The mysterious murder of an 11-year-old girl who was stabbed to death has been “solved” after police found evidence

Police claim to have solved the murder of Melissa Ann Tremblay after she was stabbed and run over by a train in 1988 in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA

The mysterious murder of an 11-year-old girl has been solved after the discovery of new evidence, police say.

Melissa Ann Tremblay was found dead at a rail yard in Massachusetts, the day after she was reported missing in 1988.

She had been stabbed and run over by a train, with footprints and blood discovered nearby, suggesting a fight had taken place.

Marvin C. McClendon Jr., a 74-year-old former correctional officer, was arrested Tuesday for her murder.

Police say evidence found from the victim’s body played a key role in the arrest in Bremen, Alabama.

Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said his cold cases department had been trying to solve the murder since 2014.

The sun reports that McClendon Jr. has been a “person of interest” in the case for some time.

He said: “The evidence led us to him. They (the evidence) are set out in the indictment.

“I cannot even express how pleased we are in this office that we are able to achieve justice for every family.

“And it’s extremely gratifying that after all these years of never giving up, we believe we have the right suspect.”

Melissa went missing while attending a social club with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend on September 11, 1988.

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She disappeared after going outside to play while the adults stayed at the club in the city of Lawrence.

The young woman was reported missing and her body was found in the rail yard the next day.

McClendon, who worked in carpentry at the time, lived in the nearby town of Chelmsford but had several connections to Lawrence, where he attended the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Mr Blodgett said.

According to Boston.com, Mr. Blodgett added, “I would suggest to you that this case has been followed very carefully since 1988, ever since we discovered her body.”

Leslie Malone, McClendon’s second cousin, said the suspect had been “not a nice person” and “an eyesore” since he moved into a house he built in Bremen in 1988, reports the Boston Globe.

Ms Malone added: “He made a lot of threats, not like killing me or anything, but … just kind of idle threats.

“He was just like that.”

Mr Blodgett added that Melissa’s aunt and cousin had been notified of the arrest.

Her mother, Janet Tremblay, reportedly died in 2015 at the age of 70.

Melissa’s childhood friend Andrea Ganley responded to news of the arrest by saying she “never gave up hope”.