After four decades, three wrongful convictions and one used smoothie straw, police believe they have finally found the man who killed a 16-year-old girl on Long Island, New York, in 1984.
Richard Bilodeau, 63, was arrested on Oct. 14 in connection to the murder of Theresa Fusco. He was arraigned the following day on two charges of second-degree murder, including one count of murder during the course of a rape, and has pleaded not guilty, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office announced in a press release.
Fusco was found raped and strangled to death in a wooded area on Long Island on Dec. 5, 1984. She had been last seen leaving a roller rink in Lynbrook, New York, where she worked on Nov. 10, 1984, shortly before 10 p.m.
Three men were previously arrested and convicted for Fusco's murder in 1986, but their convictions were overturned in 2003 using DNA evidence, the DA's office said. Investigators linked Bilodeau to Fusco's murder using DNA from a used smoothie straw, according to the press release.
In a statement, Dan Russo, Bilodeau's attorney, said his client maintains his innocence.
