Decades-Old Coldโข Case Cracked: Man Chargedโ inโ 1984 Murder of New York Teen Theresa Fusco
MINEOLA, NY – A โฃLong Island โฃman has been arrested and charged with theโ 1984 murder of 19-year-old Theresa Fusco, Nassauโฃ County authorities announced today. Robert Bilodeau,now 61,was โขarraignedโ and โheld without bail following a breakthrough in the cold case linked toโค DNA evidence recovered from a discarded straw.
the โarrest brings โฃa โฃnew โขgrowth to a case that gripped long Island and led to theโฃ wrongful conviction of three men who spent years in prison before being exonerated โฃin 2003. Those men subsequently sued for wrongful imprisonment,withโ two awarded $18 million each.
According to prosecutors, Bilodeau was 23 and living with his grandparentsโ at the time of fusco’s disappearance andโ death. Investigators began monitoring Bilodeau last year after developing “multiple investigative leads.” Theโฃ crucial evidence emergedโ in Februaryโ 2024, when โฃinvestigators recovered a glass and โคstraw Bilodeau allegedly used at a โsmoothie shopโข in Suffolk County. DNAโข extracted from the straw matched a sample taken from Fusco’s body in 1984.
“The pastโ has not been forgotten,”โ Nassau County Prosecutor Anne Donnellyโ statedโ at a news conference. “weโฃ will neverโข stop fighting for the victims. My officeโ is determined to getโ justice for Theresa and โher family.”
During the arraignment,Deputy Prosecutor Jared Rosenblatt recounted a chilling statement allegedly made byโข Bilodeauโ when confronted by investigators. “Yes, in those days people got away with murder,” Bilodeau โฃreportedly said.Rosenblatt responded inโ court, “Well, mr. Bilodeau, โit is indeed 2025 and your time has come.”
Fusco’s murder gained โnotorietyโค in โ1984,โ occurring around โthe same time as theโค disappearances of two other teenage girls in the same โarea. Kelly Morrissey, 15, vanished in early 1984 and remains missing. The body of Jacqueline Martarella, 19, was discovered the following year on a golf course.
The original examination was marred by misconduct, as revealed in lawsuits filedโ by the โคwrongly convicted men. A federal jury found that the โlead detective on the caseโ had falsified โhair evidence and withheld crucial information โfrom prosecutors. DNA testing unavailable at the time of โขthe initial investigation ultimately proved their innocence โand linked Morrissey’s death toโข another perpetrator.
Thomas fusco, Theresa’s father,โฃ was present atโค the arraignment and expressed a โmix of emotions. “It’s heartbreaking to relive โขmy daughter’s death ‘over and over again,’ but expressed hope that the arrest would mark the โฃ’end’ of this terrible experience,” he said,โ holding โขa photograph of his daughter. “I loved her and I miss her. She lives in my heart, as you can see. I neverโข lost hope. I’ve always had faith in the system.”
Bilodeau’s attorney, Jasonโ Russo,โ declined โto comment, stating โคheโค had recently beenโ assigned to the case.
If convicted, Bilodeau โฃfaces a โฃsentence โคof 25 years โto โขlife in prison. The case remains ongoing.
