DNA evidence from serial killer solves decades-old Gardner cold case

WORCESTER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A 31-year-old murder mystery has been solved. Officials say they now know who killed a young mother from Gardner. They can't arrest him, because he's dead. He died in prison for murdering another woman. "There's no doubt about it; at this time we have our man," said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early.

On Tuesday, early announced that DNA evidence linked Edward Mayrand, who died in prison for murdering a Rhode Island woman, to the killings of two more women, one in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire. "That would make three," Early said. "That would make him a serial killer."

The evidence linked Mayrand to the 1983 murder of Kathleen Daneault in Gardner, and the 1987 murder of Judith Whitney in Amherst, N. H. Mayrand was serving a life sentence for the 1994 murder of a woman named Patricia Paquette in Providence. R.I. when he died in 2011.

Daneault was last seen leaving the Mahaki Restaurant in Gardner with Mayrand on Nov. 17, 1983. The restaurant has since changed ownership.

The man who's owned it since 2001 says the case has haunted the town for decades

"I think people have been wondering for a long time," owner Bill Cocci said. "I think the local folks around here would really like an answer."

Daneault's body was found near the S. Bent Furniture factory the next day, less than a mile from the restaurant.

"In August of this year we received a report connecting Mayrand to a ligature found at scene back in 1983," Early said. "Last month, further DNA testing eliminated anyone else in Kathleen Daneault's death."

Daneault's family wasn't at the press conference, but had the district attorney read a short statement, where they thanked the DA's office for sticking with the case, and bringing them closure more than 30 years later.

"Our one solace is that Edward Mayrand passed away in prison, alone without loved ones around him, just as he left Kathy to die," Early read.

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DNA evidence from serial killer solves decades-old Gardner cold case