(Press Release) 40-year-old DNA match linked Richard Bilodeau with the rape and death of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco near the Hot Skates roller rink in Lynbrook
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Center Moriches man was indicted on murder charges for the death of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco near a roller-skating rink in Lynbrook more than 40 years ago.
Richard Bilodeau, 63, was arraigned on October 15, 2025, before Judge Helene Gugerty on grand jury indictment charges of Murder in the Second Degree (Intentional Murder) (an A-I felony) and Murder in the Second Degree (During the Course of a Rape).
The defendant pleaded not guilty and was remanded. He is due back in court on November 21, 2025. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
“Theresa Fusco’s life was violently stolen from her 40 years ago, and since then, her family has suffered an enduring pain and the lingering question of who committed such a heinous act. 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,” said DA Donnelly. “The past has not been forgotten. 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.”
Fusco was last seen on November 10, 1984, leaving the Hot Skates roller rink in Lynbrook after clocking out of work at 9:47 p.m. Her body was discovered in a wooded area near the rink about a month later, on December 5, and it was later determined that Fusco had been raped and strangled to death.
Three men were arrested and prosecuted for Fusco’s murder in 1986. Their convictions were overturned by the court in 2003 due to exculpatory DNA evidence. Charges against two of the men were later dismissed, and the third man was acquitted after a retrial when advanced DNA testing failed to match him to samples taken from the victim’s body.
NCDA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began surveilling Bilodeau in 2024 following the development of multiple investigative leads.
In February 2024, investigators recovered a cup and straw the defendant had used and discarded at a smoothie café in Suffolk County. DNA extracted from the drink’s straw was tested and matched the sample taken from Fusco’s body in 1984.
Bilodeau had lived with his grandparents in Lynbrook at 16 Tredwell Avenue at the time of the murder, just a mile from Hot Skates and the Fusco residence.
Bilodeau was arrested on October 14, 2025, by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
NCDA thanks the FBI, retired and current members of the Nassau County Police Department, the Nassau County Medical Examiner’s Office, retired and current members of the Homicide Bureau’s support staff, and NCDA detective investigators for their dedication and assistance in this investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton of the Homicide Bureau and Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt, with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Cameron Good of the Narcotics, Firearms, and Gangs Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Lisa Thompson of the Special Victims Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. Bilodeau is represented by Dan Russo, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.
