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'