"For decades, authorities struggled to find out who had killed Theresa Fusco, a Long Island, New York, teenager who in 1984 was raped, strangled and left in the woods near the roller rink where she had worked at the snack bar. Three men convicted in the case were exonerated in 2003, and two won hefty payouts for their wrongful convictions. Now, four decades later, Nassau County authorities say they finally have the real killer, thanks to DNA evidence."
"On Wednesday morning at Nassau County Court in Mineola, New York, two detectives walked in a man with graying hair wearing a dark T-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers, his head bowed amid a scrum of cameras. The man, Richard Bilodeau, 63, was arraigned on charges including second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison, said Anne T. Donnelly, the Nassau County district attorney."
"When detectives asked him why his DNA matched a sample found with Theresa's body in the 1980s, he replied, "People got away with murder back then," according to a prosecutor, Jared Rosenblatt. On Wednesday, Rosenblatt recounted the exchange in court and then clapped his hands down on a courtroom table and said, "Well, Mr. Bilodeau, it's 2025, and your day of reckoning is now.""
Theresa Fusco, a teenager who worked at a roller rink snack bar, was raped, strangled and left in nearby woods in 1984. Three men were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated in 2003, with two receiving substantial settlements. In 2025 Nassau County authorities identified 63-year-old Richard Bilodeau after DNA matched samples recovered with Fusco's body. Bilodeau was arraigned on charges including second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said he faces up to life if convicted. Bilodeau had lived on Long Island, worked at Walmart for 12 years, and told detectives, "People got away with murder back then." His lawyer noted prior bungled prosecutions.
Read at Miami Herald
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]