On Deanna Cremin's 17th birthday, in March 1995, her mother gave her what most teenagers in the 90s coveted: her very own pager. Deanna was a typical teenager; she would skip class, sneak the occasional beer or cigarette, and she enjoyed spending time with her long-term boyfriend. But she was also very responsible. She had a job at the local supermarket and just finished training to become a cashier; she also babysat for many families in her neighborhood and even hosted some children’s programming on her local community access TV station.

Deanna was finishing her junior year at Somerville High School in Massachusetts, and her future looked bright. While she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do after, many believe she would have worked with kids.

On March 29, just a few days after her 17th birthday, she turned in an assignment outlining the top 5 most important goals for her life.

1.    Graduate high school

2.    To find a successful job that I enjoy

3.    To have a dark green convertible mustang

4.    To have a happy family

5.    To live a long time, healthy

Under this, she’s asked to choose which one of these five goals is the most important, and Deanna chose number 5, to live a long and healthy life.

That night, Deanna went to her boyfriend's apartment after school like she normally did. A few hours later, she called her mom to tell her she was going to miss her 10 pm curfew so they could finish watching TV together, but she’d be home later.

By midnight, Deanna hadn’t made it home. And when her mother paged her, Deanna never called her back. It wasn’t until the next morning that she got the news…Deanna had been found by two of the kids she babysat; she’d been strangled to death and sexually assaulted less than half a mile from her home.

Despite big promises from authorities about getting Deanna justice, it’s been almost 30 years with no answers.

Deanna Cremin was 17 years old when she was killed on or about March 29, 1995, in Somerville, Massachusetts. If you have information about Deanna’s murder, you can call the tip line at 617-544-7167. You can also text tips anonymously to the Somerville Police Department at 874411.

This episode originally aired on January 26, 2023.

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