DNA from smoothie straw leads to murder charge against Richard Bilodeau, 41 years after Theresa Fusco’s death
A man in the US has been charged with murder after samples taken from a drinking straw were linked to DNA found on the body of a teenage girl more than 40 years ago.
Richard Bilodeau, 63, of Center Moriches, Long Island, is accused of murdering 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, who disappeared after leaving her part-time job at a roller-skating rink roughly 30 miles from Manhattan, in November 1984.
Three other men, who were wrongly convicted of Ms Fusco’s killing and served 17 years in prison, were released after being exonerated by DNA evidence in 2003.
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They sued for wrongful imprisonment, and two were each awarded $18m (£13.4m).
The girl’s remains were found weeks after the assault, buried under leaves in a wooded area near the rink.
Bilodeau, who was 23 and living a mile away from the rink with his grandparents at the time, pleaded not guilty at the Nassau County court in Mineola on 15 October and was remanded in jail.
Fusco’s father, Thomas, told reporters it was “heartbreaking” to relive his daughter’s death “over and over again”, adding “I loved her and I miss her… I never gave up hope. I’ve always had faith in the system.”
“She lives in my heart, as you can see,” Fusco said, showing a picture of Theresa taken from his jacket.
Bilodeau could be jailed for up to 25 years to life, if convicted.
In February 2024, detectives, who said they had developed “multiple investigative leads”, recovered a cup and straw they said Bilodeau had used and thrown away at a smoothie cafe.
DNA extracted from the straw matched a sample taken from Fusco’s body in 1984.
Assistant District Attorney Jared Rosenblatt said that when confronted with the DNA evidence, the suspect said: “Yeah, people got away with murder back then.”
In court, Mr Rosenblatt told him: “It’s 2025, and your day of reckoning is now.”
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.
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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.
