By Nick Sambides Jr.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - Bangor Daily News


EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine - Starting three weeks ago, Justice For Joyce Committee members have already raised a third of the funds needed to exhume homicide victim Joyce McLain for DNA testing.
As of Monday, $5,038 of the $15,000 had been raised for the exhumation. Several fundraisers have occurred, and more are scheduled, said resident Angela Cote, the committee’s secretary and a cousin of McLain’s.
"If these events keep on bringing in what they are, I am hoping that by July sometime, if that’s not overzealous, we will carry it through," Cote said Tuesday.
"Everybody that we have asked for a donation for raffles or whatever has stepped up and helped us in any way they can. It’s been amazing," she said. "It’s what happens when you live in a small town. Everybody knows everybody, and people want to help."
McLain’s mother, Pamela, is similarly thrilled.
"It’s pretty awesome. It’s from the heart," McLain said. "It’s been 28 years. The length of time, the murder itself, what happened to her. It touched them. This is from the heart, I can tell."
A 16-year-old Schenck High School sophomore, Joyce McLain was killed sometime on or about the night of Aug. 8, 1980. Her body was found two days later in a power line clearing about 200 feet from the school’s soccer fields. Her head and neck had been struck repeatedly with a blunt object.
The victim’s mother asked the state medical examiner’s office late last year to exhume the body, but her request was denied. State officials cited the probability that DNA evidence, which is fragile, would be too degraded after 28 years to be helpful.
Also, DNA samples taken at autopsy reveal nothing.
Still, McLain and the committee hope that the killer might have left DNA traces that could aid the state police investigation, which continues. She also believes there is at least a chance the body has not degraded to the extent experts believe.
McLain wants to ensure that all possible steps to bring her daughter’s killer to justice are taken.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, the chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police and host of HBO’s "Autopsy" series, has agreed to examine McLain’s remains, but needs about $10,000 to cover expenses. The family believes about $15,000 should cover all expenses.
The committee created justiceforjoyce.com and a Bangor Savings Bank account for donations, which can be mailed to Justice For Joyce, Bangor Savings Bank, 87 Main St., East Millinocket 04430.
Donations have been almost constant since fundraising began.
"I get all kinds of cards from people," McLain said. "Had a little girl give me a dollar the other day. She walked up to me and said, ‘Here, this is for Joyce.’ That dollar meant a lot to me. ... I can’t believe that we’re this far along in this short a time."
Coming fundraisers include a spaghetti supper from 4 to 7 p.m. May 10 at Medway Middle School. Donations will be accepted and raffled prizes will be awarded. J K Vose Jewelers of Lincoln donated to the raffle a 14 karat yellow gold, opal and diamond ring with a retail value of $499.95. It will be available for raffles later this week and can be found in its window on Main Street.
An Event Day followed by a spaghetti supper is set for May 31 at the Millinocket Elks Club. Proceeds will go to the committee, Cote said.
The Country Diner of Medway donated about $1,300 of its proceeds from an event held on Saturday, Cote said, and Steve Gardner of Unicel in Lincoln and Millinocket has donated a phone and phone line for the committee’s use until the money is raised.
The rest of the donations have come from people mailing checks, she said. The deep outrage at the murder and a sincere desire to help Pamela McLain are the powers fueling the donations.
"I remember when all this happened. It’s never gone away from my memory, and I don’t think it has for anybody who has grown up in this town," Cote said. "We just want Pam to be able to know that she’s done everything in her power to find answers, and we want those answers, too."
nsambides@bangordailynews.net