BANGOR (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Joyce McLain was just 16-years-old when she was brutally murdered in East Millinocket -- now, 37 years later her alleged killer is finally in court.
Philip Scott Fournier has always been a suspect, but wasn't arrested or charged with her death until March of 2016. His murder trial began Monday morning at the Penobscot County courthouse in Bangor.
A close friend of McLain's remembers the tragedy like it was yesterday. "We lived in a town where you could go out anytime day or night and feel safe, until this happened," Michele Moran said. "We had no answers of who did this so we were all very afraid for years, It makes you question everyone around you."
Moran and her mother say Joyce McLain's death came as a complete shock and that the town has really never been the same. The 16-year old was found dead August 10, 1980.
Her body was found on a trail behind Schneck High School in East Millinocket. She was naked, had her hands tied behind her back and was badly beaten.
Prosecutors believe she was killed by Philip Scott Fournier. Fournier confessed to killing McLain weeks after her death but wasn't arrested until 2016.
"Fournier's initial confession and his later confirmation are true because they are accurate," Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robin said. "His confession was consistent with the evidence either known to some of the investigators at the time or known to be true later."
However, his defense says Fournier was in a bad car accident the night of murder, causing him to suffer from a traumatic brain injury that has deeply affected his memory. "People say Scott was acting kind of cooky," Fournier's defense attorney Jon Haddow said. "That he showed memory deficits and seemed unable to distinguish dreams from actual memories."
The defense also suggests Fournier couldn't have been the one to kill her because he was at a party. They claim the timing doesn't add up.
After hearing from McLain's mother Pam, the judge and attorneys visited the place Joyce's body was found back in 1980.
Friends like Moran hope this trial will bring the family what they have been waiting for.
"We're looking just for closure for truth," Moran said. "And especially closure for Pam and her family."