted two days later, reportedly revealed that Danni had no alcohol or drugs in her system but did have “muddy material” in her stomach as well as her upper and lower airways, according to the Montana Free Press.
The autopsy also found a laceration in her vagina.
At the time, the state medical examiner determined that the 15-year-old died by drowning.
However, her family would not rest until they got more answers.
In 2019, Danni’s sister Stephanie, now 39, began asking local officials and the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office to reopen the case.
“The community was really rocked. No one could understand what had happened,” she told the Montana Free Press.
“I always knew in my heart that it couldn’t have been an accident.”
DNA EVIDENCE
In August 2023, the official manner of Danni’s death was reportedly changed from “undetermined” to “homicide” after investigators reexamined the evidence and discovered semen in the teenagers underwear.
It didn’t take much longer for investigators to identify a person of interest using DNA and genetic technology from the preserved evidence.
Specifically, they found four arm hairs on Danni’s body, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
This breakthrough in evidence led to police identifying Paul Hutchinson, 55, of Dillon, Montana.
On July 23, 2024, investigators brought Hutchinson in for questioning in a nearly two-hour long interview.
Hutchinson had been living in Bozeman at the time of the murder, studying at Montana State University.
During the interview, police said Hutchinson “displayed extreme nervousness” after seeing him sweat profusely, scratch his face and chew his hand.
“When shown a photo of Houchins, Hutchinson slumped in his chair and exhibited signs of being uncomfortable,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Upon release, his behavior was observed to be erratic.”
Early the next day, Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office saying he needed assistance.
However, he soon hung up the phone.
Not long after, Hutchinson was found dead on the side of the road, having suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Hutchinson had never been considered a suspect in the case until the DNA evidence was investigated.
He had no other criminal or traffic history and was married with two children, police said.
CASE CLOSED
Investigators said they don’t believe Hutchinson knew Danni at the time of her murder.
Instead, they said they believe the two randomly encountered each other at the river where Hutchinson raped then suffocated the teenager in the shallow water.
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office celebrated the closing of the case, saying it brought a sense of “closure” to Danni’s family and the community.
“This case exemplifies our relentless pursuit of justice. We never gave up on finding the truth for Danni and her family, exhausting all means necessary to bring closure to this heartbreaking chapter,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said in a statement.
“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.”
While Hutchinson cannot appear in trial over the case, Danni’s sister told reporters she had no doubt that he was the one who killed her sister.
“Even though this man will not face a jury of his peers, I have no doubt he was the one who forcefully and violently sexually assaulted my sister, then held her head down in a marsh until she choked to death on mud,” she said.
“When the time came to face up and account for his violence, he instead chose to end his life. He knew of his guilt and couldn’t face my family or his family and the pain he caused.”
As the cold case has been resolved, an investigation will continue to tie up any loose ends with federal and local law enforcement, the sheriff’s office said.
