Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Discarded Straw DNA Leads to Arrest in 41-Year-Old Murder Case | Crime Alert 6AM 12.02.25

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

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.

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 1984 rape and murder. 63-year-old Richard Bilidot of Seder Moritzis has been charged with two counts of murder in the death of 16-year-old Teresa Fusco, the high school Jr. disappeared after leaving her job at a Lynn Brook roller skating rink in November 1984. Her body was found weeks later in a wooded area nearby. The case was long considered one of Long Island's most troubling miscarriages of justice. Three men were convicted and spent years in prison before DNA evidence cleared them in 2003. Two later received

multi-million dollar settlements for wrongful imprisonment. Prosecutor now say Bilito became a focus after investigators developed several new leads last year. Surveillance teams recovered a cup and straw that he discarded at a smoothie shop in neighboring Suffolk County. Laboratory testing showed the genetic terrial

matched samples preserved from Fusco's body in 1984. Bilido, who was 23 and living with his grandparents at the time of the crime, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison. At the courthouse in Mineola, Fusco's father, Thomas Fusco, expressed that while revisiting the case is painful, he hopes the new arrest will finally bring closure to his family.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly emphasized that her office is committed to pursuing justice in long-unsolved crimes, calling this case an example of how persistence and modern science, science can work hand in hand. Assistant DA Jared Rosenblatt said the defendant appeared aware that previous mistakes in the investigation had allowed someone to escape accountability. He added that the time for reckoning had finally come. The original investigation also drew attention because two other teenage girls, Kelly Morrissey and Jacqueline Martarella, went missing around the same time period. Morrissey was never found and Martarella's body was discovered the following year at a nearby golf course. Authorities say this latest indictment represents a 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 Detroit to the West Coast. Thanks, John. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.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's John Limley. In San Antonio, Texas, police say a 21-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 8 a.m. 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 as they work 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 say Officer Roger

Smith of the WakeMed Health System Police was fatally shot around 9 a.m. Saturday at the Wakemed Garner Health Flex, 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 Stein said the incident underscores the risks faced by law enforcement officers every day and praise Smith's service. service and sacrifice. WakeMed confirmed its officers are fully sworn and state certified, patrolling six facilities across the system. Officials say they're cooperating fully with investigators as the inquiry continues. Finally, in a widening federal counterterrorism

investigation, two additional young men admit charged with attempting to aid the Islamic State group. Nineteen-year-old's Thomas Jimenez-Gutzel of Montcli. New Jersey and Saeed Moray of Kent Washington are accused of conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorism organization. According to the FBI, Jimenez-Gutzel was arrested at Newark Airport while trying to fly to Turkey while Moray was taken into custody in Washington State.

Investigators say both had been in contact with suspects recently charged in Michigan for allegedly plotting an attack in suburban Detroit. Court filings describe 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 LGBTQ plus venues and even scouted a theme park in neighboring Ohio. Authorities say a 16-year-old boy.

is also in federal custody in 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. Thanks, John. For the latest, Crime Injustice News, go to crimeonline.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.

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