Saturday marks 30 years since 10-year-old Holly Piirainen disappeared while on vacation with her family. To this day, the Grafton girl’s decades-old abduction and murder remain unsolved.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni’s office continues to ask members of the media and the public at large for help with the 30-year-old homicide investigation, releasing evidence as recently as February that included a white tank top-style shirt with a blue, purple and pink colored “Boston” motif on the front of it. The shirt, which has no tags or size information, was found near where Holly’s remains were recovered in the fall of 1993.
On the morning of Aug. 5, 1993, Holly was vacationing with her family at a cottage in Sturbridge when she disappeared. She was last seen by her father 11:45 a.m. heading toward a home in the area of Allen and South Shore Roads in Sturbridge to play with puppies she new were at the residence.
“About one hour later, Holly was reported missing by her father, after she did not return,” the district attorney’s office detailed in a statement.
Holly’s father immediately began looking for her, finding only her sneaker on South Shore Road, according to Gulluni’s office. Authorities were notified, and a massive search soon began that included local police, Massachusetts State Police, multiple sheriffs’ offices and law enforcement agencies from Connecticut and Rhode Island.
It wasn’t until Oct. 23, 1993, after weeks of searching, that Holly’s remains were found by hunters in a wooded area off Five Bridge Road in Brimfield.
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The crime scene was photographed by State Police and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Items discovered at or near the location of Holly’s remains were documented and seized, and they have been maintained by State Police since then.
As a part of the district attorney’s office’s efforts to solve outstanding homicide cases, Holly’s case “has remained in focus and has been continually reviewed to determine if the application of further forensic and scientific examination would be beneficial,” Gulluni noted. Evidence has been reviewed, identified for forensic analysis and subjected to various testing procedures.
“For the past thirty years, the Piirainen family has been coping with this unimaginable tragedy,” Gulluni said in his office’s statement. “In this endeavor to seek justice for Holly, we work as many hours as we can devote, we spare no expense, we deploy only the best investigators, and we employ the latest technologies; however, in many instances, we cannot do it alone.”
“We need the public’s assistance; we need someone, who knows something, to stand up with us and do what’s right. we are issuing a clarion call to the public, and together as a community, to finally bring justice for Holly and her family,” the prosecutor added.
Case items documented in 1993 were identified for further forensic testing in 2022 and 2023, according to Gulluni’s office. Regarding the “Boston” tank top, the public’s assistance is being sought, the prosecutor noted.
Anyone with information about the “Boston” tank top, or anything related to Holly’s murder, are asked to contact the tip line set up for the cold case: (413) 426-3507. People can also “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.
