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Montana man ID'd as suspect in cold case killing of teen girl kills himself after being questioned

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Montana man ID'd as suspect in cold case killing of teen girl kills himself after being questioned

Nearly three decades after a teenage Montana girl was found dead near a fishing access point, a married father of two identified as her suspected killer took his own life, hours after being interviewed by investigators, authorities said Thursday. 

Advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy led authorities to identify 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson as the killer of 15-year-old Danielle “Danni” Houchins.

“We never gave up on finding the truth for Danni and her family, exhausting all means necessary to bring closure to this heartbreaking chapter,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer. “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.” 

CALIFORNIA MAN WHO WENT BY ALIAS FOR 40 YEARS ARRESTED IN WOMAN’S MURDER

Danielle “Danni” Houchins, 15, was killed in 1996. Paul Hutchinson, 55, was recently identified as a suspect and killed himself a day after being questioned by investigators, authorities said this week.  (Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office)

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Houchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana, around 11 a.m. Sept. 21, 1996, and never returned. After reporting her missing, the teen’s mother found her truck at the Cameron Bridge Fishing Access point on the Gallatin River. Later that night, Houchins’ body was found face down in shallow water. 

DNA evidence was collected and several suspects were interviewed over the years, but the case eventually went cold. In 2021, Springer hired private investigator Tom Elfmont, a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, to assist in the investigation. 

Hair collected from Houchins’ body was sent to labs in California and Virginia, where Hutchinson was identified as a suspect. 

On July 23, Elfmont and Sgt. Court Depweg of the Newport Beach Police Department, who specializes in solving homicides using DNA technology, interviewed Hutchinson. During the nearly two-hour interview, Hutchinson appeared nervous and showed signs of being uncomfortable when he was shown a picture of the late teen, authorities said. 

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Stephanie Mollet, the sister of Danielle Houchins, speaks to reporters.  (Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office)

“Investigators noted he sweated profusely, scratched his face and chewed on his hand,” the sheriff’s office said. “Upon release, his behavior was observed to be erratic.”

The next morning, Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, saying he needed assistance before hanging up. He was later found by deputies on the side of a road with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. 

“When the time came to face up and account for his violence, he instead chose to end his life,” Houchins’ younger sister, Stephanie Mollet, said at a press conference. “He knew of his guilt and couldn’t face my family or his family and the pain he had caused.”

Houchins and Hutchinson had no connection prior to her death. Investigators described the killing as a “crime of opportunity.” They believe the pair randomly encountered each other at the river and that Hutchinson raped and suffocated her in shallow water. 

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The Cameron Bridge Fishing Access point on the Gallatin River. (Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks)

At the time of the murder, Hutchinson had just become a student at Montana State University, where he graduated with a degree in fisheries wildlife biology. He worked for the state Bureau of Land Management for 22 years. 

He had no criminal or traffic history, authorities said. 

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San Francisco, CA

Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident

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Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident


SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the first time since the attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard, one of the suspects was in court on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed charges against the man. Those charges include:

  • Resisting an executive officer


  • Assault with force to cause bodily injury


  • Willful disobedience of a court order


  • Unlawful lodging at the same location from a previous citation

Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident won’t deter him from walking the streets of the city doing what he was doing moments before his bodyguard was attacked last week.

PREVIOUS STORY: SF mayor was ‘worried’ about 2 men on street, checked on them before bodyguard attack

Multiple angles covered a dramatic altercation between one of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail and individuals on the street.

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“I think I need to be able to see it myself and not just stay cloistered up and not be out of the streets. I walked the streets this morning and had some great interactions and was able to help some people,” said Mayor Lurie.

We obtained the detention motion, which revealed specific details about the incident.

The document said Mayor Lurie was riding in a car northbound on Larking Street with two of his security detail. The mayor asked the driver to stop and got out of the car with one of the officers to approach four people who were blocking the road; “two were sitting on the sidewalk… one was actually sitting in the street.” The document says one of the individuals “was aggressive” and “stepped towards the mayor,” after he asked them to move out of the road a few times. This led the bodyguard to position himself between the mayor and the individual. The document states the individual “got very close” to the officer and threatened him and said, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your a**!”

The officer, according to the document, proceeded to shove the individual away from him “with both hands to defend himself and to create distance,” causing the individual to fall backwards on the sidewalk.

The individual quickly stood up and “rushed at the officer.”

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Multiple people in the area captured the altercation on video.

We asked the mayor if he would do anything different in the future.

INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker

“I’m not going to stop doing it. I will consult with our detail and our chief and make sure we can do this safely,” said Mayor Lurie.

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he is glad the mayor sees the crisis on the streets up close.

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“A lot of people will cross the street to get away from it hide from it. We don’t want our city hiding from this problem,” said Supervisor Mandelman.

Kevin Benedicto, vice president of the San Francisco police commission, said they will be looking into the incident.

“A number of commissioners are going to want to ask the chief about updates about the incident just to make sure we have all the policies and procedures in place,” said Benedicto.

The Individual who attacked the mayor’s bodyguard has been charged in the past for criminal threats in 2019 and 2020.

One of the arraignments is set for Wednesday at 9 a.m.

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Denver, CO

Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants

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Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants


Like sand through the hourglass, so too go the dumplings of the Denver Post’s annual food bracket.

Our competition started with 32 restaurants chosen by editors and readers specializing in dumplings and momos, a Tibetan and Nepali variation, in the Denver area. Two weeks later, only eight restaurants remain.

The next round of matchups in our Elite 8 competition to be decided by reader votes are:

Rocky Mountain Momo (9678 E. Arapahoe Road, Englewood) vs. ChoLon (multiple locations)

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LingLon Dumpling House (2456 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver) vs. Star Kitchen (2917 W. Mississippi Ave., Denver)

Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings (multiple locations) vs. Dillon’s Dumpling House (3571 S. Tower Road, Unit G, Aurora)

Hop Alley (3500 Larimer St., Denver) vs. Momo Dumplings (caterer; momo-dumplings.com)

The most recent matchups recorded more than 460 entries. Our most popular head-to-head was Rocky Mountain Momo facing off against Yuan Wonton. Rocky Mountain Momo advances with 55% of 260 votes.

MAKfam, a Chinese restaurant with a Michelin nod for its value, faced a tough first-round opponent, The Empress Seafood, and scraped out a win. But this time, it wasn’t as lucky, losing to ChoLon, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant with multiple locations, by only five votes.

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Make your picks below for who should advance to the next round. The online voting form will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win

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Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win


Ryan Ufko scored his first NHL goal with 5:35 to play in the second period to put the Nashville Predators ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

The rookie skated in from the right of the goal, dodged between two defenders, and tucked the puck past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord to give the Predators a 3-2 lead and two critical points in their chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Right now, the team is on the outside of the playoff picture.

Tyson Jost and Reid Schaefer also scored second-period goals to erase Seattle’s 2-0 first-period lead, and Steve Stamkos added an empty-netter for his 31st goal of the season.

Jonathan Marchessault had a pair of assists for Nashville, which had lost four of its previous five, and Juuse Saros made 43 saves.

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Kaapo Kakko scored just 2:14 into the game, and Matty Beniers scored at 9:46 of the first period to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Beniers scored from a tough angle, firing from the bottom of the right circle and over the shoulder of Saros just inside the far post.

Daccord finished with 23 saves.

Seattle’s Shane Wright scored a goal in the second, but it was waved off because of goalie interference when Ryker Evans slid into Saros and took out his feet.

The Kraken were without left wing Jaden Schwartz, who was hit in the face by a skate during Seattle’s 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.

Kraken, clinging to a wild-card slot, have now lost five of their last seven games.

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