Post Mortem | It’s About Danni
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Welcome to Postmortem. I'm your host, Anne-Marie Green. And today we're discussing the case of Danny Houtens. In September 1996, Danny was found dead near the Gallatin River that's just outside of Bozeman, Montana. After an autopsy declared the manner of death undetermined, the sheriff's department said it could have been an accidental drowning.

In the following years, though, Danny's family tried to move on, but always suspected that her death was no accident. And almost 28 years later, her killer was found. So with me now to discuss this case is 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant and producer Lauren Clark. Welcome. Hey, good to see you again, Anne-Marie.

Thanks for having us, Anne-Marie.

One of the things that really stood out to me about this case is the fact that in 1996, the sheriff's department publicly said that there was actually no indication of foul play here with Danny's death. They withheld details from the coroner's report that said that Danny had inhaled water and mud, that she had cuts and bruises on her body, and there were signs of a possible sexual assault. Why did investigators...

originally not release this information. Well, it all depends on who you talk to. And we spoke with a lot of people involved in this investigation. And I have to admit, I remain baffled to this day. Why not say that this was a murder? The killer knew it was a murder, right?

I understand details of the investigation. You may not want a suspect to know, right? But just the basic fact as to whether or not it's a murder, that still baffles me to this day. And it baffled people back in the day in 1996 in Montana. Deputy Farquhar could not believe what his sheriff's department was putting out there. He still can't explain. He's still baffled. And Deputy Farquhar, who today is a veterinarian,

ended up leaving eventually the sheriff's department out of frustration in all of this. So it is one of these things that is baffling to me. But some of our people ended up speaking to the sheriff back in the day. Yeah, my co-producer, Chuck, gave a call to Bill Slaughter. He was the Gallatin County Sheriff back in 1996.

And he was up front with Chuck. He said, we sometimes withhold information so that we know when someone does come forward that that's the real information, that we don't have it all out in the press, that this is often common in investigations. But he says he never lied to the family. But, you know, for the family, that doesn't really help.

They were left with this impression for so many years. And back in 1996, he told the media that there was no evidence of foul play. And we can say we know today that simply was not true. The coroner's report said that her manner of death was undetermined. So while Sheriff Slaughter said, you know, we always investigated this as a homicide, there wasn't that like conclusive evidence that said this was a murder. Hmm.

But, you know, this was something that really bothered a lot of people in the sheriff's office for a long time because they knew, like Danny's family knew, Danny was an outdoors person. She was comfortable in the mountains. She was wearing a leg brace at the time, which is something I think investigators did take into account.

But Deputy Farquhar told us that he talked to Danny's doctor at the time and her doctor said there was no reason for her not to be able, even with a leg brace, to be able to turn herself over in that mud and still survive if it had been an accidental trip or a fall. I'm glad, Lauren, that you said that they always investigated it as a homicide. But I also think what opportunities were missed if the public knew that

that they were looking for someone. Maybe other people were out there at that time. And, you know, they might have seen someone else out there talking to her. But if you don't know, you're looking for another person. You're not going to try to help in that manner. Or just the thought that there was a killer on the loose in their small town. Yeah, absolutely. And again, this is a first for me. I've never known a law enforcement agency at any level to withhold from the public that it was a murder.

to suggest that it was an accident or may have been an accident. As you said, everyone downshifts, Anne-Marie, right? They're not as concerned.

They don't have a threat in the community. They're not racking their brains. What did I see that day in that area, in this public fishing area? And there could have been opportunity lost there. So, you know, a lot of times when people ask me about working for 48 hours and they say, isn't it sort of depressing to focus on these topics? And I always tell them in every story, there are heroes. And there are a few in this story. Danny's sister, Stephanie, is definitely one of them.

Lauren, you spent a lot of time talking to her. She struggled her entire life to accept Danny's death as an accident. She couldn't shake the feeling that that her sister had been murdered. But it wasn't until years later that Stephanie pushed the sheriff's department to reopen the investigation. What prompted her to take action? Yeah, I think I think Stephanie is really kind of a remarkable woman. She was 12 years old when Danny was killed and

In her show, she says, you know, I tried to be strong for my parents. Dani was killed on a Saturday. She went back to school on Monday. And she was just trying to keep it together and be strong for them because she knew that they were going to a lot. But this really, really affected her. I mean, this was her big, cool sister. It was like the mid-90s. She was like all grunge, grumpy.

She was just everything Stephanie wanted to be. So then Stephanie growing up and having that void in her life and always having these questions, you know, it was hard for her. And she told us, you know, every year her mom would send a note or call the sheriff's office, be like, hey, is anything going on? But

It wasn't really a big push and Stephanie kind of wanted to really push and ask questions, but some friends told her like, make sure you're in a good place to take this on because once you take this on, it's going to be a lot. So it took a little while and she got to a place where she really felt like, all right, now's the time. And so it wasn't until really 2020 that she was let in to see the

the pieces of the investigation to see the autopsy, she chose to look at the autopsy photos herself. And that's when she was told that, no, they really believe that this was a homicide. And the thing about Stephanie, all these years, she had always promised her sister in her thoughts that

that she was not going to let this case die. And it just reached a point where now was the time, as Lauren said, for her to move forward. And she is the champion in this and one of the most compelling characters I have ever interviewed for a 48 Hours episode. Right. Another big driving force is Sheriff Dan Springer. In 2021, he's a newly appointed sheriff, and he tells Stephanie that

I am making a promise that we will find an answer to this case, which I thought was quite a hefty promise to make. So I want to talk about him and just why Springer decided that this was the cold case that he was going to dig into and he was going to solve.

I think everyone touched by this case was haunted by it all this time. Keep in mind, Sheriff Dan Springer, he'd just been on the job for five days with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Department when Danny's body was found. And if there's one thing that we learned in this, Sheriff Dan Springer is a man of absolute integrity.

And once he became the big dog, you know, the sheriff in the department, this case that haunted him as well, he wanted to return to it and looked Stephanie in the eye and said, we are going to solve this. He played such a crucial role in this.

And then there's another hero in Danny's case. Springer enlists the help of a former investigator, Tom Elfmont. Tom Elfmont was a former LAPD captain. He retires and he moves to Bozeman. How did Springer even find him? Well, meeting this guy, you instantly love him. I mean, Lauren was there, too. We're just having a brief conversation about how he got involved with this. He starts talking about Danny.

And tears come to his eyes. He tears up. This is a guy who was a tough LAPD police captain, right? He'd seen everything in Los Angeles County and investigated every kind of crime. But when law enforcement people retire, they oftentimes get in the private security business. He has a business, a number of employees. So he kept his network of contacts out there.

And eventually Sheriff Springer learns of his presence, this wealth of experience and investigative talent, living on the top of a mountain just outside of town. And Springer reached out to him and Elfmont said yes, which is of course crucial in this case.

Yeah. Yeah. Elfman's dedication to this really was key to getting this solved. I mean, we've read his case notes. He did everything. He talked to everyone he could. And he had the enthusiasm to think outside the box a little bit, which ended up being what this case really needed.

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Welcome back, everyone. We are going to dig into the science here. Tom Elfman's investigation really starts to gain momentum when he pushes the Montana State Crime Lab to retest the semen that was found on Danny's clothes with their newest DNA technology. The lab does manage to get a partial DNA profile, but it didn't match any of the names in their system or in CODIS, which is the FBI's national DNA agency.

But there were also four rootless male hairs found on Danny that were preserved. And the private lab was able to extract DNA from one of those hairs. I didn't realize that that was even a possibility now, to tell you the truth, because normally you need, when we say rootless, we're talking about that sort of white bulb that's at the end of a hair when it gets yanked out. This didn't have that.

You know, tell me a little bit more about this technology and how they were able to do this. Yeah, I mean, it's pretty wild, honestly, what they're able to do now. These weren't just rootless hairs. These were like naturally shed arm hairs.

They thought they were like little too. But back in 1996, you know, DNA technology was relatively new. It's not nearly advanced. It's where we are now. This is something that is still new in the law enforcement community, that this is a possibility that, you know, there are these companies out there like this Astraea Labs that Tom Elfman connected with.

that they have like their own proprietary methods and software where they literally grind down biological samples to get as much of the DNA, as much of the cells in there as they can. And then they use computer technology to amplify the DNA in there. Sounds expensive.

So yeah, another thing about these DNA tests, they are very expensive. It can get into the thousands of dollars. And something in this case that really stood out to us is Tom Elfman told us he went to Sheriff Springer and was like, hey, can I spend some money here? Could I go to these outside labs? And Sheriff Springer told him, do what you got to do. I'm not going to let money get in the way of this. And that was a really big commitment and something that enabled them to do the testing they needed to get the break in this case. And think of

just like how many cold cases are out there where there's evidence sitting in like the back of a file cabinet in the basement of the sheriff's office.

you know, if something could be retested now or new eyes put on it. I mean, it's a total game changer. Think about this. It's like a time machine. They're able to go back generations and then work their way forward to find someone. It's almost magic. It really is. Mm-hmm. Which brings me to CC More because it's one thing to have a DNA profile, but if you can't match it to a person, then it doesn't really matter. So,

So Elfmont Endless, the help of Cece Moore, an investigative genetic genealogist. She's worked for law enforcement.

to build family trees from DNA samples and identify killers. So in 2024, CeCe was able to identify several family members who were related to this DNA profile. Eventually, though, she zeroes in on Paul Hutchinson because he's posted on Facebook that he moved to Montana in 1996 and he moved to Bozeman. And this is just months before Danny is murdered.

First off, what was the moment like for CeCe Moore when she realized, here are all the dots, and now the lines are like, I have a picture? Well, remember, once they get that DNA readings, they're able to then get into DNA databases, and they found this link to the suspect Hutchinson. So for CeCe, who's been doing this for a while, it's extraordinarily exciting. It's what she lives for.

But it's also a very sobering thing because now you can go to that person's social media. She learned that Hutchinson was a big time hunter. He's married, has two kids, and she realizes that these people's lives are about to go off a cliff when she brings this forward. So it's excitement that is tempered a bit with this sobering reality of what the consequences will be. But finally, it is the path to justice. So let's talk a little bit about these public events.

DNA databases, because I think some people, they wanted to, you know, see if they were related to the Queen of England or something like that. So they signed up for Ancestry. We're not talking about a database necessarily like that. No, it's actually there's two parts to Cece's work. She starts with the unknown suspect DNA profile. They get permission to

tested against databases where people have volunteered. Basically, they take the DNA profile that they've gotten from like a 23andMe or an Ancestry, you know, one of those kits you do at home. But then individual users can choose to take that profile and upload it to different sites that contain these databases. And they do have to opt in for law enforcement to be able to search their profile in these. And

In this case, especially because in Montana, there are also a lot of personal freedom laws. So Tom Elfmont actually needed to get a subpoena from a judge to some of these companies for them to be able to, you know, basically compare the suspect DNA profile to these databases. So once they do that, they get a list of people that have similar DNA to the suspect. And that's when CC gets to work.

And in the next stage of her work, she does use Ancestry.com. She uses public records. Like the Mormon church has a giant database of family trees and everything. She goes through everything and that's where she's piecing in those common connections. Fascinating. So as Peter pointed out, the suspect...

Paul Hutchinson, he's well-respected. He's working for the Bureau of Land Management in Montana. He also has no criminal record. So he's definitely managed to stay under the radar for many, many years. I know I thought there's no way that this is the only thing this guy has ever done because it's, you know, it's a murder and a sexual assault. Is there any thought that there could be other victims?

yeah i mean tom elfman is as we said a really experienced investigator and if we had that first thought he definitely had that first thought of are there more victims out there and he told us you know it's not unlikely especially for a sexual assault like this for someone to have done it again um as of this day we don't know but they are actively investigating because hutchinson was a big turkey hunter and there's this thing in the turkey hunting community called the u.s super slam where you kill a turkey

in every state except Alaska. So he was working towards this kind of certificate.

traveling all over the country in these remote backwoods areas. Elfmont told us, you know, it'd be very easy for him to get in and out of somewhere. No one even knew he was there. Who knows what the possibilities are all over the country. And also the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office, they sent out a bulletin to other law enforcement agencies in the state of Montana to see if they have any cold cases linked to Hutchinson. And that's the big question is, will they find Hutchinson?

other cases in this. And Stephanie herself, she ends up saying in our hour, "I think that anyone who was able to rape and murder a young girl and then get away with it for almost 28 years had plenty of chances to do it again." - Wow.

So, turning back to this investigation, once Hutchinson is identified as the suspect, Elfmont and another detective confront him. They make up an excuse to speak to him, but they do say, you know, we're investigating crimes along the rivers in southwest Montana, and we want to talk to you.

But they start to focus in on Danny's murder and Hutchinson becomes visibly nervous. I want to play an extended clip here of that interview. Do you remember hearing about this murder or anything about about that incident?

I don't. I mean, I might have. It was a big case just because she was so young. And obviously for Bozeman, that's big news, you know, especially in Montana. It wasn't common, obviously, back in the day. I mean, I know I'm giving you different people, but, you know, for Bozeman, Belgrade area, that was big news. Do you remember this move or hearing her name? I don't remember it.

I've never seen anybody quite melt down like that. It was like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz melting down at the end. That's what I saw. He went from being calm and collected to sweating. He was very nervous. They pointed out that he leaned back in the chair to get as far away from them as he possibly could. Psychologically, he wanted out of that room. Yeah. And Hutchinson by the end there was allowed to leave. They weren't able to arrest him right then. But

Elfmont was pretty sure Hutchinson knew that his time as a free man was running out. Indeed. Just hours after that interview, Hutchinson drives to a remote area and he shoots himself. When Hutchinson's DNA is ultimately checked against evidence from Danny's body, it is a match. But unfortunately, he is now dead. And so there will be no trial. I just wonder what it was like for Danny's family.

Yeah, I mean, Stephanie told us about Tom Elfmont calling her that morning. It was in the early hours of the morning that news kind of spread. And I mean, she was shocked. She had been preparing herself to be there every day through court hearings for trial. She was mentally and emotionally preparing herself. And then it was just, oh, okay, but now? And again, all these questions they have, the why, the how, the...

What actually happened, I mean, it's just gone now for them. And it's heartbreaking. It really is. The hour ends in a really beautiful moment that Stephanie allows 48 hours to be there for. She spreads some of her sister's ashes in the Gallatin River. What was that moment like? Yeah, I mean, that was definitely not part of our original plan. We had filmed with Stephanie the day before by the fishing access area where Danny's body had been found.

And they avoided that area for a long time. Her mom actually moved away. She had just recently moved back and I guess told Stephanie that she had some of the ashes with her. So it really was incredibly profound that Stephanie trusted us to be able to do it on camera. Of course, the crew kept their distance, made sure she had the time on her own. But it was really just, yeah, this reclaiming of this scary place with...

where this horrible thing happened to her sister, that now she can go back there and think of Dani, think of the beautiful area around her, and have it be a good memory. I thought one thing that was profound that I just wanted to read is almost kind of a final thought from Stephanie. This was at the press conference. She said, "I celebrate that a violent predator is no longer able to victimize other women and girls. I celebrate that my fight for my sister is over.

celebration for me is short-lived. It's quickly replaced with a tangled mess of frustration, disbelief, and anger. Of course, that is part of the profound nature of murder, isn't it? It just...

never quite goes away inside any of these victims. But in this case, I think Stephanie really accomplished this extraordinary feat in her life and gave honor to her sister's memory. Really, really well put. Peter, Lauren, thank you so much. Thanks, Sanmarie. Thank you.

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