Dr. Henry Lee, considered one of the world’s top criminologists, said the examination of a 28-year-old unsolved homicide case in Millinocket would be very time-consuming and consist of a “lot of tedious work.”

In a weekend phone conversation, Lee said his review of the Joyce McLain case would involve four basic stages.

“First we must look at all the information, read every interview with witnesses,” he said.

Lee and those working with him then will review all of the physical evidence in hopes that something new or yet unseen may surface. It then will be determined whether new scientific technology can be applied to any of the old evidence to perhaps gain new information.

“Number four is to reconstruct the crime scene to see if some piece of information may have been wrongly disregarded,” he said.

Lee said he would have less to do with the re-autopsy of McLain’s body and said he doubted the body would provide any new leads.

“It may confirm the manner or cause of death, but I don’t think it would provide too much else. Of course, I don’t know for sure,” he said.

Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police and host of HBO’s “Autopsy” show, will perform the autopsy and look for any clues the body may offer.

Baden and Lee have agreed to take a look at the case, which remains one of the state’s most notorious unsolved homicides. McLain, a 16-year-old Schenk High School sophomore, was killed around 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.

McLain’s mother, Pam McLain, requested Baden’s assistance in her daughter’s case and recently a grass-roots organization, the Justice For Joyce Committee, raised more than $18,000 to cover the costs associated with the case review by Baden and Lee.

On Sunday, Lee said the case was very important to Baden, who “twisted my arm” and “called me nearly every day” until he agreed to take part in the case review.

Lee is chief emeritus of the Connecticut State Police and founder of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven, where he also oversees a national cold-case unit. Last year that unit solved 17 cold cases, Lee said.

Lee also travels throughout the world and has assisted in investigating war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia and serial killings in Asia.

Lee said it was Baden’s persistence along with a “good mix” of circumstances that led him to agree to take on the McLain case.

“First of all, Maine is quite nice. There are very nice people in Maine. Dr. Baden was very persistent and the lab, the police, everyone wants this case solved. Everyone is cooperative and helpful and that’s a very good start,” he said.

On Monday, Deputy Attorney General William Stokes, who heads the attorney general’s criminal division, said he was working on coordinating schedules so that Baden and Lee could make the best use of their time while they are here.

“We don’t have a date yet of when this will occur, but certainly we hope it’s sooner than later,” Stokes said. “We will certainly be cooperative and more than happy to help them out in any way possible.”

Stokes said that he wanted to ensure that investigators, current and past, as well as lab personnel and medical examiner staff were at the ready when Lee and Baden could arrange to get to Maine.

“We’re prepared to give them all of the time they need,” he said. “We welcome them here and hope they can help us out with the case.”