DNA testing has identified a new suspect in the 1996 murder of a Montana girl. He was found dead hours after being questioned.

Nearly three decades after 15-year-old Danielle “Danni” Houchins was found dead near a Montana fishing spot, authorities say DNA has finally led them to her killer — a married father of two who killed himself just hours after being questioned by investigators in 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 Paul Hutchinson, 55.

On Sept. 21, 1996, at about 11 a.m., Houchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana, and when she never returned, her family called police. Her mother found Houchins’ truck at a popular fishing spot 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 questioned over the years, but no arrests were made and the case remained unsolved.

Eventually, authorities renewed their efforts to solve the case, and in 2021, when Dan Springer became Gallatin County sheriff, he brought in two outside experts from California to help him: 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 taken from Houchins’ body at the crime scene were used to create a partial DNA profile, the sheriff’s office said. That profile was eventually sent to a lab in Virginia, where genealogists used DNA databases to identify Hutchinson as a potential suspect.

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

“During the interview, which lasted nearly two hours, Hutchinson, who lived in Bozeman at the time of Houchins’ death, displayed extreme nervousness,” the sheriff’s office said. “Investigators noted that he was sweating profusely, scratching his face and biting his hand. When shown a photo of Houchins, Hutchinson slumped in his chair and displayed signs of discomfort. Upon his exit, his behavior was observed to be erratic.”

Authorities said Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office early the next morning, saying he needed help before hanging up. He was found dead on the side of the road from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators determined that Houchins and Hutchinson did not know each other, describing the killing as a “crime of opportunity.” They believe Hutchinson, who was a student at Montana State University at the time, met Houchins by chance before raping and suffocating her in shallow water.

Authorities said Hutchinson earned a degree in wildlife and fisheries biology and later 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 every avenue necessary to close this heartbreaking chapter,” Sheriff Springer said. “The investigation remained open because we knew Danni was murdered and that one day we would have the tools we needed to solve this case.”

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

“Even though this man will not stand before a jury of his peers, I have no doubt that he is the one who sexually assaulted my sister with force and violence, then held her head in a swamp until she suffocated in the mud,” Mollet said. “When it came time to face his violence, he chose to end his life. He knew he was guilty and could not face my family or his and the pain he had caused.”

The announcement from Montana authorities comes just days after an unsolved murder in Hawaii was finally solved thanks to DNA testing. The suspect also died by suicide before he was arrested.