A Teen’s Disappearance That Shook Long Island

On the night of November 10, 1984, Theresa Fusco—an East Rockaway High School junior—left her job at the Hot Skates roller rink after being fired. Witnesses saw her crying as she walked home. She never arrived. Nearly a month later, her body was found in the woods near the Lynbrook railroad tracks. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled—a crime that sent shockwaves through the community and left her family shattered.

Her father, Thomas Fusco, now in his 80s, attended the recent press conference after decades of waiting for answers. “It’s heartbreaking to go through this over and over again,” he said, “but this feels like a finalization—and I’m grateful.”

Wrongful Convictions: When Justice Went Wrong

In 1985, amid intense public pressure, police arrested John Kogut, Dennis Halstead, and John Restivo—three local men later found to be innocent. Coerced confessions, jailhouse informants, and discredited forensic evidence led to their wrongful convictions in 1986.

After 18 years in prison, DNA testing in 2003 cleared the men, and they were fully exonerated by 2005. In 2014, Nassau County paid $18 million each to Halstead and Restivo after a federal jury found investigators had fabricated evidence.

The case became a textbook example of police misconduct and false confessions, often cited by the Innocence Project in its campaign for criminal justice reform.

The DNA Breakthrough: A Smoothie Straw Solves the Case

The turning point came in 2023, when prosecutors sent preserved DNA samples from the crime to Othram, a Texas-based forensic genealogy lab. Using cutting-edge analysis, scientists built a new genetic profile that pointed to Bilodeau, who lived just a mile from the roller rink at the time of the murder.

In early 2024, investigators followed Bilodeau and collected a smoothie straw he discarded at a Suffolk County café. The DNA on the straw matched the 1984 semen sample with 100% certainty, confirming him as the prime suspect.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said:

“The DNA in this case led us straight to Richard Bilodeau. People may have gotten away with murder back then, but not today.”

The Arrest and Legal Battle Ahead

Bilodeau, who once operated a mobile coffee truck and worked night shifts at Walmart, has no prior criminal record. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and faces 25 years to life if convicted. His court-appointed attorney, Dan Russo, emphasized the presumption of innocence:

“If ever a case demonstrated why we must presume innocence, it’s this one. Four decades of evidence need to be reexamined.”

He is due back in court on November 21, 2025.

A Timeline of Justice

Lessons from a Cold Case: Technology and Accountability

The Theresa Fusco case highlights both the promise of genetic genealogy and the perils of flawed investigations. DNA technology, once nonexistent, has now rewritten a story once defined by injustice. Yet the decades of wrongful imprisonment faced by Kogut, Halstead, and Restivo remain a haunting reminder of how easily justice can go astray.

Civil rights advocates stress that while this breakthrough demonstrates the power of modern forensics, it also underscores the need for ethical investigative standards and transparency in policing.

A Community Finally Finds Closure

For the Fusco family, the case’s resolution offers long-awaited peace. “Theresa’s life was stolen 40 years ago,” DA Donnelly said, “but her story reminds us that justice, no matter how delayed, is never forgotten.”

As Long Island reflects on this historic arrest, one truth stands out:
DNA may solve cold cases—but only truth and accountability can restore faith in justice.