Nearly three decades after 15-year-old Danielle “Danni” Houchins was found dead near a fishing access site in Montana, authorities say DNA has finally led them to her killer — a married father of two who died by suicide just hours after he was interviewed by investigators about the cold case.

The Gatlin County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy recently led authorities to identify Houchins’ killer as 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson.

On September 21, 1996 at about 11:00 a.m., Houchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana and when she never returned, her family called the police. Her mother found Houchins’ truck at a popular fishing access site on the Gallatin River, and later that night, Houchins’ body was found face down in shallow water, the sheriff’s office said.

DNA evidence was collected at the scene and numerous suspects were interviewed over the years, but no arrests were made and the case went cold.

Finally, authorities renewed efforts to solve the case, and in 2021, when Dan Springer became Gallatin County’s sheriff, he brought in two outside experts from California to assist — private investigator Tom Elfmont, a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, and Sergeant Court Depweg, who specializes in using DNA technology to solve homicides.

Four hairs that were collected from Houchins’ body at the crime scene were used to create a partial DNA profile, the sheriff’s office said. That profile was ultimately sent to a lab in Virginia, where genealogists used DNA databases to identify Hutchinson as a possible suspect.

On July 23, 2024, Elfmont and Depweg interviewed Hutchinson, who lived about 100 miles away from the crime, in Dillon, Montana.

“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, officials say, Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, saying he needed assistance before hanging up. He was found on the side of the road, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators have determined that Houchins and Hutchinson didn’t know each other, describing the murder as a “crime of opportunity.” They believed Hutchinson, who at the time was a student at Montana State University, randomly encountered Houchins before raping her and suffocating her in shallow water.

Authorities say Hutchinson graduated with a degree in fisheries wildlife biology and then worked for the Montana Bureau of Land Management for 22 years. He had no criminal history and was married with two adult children.

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

Houchins’ younger sister, Stephanie Mollet, spoke alongside the sheriff at a news conference Thursday.

“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,”  Mollet said. “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.”

The announcement by officials in Montana comes just days after a cold case murder in Hawaii was finally cracked with DNA testing. That suspect also died by suicide before he could be arrested.

BOZEMAN, Mont. — With control of the Senate potentially at stake, Donald Trump is visiting Montana on Friday hoping to remedy some unfinished business from 2018, when he campaigned repeatedly in Big Sky Country in a failed bid to oust incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

Tester has tried to convince voters he’s aligned with Trump on many issues, mirroring his successful strategy from six years ago. While that worked in a non-presidential election year, it faces a more critical test this fall with Tester’s opponent, former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, trying to link the three-term incumbent to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Harris has benefitted nationally from a burst of enthusiasm among core Democratic constituencies, who coalesced quickly around her after President Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign last month. She’s drawn big crowds in swing states, touring this week with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her choice to be her vice presidential nominee.

Trump’s only rally this week, meanwhile, will be in a state he won by 16 percentage points four years ago rather than a November battleground. Facing new pressure in the race from a candidate with surging enthusiasm, Trump on Thursday called questions about his lack of swing state stops “stupid.”

“I don’t have to go there because I’m leading those states,” he said. “I’m going because I want to help senators and congressmen get elected.”

He will add on fundraising stops in Wyoming and Colorado.

Friday’s rally at Montana State University, which starts at 8 p.m. Mountain time, is expected to draw thousands of GOP supporters. Yet the former president’s bigger impact could be simply having his name above Sheehy’s on the ballot in November, said University of Montana political analyst Rob Saldin.

“There is a segment of the electorate that will turn out when Trump is on the ticket,” Saldin said. And that could benefit Sheehy, a Trump supporter and newcomer to politics who made a fortune off an aerial firefighting business.

Republicans have been on a roll in Montana for more than a decade and now hold every statewide office except for Tester’s.

Tester won each of his previous Senate contests by a narrow margin, casting himself as a plainspoken farmer who builds personal connections with people in Montana and is willing to break with his party on issues that matter to them. He’s also become a prolific fundraiser.

The race has drawn national attention with Democrats clinging to a razor-thin majority in the Senate and defending far more seats than the GOP this year. Tester is considered among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

For him to win, large numbers of Trump supporters would have to vote a split ticket and get behind the Democratic senator.

Trump’s drive to oust Tester traces back to the lawmaker’s role in 2018 as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Tester revealed past misconduct by Trump’s personal physician, Ronny Jackson, that sank Jackson’s nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Then-President Trump took the matter personally and came to Montana four times to campaign for Republican Matt Rosendale, who was then the state auditor. Rosendale lost by 3 percentage points.

Ahead of Trump’s latest visit, Tester has sought to insulate himself against charges that he’s part of the Democratic establishment by rolling out the names of Republicans who support him, including former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot. His campaign highlighted more than 20 pieces of legislation, many dealing with veterans’ issues, that Tester sponsored and Trump signed.

Tester also was the sole Democratic delegate from Montana to withhold a vote backing Harris as the party’s presidential candidate in the wake of Biden’s withdrawal. And when the Democratic National Convention takes place later this month in Chicago, Tester will be back in Montana “farming and meeting face to face with Montanans,” campaign spokesperson Harry Childs said.

The last time Tester attended the Democratic National Convention was in 2008. That’s also the last time a Democratic presidential candidate came anywhere near winning Montana, with President Barack Obama losing by just over 2 percentage points.

Friday’s rally takes place in Gallatin County, which Tester has become increasingly reliant on over the course of his political career.

He lost the county in his first Senate race, in 2006, but his support has since grown. A substantial margin of victory in Gallatin in 2018 helped push him ahead of Rosendale.

Republican Don Seifert, a former Gallatin County commissioner, said he voted for Tester that year and plans to do so again this year.

Seifert backed Trump in 2016 and said he has continued to support other Republicans, including Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines.

“Montanans tend to vote for the person over the party,” Seifert said. “For the state of Montana, Jon is that one that can do what we need.”

But Sheehy says Tester has lost touch with his home state and fallen into step with Democrats in Washington. The Republican alleged in a message this week to supporters that Tester was “responsible for the rise of Kamala Harris” because he served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2015 to 2017, when she was elected to the Senate from California.

Tester has outraised Sheehy by more than three-to-one in campaign donations reported to the Federal Election Commission. However, outside groups supporting Sheehy have helped the Republican make up much of that gap, pouring tens of millions of dollars into the race as advertisements from the two sides saturate Montana’s airwaves.

The integration of the AirJoule® atmospheric water harvesting technology into renewable hydrogen modules will allow hydrogen to be produced economically anywhere that has high sun exposure – including the world’s deserts

RONAN, Mont., Aug. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Montana Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: AIRJ) (“Montana Technologies”), the developer of the transformational AirJoule^® technology for atmospheric water generation, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Climate Impact Corporation (“CIC”) to collaborate on the development of CIC’s renewable hydrogen production modules. Using AirJoule^® atmospheric water generators from Montana Technologies, CIC expects that its modular hydrogen production units will be able to produce hydrogen in areas with high sun exposure at a competitive USD$2 per kilogram production price.

Montana Technologies, through its 50/50 joint venture with GE Vernova, is commercializing AirJoule^® atmospheric water generators that harvest water from both humid and arid atmospheres, producing pure distilled water and dehumidified air. The AirJoule^® units utilize metal organic framework coated contactors and a dual vacuum chamber to adsorb and desorb water from air in a highly efficient and scalable process.

Each of CIC’s modular hydrogen production units contains solar panels, atmospheric water generators, electrolysers and supporting infrastructure, enabling each unit to produce renewable hydrogen entirely off-grid. CIC intends to develop two 10GW renewable hydrogen projects utilizing its proprietary technology in central Australia, with other projects to follow in locations globally. The integration of the AirJoule^® atmospheric water generators into the technology allows hydrogen to be produced anywhere that has a high sun exposure – including the world’s deserts.

Matt Jore, CEO of Montana Technologies, said “Our goal is simple – effectively address the ongoing climate crisis by utilizing the Earth’s natural water cycles as a renewable resource. Our globally patented AirJoule^® technology allows for the highly efficient extraction of water from the atmosphere, which is a key element of CIC’s renewable hydrogen production modules.”

Bryan Barton, Chief Commercialization Officer at Montana Technologies, added, “We believe that strategic partnerships are essential in making a meaningful contribution to climate change, so we are delighted to be working in collaboration with CIC on optimizing their renewable hydrogen production modules with AirJoule^® to enable better global climate outcomes.”

CIC Chairman and Co-Founder David Green commented, “A successful energy transition cannot be achieved in a silo. That’s why we believe in establishing strong partnerships with companies that share our same objective. Our collaboration with Montana Technologies will play a key role in unlocking a competitive production price for renewable hydrogen. Through this agreement, we want to revolutionize hydrogen production, enabling hydrogen to be produced not only at a competitive price, but in a range of locations.”

About Montana Technologies Corporation

Montana Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: AIRJ) is the developer of AirJoule^®, an atmospheric thermal energy and water harvesting technology that provides efficient and sustainable air dehumidification and pure water from air. Designed to reduce energy consumption and generate material cost efficiencies, AirJoule^® is being commercialized through a joint venture with GE Vernova and through partnerships with Carrier Global Corporation and BASF. For more information, visit www.mt.energy

About Climate Impact Corporation

Climate Impact Corporation is a global developer, investor and manager of large-scale green hydrogen projects. Each of its projects is designed to deliver economic opportunity, environmental benefits, and sustainable and dependable energy sources that enable the transition to a low-carbon future. With operations around the world, Climate Impact brings over 40 years of experience in delivering large-scale green energy projects. For more information, visit www.cic-hydrogen.com.

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