5 chilling details about Danni Houchins’s murder

Season 38 episode 18 of 48 Hours on CBS will focus on the murder of a Montana teen named Danni Houchins.

Danni Houchins was killed on September 21, 1996, as per CBS News. The case took nearly three decades to solve. However, with the advent of new DNA technology and a determined team of detectives, Houchins's murderer was traced in May 2024.

The episode focusing on this case is titled It’s About Danni. It will air on CBS on February 8 at 10 pm ET.

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5 disturbing details about Danni Houchins’s murder

1) Danni Houchins's deceased body was found with her face down in the mud

On September 21, 1996, Danni Houchins, 15 years of age, argued with her parents, after which she grabbed the keys to her truck and drove off to the Cameron Bridge Fishing access area.

Her mother started looking for Danni after she didn't come home till the afternoon. She saw her daughter's pickup parked there, along with her keys and other possessions, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Danni Houchins's mother quickly reported her missing to the Gallatin County Sheriff's office, however, due to the darkness, the deputies were unable to conduct a search. Hence, Danni’s family and friends took the lead and started looking for her that night.

Late at night on September 21, 1996, Houchins's body was discovered “in a swampy area along the Gallatin River” as per CBS. She was lifeless and her face was in the mud. The coroner determined that the 15-year-old had drowned, although the cause of death was undetermined.

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2) Danni Houchins's autopsy report revealed harrowing details

According to CBS News, even though it was eventually thought that Danni drowned, her sister Stephanie Mollet, who vowed to bring her deceased sister justice, made contact with a new team of detectives in 2020.

Mollet read her sister’s 30-year-old autopsy report the same year. The report claimed that in 1996, the authorities had discovered that Danni had bruises on her body and the back of her neck. Mollet revealed some harrowing details from the autopsy report to 48 Hours:

"Someone had held her head down forcefully. There was (sic) va*inal injuries … there was semen in her underwear … she had fought and scratched."

After reading the report, Mollet was convinced that her sister was ra*ed and murdered.

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3) The murderer was traced after 30 years

With retired investigator Tom Elfmont on the team to solve the homicide, he first made a partial DNA profile from the semen found on Danni’s undergarments. In 1996, four strands of hair belonging to a male were also found on the victim, and in 2020 with the help of a new DNA tech, Elfmont made a full suspect DNA profile from one of those hairs.

The DNA profile created by Elfmont was shared with a genetic genealogist, who used additional DNA databases, and in May 2024, discovered the culprit: Paul Hutchison, the man who killed Danni.

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4) Paul Hutchinson exhibited strange and uneasy behavior

After Paul Hutchinson’s identity was known, it was also discovered that he and the victim did not know each other. The detectives summarised the murder as a crime of opportunity and that Hutchinson ra*ed Danni and later killed her.

As per CBS News, when Elfmont went to interview Hutchinson in July 2024, he seemed nervous. As per NBC, he was sweating a lot, scratching his head also chewing on his hand. When a picture of Danni was placed in front of him, he seemingly became more uncomfortable.

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5) Paul Hutchinson killed himself a few hours after the interview

Paul Hutchinson shot himself a few hours after the previously described interview. His body was found on the side of a road. NBC News reported that on the day of the shooting, Hutchinson called the sheriff's office asking for help, after which he shot himself.

After his death, his DNA was matched to the semen found on the victim in 1996 and it matched, proving that Hutchinson killed the 15-year-old girl.

About that, the sheriff's office said:

"Hutchinson and Houchins randomly encountered each other at the river, where Hutchinson ra*ed then suffocated her in shallow water.”

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To learn more about this case watch the upcoming episode of 48 Hours on CBS.