A person remained in jail Thursday after federal authorities arrested him in reference to the 2001 Maryland chilly case dying of a former girlfriend’s mom.
A U.S. marshals process drive arrested Eugene Teodor Gligor, 44, in neighboring Washington on Saturday primarily based on a warrant alleging he killed Leslie Preer.
In an announcement this week, the Montgomery County Police Division mentioned the person has been charged in its jurisdiction with first-degree homicide.
It wasn’t clear whether or not Gligor has retained authorized counsel, and a spokesperson for the general public defender’s workplace in Montgomery County mentioned it was most certainly too early to find out whether or not it can characterize him. A girl listed on-line as a attainable relative of Gligor’s did not reply to a voicemail searching for remark.
Gligor was being held by the Washington Corrections Division on Thursday, based on its inmate info. Montgomery County police mentioned of their assertion that they requested that he stay in custody in Washington pending extradition to Maryland.
Preer’s homicide shocked a area that features well-to-do communities equivalent to Chevy Chase and Bethesda. Preer was reported useless simply earlier than midday on Could 2, 2001, at her Chevy Chase-area dwelling after her employer referred to as her husband to say she didn’t report back to work that day, police mentioned.
Her employer and her husband went to the household’s residence to examine on her, discovered her physique and referred to as police, authorities mentioned in a earlier assertion.
Preer’s physique appeared to have suffered trauma, police mentioned, however the actual approach she was killed hasn’t been shared so it might be utilized in court docket ought to anybody be tried.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones instructed NBC Washington the assault was felt far and large in his county. “There have been lots of people on edge,” he mentioned.
In 2022, county police introduced that chilly case detectives would take over the two-decade-old investigation with contemporary eyes.
Jones instructed NBC Washington that DNA from the scene of the murder at first indicated solely that the killer could be male. However the expertise used to extract and determine DNA has turn into extra exacting in 20 years.
In recent times, investigators have thawed chilly instances by checking familial DNA databases for close to matches with crime scene DNA. In the event that they discover close to matches, they will then use different clues and customary sense to remove relations till they cease at one relative they imagine suits a case.
Within the case of Gligor, police mentioned, investigators “collected” DNA proof from him however in any other case would not elaborate. A pattern collected from him is a match for DNA left on the crime scene 23 years in the past, police mentioned.
Preer’s daughter did not instantly reply to a request for remark.
Jones mentioned the motive was nonetheless being investigated. He mentioned his detectives spent hours interviewing Gligor over the weekend, attempting to find out why he might need attacked Preer.
