NY NY-Theresa Fusco,16, missing after shift @ the roller rink, Long Island, raped/murdered, 1984, DNA- from straw, Richard Bilodeau, 63, *Arrest*, 2025.

[dotr]

Suspect in 1984 Assault & Murder of Theresa Fusco is Identified

Nassau County Office of the Medical Examiner and the FBI Team with Othram to Identify the Suspect in a 1984 Homicide

dnasolves.com

''In December 1984, the body of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco was found buried under leaves in a wooded area near the roller-skating rink where she had worked in Lynbrook, in Nassau County, New York. Several law enforcement agencies responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined her body had been there for weeks and she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Three men were later convicted of the murder, but DNA testing unavailable in the 1980s found that someone other than the three had committed the killings and they were exonerated in 2005.

In 2023, the Nassau County Office of the Medical Examiner, working with the FBI, submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the suspect. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown suspect.''
Oct 15 2025

https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/smoothie-straw-leads-to-arrest-in-1984-cold-case-murder-of-new-york-teen/

'LYNBROOK, N.Y. (WPIX) – A straw from a smoothie cup was the evidence that led police in New York to the man they suspect of killing a 16-year-old girl on Long Island in 1984, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Richard Bilodeau, a 63-year-old man from Center Moriches, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of Theresa Fusco, who went missing after clocking out of her shift at a roller rink on Nov. 10, 1984.'
Lynbrook''

 

[dotr]

ByAaron Katersky
rbbm.

Man charged with murder over 40 years after teen's killing: DA

Richard Bilodeau has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Theresa Fusco's death.

abcnews.go.com

''In November 1984, 16-year-old Theresa Fusco disappeared after she was fired from her job working the snack bar at a roller rink in Lynbrook. Three men who had been convicted of her death were exonerated in 2003 based on DNA evidence.''

A photo of Theresa Fusco is shown during a press briefing with the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, Oct. 15, 2025.
''On Wednesday, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office announced 63-year-old man Richard Bilodeau has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Fusco's death. The indictment further charges him with second-degree murder during the commission or attempted commission of first-degree rape.''

'A discarded smoothie cup was the critical piece of evidence in the nearly 41-year-old murder case that Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said "sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Lynbrook community" and a fear that young women were at risk. '

Richard Bilodeau appears at the Nassau County Courthouse indicted in the killing of Theresa Fusco, Oct. 15, 2025 in Mineola.
Howard Schnapp/Pool/Newsday
"Through his denials that he had ever known her name, who she was, he made kind of a flippant comment about the 1980s. He said, 'People got away with murder.' Well, I'll tell you something, Mr. Bilodeau, I've got you now," Donnelly said.''

A photo of Richard Bilodeau is shown during a press briefing with the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, Oct. 15, 2025
WABC
Fusco'

 

[dotr]

Innocence Project: John Restivo

In 1987, John Restivo was wrongly convicted of a murder and rape he did not commit in New York. He was later exonerated in 2005.

innocenceproject.org

Who is Richard Bilodeau? Man charged in 40-year-old cold case murder

Investigators collected DNA from a discarded straw to identify a new suspect in Theresa Fusco's murder.

www.newsweek.com

''Bilodeau, who was 23 at the time of the crime, had been living with his grandparents in Lynbrook, around a mile away from the roller rink and Fusco’s home.

One of his former neighbors, Liz Bregel, now 80, told The New York Times that Bilodeau was an awkward loner and that “our kids were afraid of him.”

At the time of his arrest Bilodeau was living in Center Moriches in New York’s Suffolk County and working at a Walmart, according to News 12.

Three men were wrongfully convicted of Fusco’s murder in 1986, and spent around 18 years in prison before advanced DNA testing led to their exoneration. Two of the men, John Restivo and Dennis Halstead, were awarded $18 million each for the wrongful conviction.''

 

[hot cawfeee]

Rest easy Thersa....justice has arrived.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

A little more info in this sky news story.https://news.sky.com/story/dna-from-smoothie-straw-leads-to-murder-charge-against-richard-bilodeau-41-years-after-theresa-fuscos-death-13451075

 

[Mind your biscuits]

Something went wrong with that link sorry.

 

[dotr]

A little more info in this sky news story.https://news.sky.com/story/dna-from-smoothie-straw-leads-to-murder-charge-against-richard-bilodeau-41-years-after-theresa-fuscos-death-13451075

Thanks, from link..

DNA from smoothie straw leads to murder charge against Richard Bilodeau, 41 years after Theresa Fusco's death

The suspect could be jailed for life, if convicted of murdering the 16-year-old, whose remains were found near the roller-skating rink where she worked.

news.sky.com

''Fusco was one of three teenage girls who disappeared around the same time, one of whom was a friend of hers.
Kelly Morrissey, 15, went missing earlier in 1984 and was never found.'
''Jacqueline Martarella, 19, of Oceanside, was found dead the following year at a nearby golf course.''

''The three men who were wrongfully convicted of killing Fusco worked together as removal workers and one of them had dated Ms Morrissey.
DNA testing that was not available in the 1980s later proved someone else raped and killed her''.