A man in the US has been charged with murder after samples taken from a drinking straw were linked to DNA found on the body of a teenage girl more than 40 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Richard Bilodeau, 63, of Center Moriches, Long Island, is accused of murdering 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, who disappeared after leaving her part-time job at a roller-skating rink roughly 30 miles from Manhattan, in November 1984.<\/p>\n
Three other men, who were wrongly convicted of Ms Fusco’s killing and served 17 years in prison, were released after being exonerated by DNA evidence in 2003.<\/p>\n
Exclusive – drones flying above UK terrorist prisons<\/a><\/p>\n They sued for wrongful imprisonment, and two were each awarded $18m (\u00a313.4m).<\/p>\n The girl’s remains were found weeks after the assault, buried under leaves in a wooded area near the rink.<\/p>\n Bilodeau, who was 23 and living a mile away from the rink with his grandparents at the time, pleaded not guilty at the Nassau County court in Mineola on 15 October and was remanded in jail.<\/p>\n Fusco’s father, Thomas, told reporters it was “heartbreaking” to relive his daughter’s death “over and over again”, adding “I loved her and I miss her… I never gave up hope. I’ve always had faith in the system.”<\/p>\n “She lives in my heart, as you can see,” Fusco said, showing a picture of Theresa taken from his jacket.<\/p>\n Bilodeau could be jailed for up to 25 years to life, if convicted.<\/p>\n In February 2024, detectives, who said they had developed “multiple investigative leads”, recovered a cup and straw they said Bilodeau had used and thrown away at a smoothie cafe.<\/p>\n DNA extracted from the straw matched a sample taken from Fusco’s body in 1984.<\/p>\n Assistant District Attorney Jared Rosenblatt said that when confronted with the DNA evidence, the suspect said: “Yeah, people got away with murder back then.”<\/p>\n In court, Mr Rosenblatt told him: “It’s 2025, and your day of reckoning is now.”<\/p>\n Fusco was one of three teenage girls who disappeared around the same time, one of whom was a friend of hers.<\/p>\n Kelly Morrissey, 15, went missing earlier in 1984 and was never found.<\/p>\n Jacqueline Martarella, 19, of Oceanside, was found dead the following year at a nearby golf course.<\/p>\n Read more from Sky News: The three men who were wrongfully convicted of killing Fusco worked together as removal workers and one of them had dated Ms Morrissey.<\/p>\n
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