Discarded Straw DNA Leads to Arrest in 41-Year-Old Murder Case | Crime Alert 6AM

After four decades of unanswered questions, new DNA testing has led prosecutors to a suspect they say is responsible for a teenager’s 1984 rape and murder.

In San Antonio, Texas, police say a twenty-one-year-old man shot and killed three co-workers before taking his own life.

In North Carolina, a police officer assigned to a hospital campus was killed during an encounter in the emergency department lobby.

Finally, in a widening federal counter-terrorism investigation, two additional young men have been charged with attempting to aid the Islamic State group.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert. I'm John Lemley. We begin this hour with
a major cold case development on Long Island. After four
decades of unanswered questions, new DNA testing has led prosecutors
to a suspect they say is responsible for a teenager's
nineteen eighty four rape and murder. Sixty three year old

(00:21):
Richard Billdeaux of Seder Mariches has been charged with two
counts of murder in the death of sixteen year old
Teresa Fusco. The high school junior disappeared after leaving her
job at a Lynbrook roller skating rink in November nineteen
eighty four. Her body was found weeks later in a
wooded area nearby. The case was long considered one of

(00:43):
Long Island's most troubling miscarriages of justice. Three men were
convicted and spent years in prison before DNA evidence cleared
them in two thousand three. To later received multimillion dollars
settlements for wrongful imprisonment. Prosecutors now say Billido became a
focus after investigators developed several new leads last year. Surveillance

(01:07):
teams recovered a cup and straw that he discarded at
a smoothie shop in neighboring Suffolk County. Laboratory testing showed
the geneticterial match samples preserved from Fusco's body in nineteen
eighty four. Billidou, who was twenty three and living with
his grandparents at the time of the crime, pleaded not
guilty and was ordered held without bail. If convicted, he

(01:30):
faces up to twenty five years to life in prison.
At the courthouse in Mineola, Fusco's father, Thomas Fusco, expressed
that while revisiting the case as painful, he hopes the
new arrest will finally bring closure to his family. Nassau
County District Attorney Anne Donnelly emphasized that her office is

(01:51):
committed to pursuing justice in long unsolved crimes, calling this
case an example of how persistence and modern science can
work hand in hand. Assistant DA Jared Rosenblat said the
defendant appeared aware that previous mistakes in the investigation had
allowed someone to escape accountability. He added that the time

(02:13):
for reckoning had finally come. The original investigation also drew
attention because two other teenage girls, Kelly Morrissey and Jacqueline Martirella,
went missing around the same time. Period, Morrissey was never found,
and Martirella's body was discovered the following year at a
nearby golf course. Authorities say this latest indictment represents a

(02:36):
turning point in the case that once symbolized failure and
may now stand as proof that time does not erase justice.
When we return, deadly gunfire at a Texas workplace, a
North Carolina police officer killed inside a hospital, and new
arrests in an alleged Halloween terrorism plot that stretched from

(02:58):
Detroit to the West Coast.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Thanks John for the latest crime and justice news. Go
to crime online dot com and please join us for
our daily podcast, Crime Stories. More crime and justice news
after this Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news,
Crime Online John Lemley.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
In San Antonio, Texas police say a twenty one year
old man shot and killed three co workers before taking
his own life. Investigators identified the gunman as Jose Hernandez Gallo,
an employee at a landscape supply company on the city's
north side. The victims, two men and a woman, were
found dead Saturday morning after shots rang out around eight am.

(03:42):
Other workers ran from the building as officers surrounded the area.
Gallo's body was located hours later with what investigators say
was a self inflicted gunshot wound. San Antonio Police Chief
William McManus said the attack did not appear to be random,
though the motive remains under investigation. Officials continue gathering evidence

(04:05):
as they worked to determine what led up to the
deadly workplace violence. Turning to North Carolina, a police officer
assigned to a hospital campus was killed during an encounter
in the emergency department lobby. Authorities A officer, Roger Smith
of the WakeMed Health System police was fatally shot around

(04:26):
nine a m. Saturday at the WakeMed Garner health Plex
just south of Raleigh. A person of interest was detained.
Shortly after the shooting. The emergency lobby was closed as
investigators from multiple agencies processed the scene and interviewed witnesses.
Governor Josh Steins at the incident underscores the risks faced

(04:47):
by law enforcement officers every day and praise Smith's service
and sacrifice. WakeMed confirmed its officers or fully sworn and
States certified patrolling six facilities across the system. Officials say
their cooperating fully with investigators as the inquiry continues. Finally,

(05:09):
in a widening federal counter terrorism investigation. Two additional young
men had been charged with attempting to aid the Islamic
State group. Nineteen year olds Thomas Jimenez Gutsel of Montclair,
New Jersey, and Said Murray of Kent, Washington, are accused
of conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorism organization,

(05:32):
according to the FBI, Jimenez Gutzl was arrested at Newark
Airport while trying to fly to Turkey, while Murray was
taken into custody in Washington. State Investigators say both have
been in contact with suspects recently charged in Michigan for
allegedly plotting an attack in suburban Detroit. Court filings described

(05:53):
detailed online conversation about plans to travel abroad and participate
in violent activity overseas. Agents believed the men accelerated those
plans after several associates were arrested in late October. In Michigan,
prosecutors alleged a related group had discussed potential attacks targeting

(06:13):
LGBTQ plus venues and even scouted a theme park in
neighboring Ohio. Authorities say a sixteen year old boy is
also in federal custody and connection with that case. Federal
officials stressed that the arrest disrupted the network before any
violence occurred, and that all known suspects are now in custody.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
Thanks John for the latest crime and justice needs. Go
to crime online dot com and please join us for
our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best
to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides.
With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace.