Judge orders alleged Theresa Fusco killer Richard Bilodeau to submit two DNA samples

A Nassau County judge on Tuesday ordered Richard Bilodeau, the Center Moriches man accused of raping and killing 16-year-old Theresa Fusco in 1984, to submit two DNA samples to compare them with the DNA taken off a vaginal swab from the scene of the crime.

Investigators have said that they already have a match from DNA taken from a drinking straw they saw the Walmart stocker throw away in 2024, but they need another one to develop a “genetic profile” of the suspect.

The Fusco murder has been one of the most vexing crimes in recent Nassau County history. More than 40 years ago, the teen went missing after being fired from her job at Hot Skates, a popular Lynbrook roller rink. She was supposed to sleep over at a girlfriend’s house, but never showed up.

A group of teenagers found her naked body about a month later next to the Long Island Rail Road tracks hidden under some leaves and shipping pallets.

Investigators said that she had been strangled by a rope and raped before being dumped. Theresa’s friend Kelly Morrissey had gone missing months earlier. Another young woman, Jacqueline Martarella, 19, was found murdered near a local golf course months later. The series of deaths and disappearances unsettled the community until three men were charged with Fusco’s murder.

John Kogut, John Restivo and Dennis Halstead were convicted of the crime and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. It wasn’t until they had served 17 years behind bars that they were all freed, their verdicts overturned because none of their DNA matched that from the vaginal swab taken from Fusco’s body. Halstead and Restivo were awarded $18 million each from a federal jury in 2014 after they sued.

Working on an unspecified lead, investigators started focusing on Bilodeau, who was 22 and lived in Lynbrook at the time of Fusco’s killing. In February 2024, they followed him from the Tropical Cafe smoothie shop where he had bought a drink, which they retrieved when he threw it away.

The DNA from the straw matched the DNA from the crime, leading to a grand jury indictment charging him with the rape and murder of Fusco.

Defense attorneys Daniel W. Russo and William Kephart argued that the existence of their client’s sperm on the victim did not mean that he killed her.

A forensic exam presented at the previous trials determined that Fusco did not show signs of rape.

The lawyers argued that there was no probable cause or compelling reason for prosecutors to get another sample from Bilodeau.

Prosecutor Tracy Keeton said in her response paper that “the only reason his DNA was inside the deceased was for a nefarious reason.”

Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty sided with the prosecution in ruling that Bilodeau must submit to a cheek swab.

The judge also ruled that the defense lawyers could have their own sample taken so that they could test it independently from the prosecution.

Russo and Kephart also asked the judge to limit the testing of Bilodeau’s DNA so that it could only be used in the Fusco case. Gugerty also denied that request.

The case is due back in court on July 22.