A Maryland Mom Was Brutally Murdered 23 Years Ago. Cops Just Arrested Her Daughter's Ex-Boyfriend in Connection with the Case.
A 23-year-old murder case may finally get solved due to new evidence coming to light.
Leslie J. Preer from Maryland was found dead in her Chevy Chase home dead on May 2, 2001, the Independent reported.
One of Preer's colleagues alerted police in Montgomery County after she failed to show up at work, authorities stated. Montgomery homicide detective Tara Baione shared that the crime scene was so bloody that she was surprised no one had heard anything.
The neighbors also claimed that they hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary that day. Her death was ruled a homicide.
An autopsy determined that Preer had died partly from blunt-force trauma, the Independent reported. Though an investigation was conducted, the officials had no solid leads.
In 2022, Montgomery County Police sought the public's help to solve the case, Fox5 DC reported.
Police noted that the area where the victim's body was found, a Wisconsin Avenue neighborhood, had a low crime rate, the Independent reported. There were also no reports of disturbances a the Preer household before the incident.
On June 18, Eugene T. Gligor was arrested in D.C. by the US Marshals Service’s Fugitive Task Force in connection with the Preer case after police said new evidence had come to light, the Independent reported.
The blood from the crime scene had been kept in storage by the authorities. In September 2022, police said that the stored blood with DNA was “submitted to a lab for forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis.”
Genetic Genealogical DNA analysis is a method that allows investigators to access samples submitted by customers of certain private genealogical companies, the Independent reported. These genealogical companies have recently become popular amongst people wanting to know about their lineage.
Investigators can use samples submitted by people to these companies, match them with the evidence they have in their custody, and determine if anyone in the customer's family tree is associated with the crime, the Independent reported.
It is unclear how officials concluded that it was Gligor's DNA that allegedly was present on the scene, the NY Post reported.
Lauren Preer, the victim's daughter, was in disbelief hearing about the new development, Fox5 DC reported, since she and the suspect, Gligor, were previously romantically involved. "It’s been a hell of a day!" she said. "He was my ex-boyfriend!"
Lauren Preer and Gligor lived in the same neighborhood — she in Somerset and he in the Kenwood area.
Their families reportedly knew each other and the couple began dating when Lauren Preer was around 15. Later they went their separate ways.
The couple met again last year, in a restaurant in D.C, Fox5 DC reported. Lauren Preer did not notice anything different about him during the meeting.
"I’ve spoken to him. He didn’t seem weird and how you could look someone in the eye and know that you committed this crime and act like nothing happened is pretty unreal," Lauren Preer said.
Gligor, now 44, has been charged with first-degree murder, Montgomery County Department of Police confirmed.
Shiera Goff, a Montgomery police spokeswoman has not provided a motive for murder, the Independent reported. It is unclear what kind of relationship Gligor shared with Leslie Preer.