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The shirt has the word Boston written across the chest in purple, pink, and blue letters, District Attorney Anthony Gulluni showed during a press conference on Wednesday morning, Feb. 1. Though the tank top lacks a tag or any identifying marks that could help investigators figure out if it belonged to a man or woman or where it was manufactured. He hopes someone will recognize it and reach out to police.
“We are here today to issue a clarion call … to finally bring justice for Holly and her family," Gulluni said, flanked by members of the Piirainen family.
Gullini wouldn't go into details about why the shirt was so valuable to investigators, but he said it would be used for forensic testing. He would not say if police found DNA on the tank top.
Hunters found Holly's body in a wooded area near Five Bridge Road in Brimfield on Oct. 23, 1993, reports said. The Grafton girl had been missing for more than a month when they made the grisly discovery.
Holly went missing on Aug. 5, 1993, while vacationing with her family at a family member's Sturbridge cottage. She and her brother Zachary left the house just before noon to play with a litter of puppies not far from the house, but they separated. When he returned home without her, the family immediately began a search, but all they found was one of her shoes on South Shore Road, Boston 25 reported.
Police have had persons of interest in the case, but investigators couldn't tie any of them to the killing. There was a glimmer of hope in 2012 when new officers found forensic evidence that they hoped would help them solve Holly's murder. Though, it did not lead to any arrests.
Holly Piirainen would have turned 40 on Jan. 19.
Gullini asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Hampden District Attorney’s Office at 413-505-5993 or Holly's Tip Line at 413-426-3507.
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