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Hampden DA’s Office Sets DNA Collection to Aid Investigation of 1993 Holly Piirainen Murder

28 Oct 2025 10:17 AM | Anonymous

For the second time, the Hampden District Attorney’s office is asking people in the Brimfield area to contribute DNA samples to help solve a 32-year-old murder.

On Nov. 9, the office will set up in the town’s Public Safety Complex, at 34 Wales Road, and take DNA samples of willing residents through cheek swabs.

The goal is to use information gathered to generate new leads into the murder of Holly Piirainen. She was 10 when she went missing in the summer of 1993 from her grandparents’ home in Sturbridge. Her body was found that October in woods off Five Bridge Road in Brimfield.

The cold-case approach being taken is called Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy, or FIGG.

By using an expanded DNA database, investigators can compare DNA gathered from a crime scene to publicly available genealogy databases. That enables them to ID distant relatives of as-yet unknown suspects. Materials discovered with Holly’s remains have been maintained by the Massachusetts State Police.

In a statement, the DA’s office said investigators “use those connections to build family trees, narrow down possibilities, and, in some cases, identify offenders who have eluded justice for decades.”

By participating, people will receive information on their own family ancestry.

“Each new DNA sample has the power to bring us closer to the truth,” District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said in a statement. “Holly deserves justice, and her family deserves answers. This effort is about remembering her and using every available tool to find the person responsible.”

The office said the case remains open and active.

Anyone with information related to Holly’s murder can contact Holly’s Tip-Line at 413-426-3507. People can also use Text-a-Tip by texting the word CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7) and typing the word SOLVE into the body of the message, followed by the tip


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