A Long Island man has been arrested in a 1984 cold case rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl that previously resulted in wrongful convictions for three other men.
Richard Bilodeau, 63, was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree murder in the killing of Theresa Fusco more than 40 years ago, the Nassau County district attorney’s office said.
DNA found on Fusco’s body was finally matched to Bilodeau last year, according to authorities. He was indicted by a grand jury and arrested Tuesday, then pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday in Nassau County.
“Through remarkable advancements in forensic science and DNA analysis and the relentless pursuit of justice by my cold case homicide prosecutors and investigators, we can say today that we have indicted Theresa’s alleged killer,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.
Fusco was walking home on Nov. 10, 1984, in Lynbrook after getting fired from her job at a local roller rink, according to reports at the time. She disappeared that night, and her naked body was found about one month later in the woods.
Three men — John Kogut, John Restivo and Dennis Halstead — were tried and convicted in the case in the late 1980s. The suspects were found guilty on the basis of confessions under questioning, which they claimed were coerced by police.
But in 2003, new DNA evidence led to their releases from prison and eventual exonerations. The DNA found on Fusco’s body did not match any of the three men.
“The physical evidence does not connect the defendants to the crime, and the statements made by the defendants contradict the physical evidence,” Judge William Donnino said while dismissing the charges.
Nassau County investigators and the FBI began considering Bilodeau as a suspect last year, and they obtained his DNA from a straw he disposed of in February 2024, prosecutors said. That DNA matched the DNA found on Fusco’s body, leading to Bilodeau’s arrest.
Bilodeau, a Center Moriches resident, has been employed as a night shift worker at a Suffolk County Walmart, authorities said. At the time of the murder, he lived with his grandparents in Lynbrook, about a mile from the roller rink where Fusco worked, as well as her home.
Bilodeau is due back in court on Nov. 21. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
“The past has not been forgotten,” Donnelly said Wednesday. “Today’s indictment stands as proof that no matter how much time passes, we will never stop fighting for victims. My office is determined to see justice for Theresa and her family.”
Originally Published: October 15, 2025 at 12:20 PM EDT
