Maryland man pleads guilty to 2001 cold case murder of Chevy Chase mom
Suspect in 2001 Maryland cold case murder pleads guilty
A man no one suspected as a suspect in a decades-old murder case has accepted a plea deal. Eugene Teodor Gligor, 44, has pleaded guilty in the killing of Leslie Preer, who was found murdered in her Chevy Chase home in May 2001.
CHEVY CHASE, Md. - A man no one suspected as a suspect in a decades-old murder case has accepted a plea deal. Eugene Teodor Gligor, 44, has pleaded guilty in the killing of Leslie Preer, who was found murdered in her Chevy Chase home in May 2001.
DNA breakthrough in case
What we know:
Police made a breakthrough last year after advanced forensic DNA technology linked Gligor to the crime.
Gligor was once the boyfriend of Preer’s teenage daughter, Lauren Preer, who told FOX 5 she dated him when they were both 15. Their families knew each other and lived in the same neighborhood.
Montgomery County Police conducted a welfare check in 2001 after Leslie Preer failed to show up for work. Court documents revealed she had suffered blunt force trauma and strangulation.
READ MORE: Ex-boyfriend charged in 2001 Chevy Chase mom's murder after DNA match
Suspect pleads guilty
Lauren Preer, who was 24 at the time, said she never suspected Gligor, recalling a meeting years later at a Washington, D.C., restaurant, where they spoke as if nothing had happened.
Investigators used blood evidence from the crime scene to develop a DNA profile three years ago, leading to the arrest.
Lauren described the revelation as "unreal."
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Montgomery County Police and previous FOX 5 reporting.