Cops finally crack mystery of Montana 15-year-old’s 1996 murder. But hours after he’s grilled, her killer turns up dead

Nearly three decades after a Montana teen was found face down in a river, DNA evidence finally led to her killer – a father of two who died by suicide just hours after being grilled by investigators.

Danielle “Danni” Houchins was 15 years old when she left home in Belgrade on the morning of September 21, 1996, and never returned.

It was Houchins’ worried mother who discovered her daughter’s truck at the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access on the Gallatin River. Later that night, the teen’s body was found in the shallow water at a popular fishing access site. She had been raped and suffocated.

DNA was collected at the site and interviews were conducted, but no arrests were made and the case went cold. Until 2021, when it was revived by a new sheriff, Dan Springer.

Last month, in a significant breakthrough, after creating a DNA profile with four hairs collected from Houchins’ body at the crime scene, genealogists were able to identify 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson of Dillon, Montana, as a possible suspect, according to a Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The father of two, who at the time of the murder was a student at Montana State University where he graduated with a degree in fisheries wildlife biology and then worked for the Montana Bureau of Land Management for 22 years, was interviewed by investigators on July 23, 2024.

“During the nearly two-hour interview, Hutchinson, who had lived in Bozeman at the time of Houchins’ death, displayed extreme nervousness,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Investigators noted he sweated profusely, scratched his face, and chewed on his hand. When shown a photo of Houchins, Hutchinson slumped in his chair and exhibited signs of being uncomfortable. Upon release, his behavior was observed to be erratic.”

Early the next morning, Hutchinson was found on the side of the road, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the sheriff’s office. He had no criminal history and was married with two adult children.

“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,” Houchins’ sister, Stephanie Mollet, said at a news conference on Thursday.

“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.”

Investigators described the killing as a crime of opportunity and say they believe Houchins and Hutchinson randomly encountered each other at the river, where Hutchinson raped then suffocated her in shallow water. It was determined that they had no prior connection.

“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,” Sheriff Dan Springer said at the press conference on Thursday.

“The investigation remained open because we knew Danni was murdered and someday, we were going to have the tools available to solve this case.”