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A killer nobody expected has pleaded guilty in the 2001 murder of a Chevy Chase, Maryland, mother.
Defendant Eugene Gligor, 45, of Washington, D.C., walked free through the nation’s capital for more than 20 years before his DNA linked him to then-50-year-old Leslie Preer’s murder in 2001.
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Preer’s daughter, Lauren Preer, told FOX 5 D.C. that she dated the suspect when they were both 15 years old. She was 24 when her mother was killed.
Montgomery County authorities linked DNA found beneath Preer’s fingernails at the time of her murder to Gligor’s “distant relative from Romania” who had voluntarily submitted her DNA to an online database, ultimately leading authorities directly to him last year, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said during a Wednesday press conference.
CALIFORNIA 1977 COLD-CASE MURDER SUSPECT IDENTIFIED AS 69-YEAR-OLD FORMER ARMY PRIVATE LIVING IN OHIO
Defendant Eugene Gligor, 45, of Washington, D.C., walked free through the nation’s capital for more than 20 years before his DNA linked him to then-50-year-old Leslie Preer’s murder in 2001.(Montgomery County State’s Attorney)
Gligor had lived in the D.C. area since committing the gruesome crime some 24 years ago. Fox News Digital has reached out to his attorney for comment.
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“Lauren, her family, and friends have waited 24 years to finally get closure and justice for this horrific crime that tore her family apart,” family attorney Benjamin Kurtz told Fox News Digital. “The fact that it turned out to be someone they allowed in their home with open arms, just makes it that much harder to understand.”
CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL TAKES STANCE ON MENENDEZ BROTHERS PROSECUTOR STAYING ON CASE AMID RESENTENCING BATTLE
Kurtz added that “Lauren has been given a sense of peace knowing that her father has finally been vindicated of any wrongdoing, even if after his death, and she feels he can finally rest in peace with the knowledge her killer has been caught.”
She also “wanted to express her gratitude to the Montgomery County Police Department who never stopped trying to get justice for her family and to the State’s Attorney’s Office for their efforts of securing a guilty plea from Leslie’s murderer.”
“Lastly, while the guilty plea will never bring back her mother, or create any of the moments she never got to experience due to losing her at such a young age, she and her family can finally have some closure to this horrific loss and try to start the healing process,” Kurtz said. “She wanted to express her sincere appreciation to all of her family and friends for the love and support over the years and decades and during the last year waiting for a conviction.”
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Preer’s boss found her dead in the second story of her Chevy Chase home on May 2, 2001, after she did not show up for work that day and ruled her death a homicide. There was blood all over the house.(Montgomery County State’s Attorney)
Preer’s boss found her dead in the second story of her Chevy Chase home on May 2, 2001, after she did not show up for work that day. Her death was ruled a homicide. There was blood all over the house, McCarthy said.
She died of blunt force trauma and strangulation.
In 2022, police submitted DNA collected from the crime scene to a lab for forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis and later identified Gligor as a potential suspect.
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McCarthy called Preer’s case “historic” during a May 7 press conference, saying it was the first time familial DNA was used in a cold-case murder in the county.
ATTEMPTED MURDER FUGITIVE BUSTED AS 40-YEAR SCHEME POSING AS DEAD COLLEGE MATE UNRAVELS
“This was excellent police work that took place for over two decades,” former Washington, D.C., homicide detective Ted Williams told Fox News Digital. “This is how science, familial DNA, was able to help law enforcement catch a person who felt that they had committed the crime.… The fact that the DNA that was found under [Preer’s] fingernails was preserved all of those years and was later used to track down Mr. Gligor – he would have gotten away with murder, absent having this… near-exact science, and that is familial DNA.”
“[H]e would have gotten away with murder.”
— Ted Williams
Authorities obtained a sample of Gligor’s DNA by staging a fake second security screening at Dulles International Airport. They escorted the then-suspect into a room, where there were several water bottles. Gligor drank one water bottle and threw it away before leaving the room, according to court filings obtained by The Washington Post.
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John McCarthy, speaking on Lauren Preer’s behalf during the Wednesday press conference, remembered Leslie Preer as a “spectacular, loving, wonderful person.”(Facebook)
“There are times, unfortunately, when the evidence that is gathered at a crime scene does not lead in any one specific direction,” Williams said. “I am sure that at the early stages of the investigation, the investigators were looking at anybody they believed may very well have been involved with this murder, but [Gligor] did not come up on their radar screen. That happens in murder cases all the time… and at some stage or another, the development of the scientific evidence… is something or two that law enforcement now have in their possession to go back many, many years.”
Gligor worked at a real-estate firm and was known as a “zen” and friendly person, the Post reported last year, when he was named as a suspect.
DNA SAMPLE TIES ELDERLY MAN TO 40-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE MURDER OF TEXAS WOMAN
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Court records and accounts from those who knew him obtained by the Post show that he was a mischievous high-schooler with some history of substance abuse. His parents divorced while he and Lauren were dating in high school, and he did not take the separation well. He was also expelled from boarding school, the Post reported.
Following Preer’s death, when friends and family offered support to Lauren, Gligor apparently drove cross-country to visit a friend in Oregon while Lauren was grieving. That friend told the Post that Gligor didn’t tell him he was coming to Oregon until he was already on his way.
Lauren recalled a moment years before her mother’s murder, when she and Gligor were still dating, when Gligor was accused of assaulting a woman on a bike path between the two then-teenagers’ houses. Lauren told the Post she went to the police station with a friend, insisting to officers that Gligor was innocent.
“We both said, there is no way Eugene would have done this,” Preer recalled to the Post.
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Authorities have not shared any kind of motive behind Preer’s murder. McCarthy said it will be up to the defendant to share what the motive was in his decision to kill Preer, adding later that there was no evidence to suggest the murder was “premeditated,” and Preer had no criminal record.
McCarthy, speaking on Lauren’s behalf during the Wednesday press conference, remembered Preer as a “spectacular, loving, wonderful person.”
Gligor faces up to 30 years in prison, which was the maximum penalty for second-degree murder in 2001 when the incident occurred. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 28, 2025, at 9 a.m.
CONCORD, NH — A grand jury in Merrimack County recently indicted the individuals listed below.
Robert S. Bzdula III, 23, of West Chrisco Road in Seagrove, North Carolina, on a felony count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault. He was accused of exposing his erect penis in front of a child under 13 between Dec. 1, 2022, and July 26, 2025, in Dunbarton.
John Camden, 42, a homeless man now located in Concord, on a felony controlled drug, prohibited-fentanyl, on Jan. 6 in Concord.
Timothy Casey, 24, a member of Concord’s unhoused community, on a felony receiving stolen property charge. He was accused of possessing stolen copper pipes from Yamas on South Main Street in Concord, on March 18.
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Keyan Chambers, 30, of Brown Avenue in Manchester, on second-degree assault and second-degree assault-attempt charges. He was accused of assaulting a child in Pembroke, causing hemorrhaging to his neck on March 27, 2025. Between March 1 and March 31, 2025, Chambers pushed the child against the wall, “toward the commission of… strangulation,” according to an indictment, in Pembroke.
Megan R. Champagne, 40, a homeless woman now located in Concord, on a felony count of conspiracy to commit theft by unauthorized taking. She agreed with David King to steal a tent from Target in Concord on Dec. 10, 2025, according to the indictment.
Sarai J. Chapman, 35, of Spofford Street in Claremont, on a felony possession of methamphetamine charge on Nov. 25, 2025, in Henniker.
Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Merrimack County Superior Court and does not indicate a conviction. This linkexplains how to request the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.
Amanda S. Colgan, 38, of Main Street in Claremont, on a felony count of controlled drug act; acts prohibited-meth in Bradford on Dec. 30, 2025.
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Jay Thomas Johnson, 50, of Woodbryer Avenue in Greensborough, North Carolina, on a felony count of identity fraud. He was accused of posing as another and requesting the man’s detailed banking information at Merrimack County Savings Bank in Concord on Oct. 6, 2025.
Matthew W. Kelly, 46, with a last known address of Robie Road in Salisbury, on a felony count of penalty; registration of criminal offenders. He was accused of failing to let Concord police of his residence on Feb. 2. Kelly is a Tier III sex offender due to a rape conviction in Massachusetts in September 2003.
Stephanie M. Kelly, 37, of Pheasant Lane in Manchester, on a felony controlled drug act; acts prohibited-meth charge on May 8, 2024, in Hooksett.
Kayleigh King, 23, of Union Street in Concord, on a felony assault by prisoners charge. While in the Merrimack County Jail in Boscawen, she was accused of kicking a corrections officer in the stomach on Feb. 20.
Timothy J. Leclair, 45, of Canterbury, on possession of fentanyl and possession of a fentanyl and meth mix charges, both felonies, on May 4, 2025, in Hooksett.
The Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey opened its new Dreamlab in Paramus on June 5, where girls will learn robotics, crafting and indoor camping.
Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey will podcast, learn robotics and experience indoor camping thanks to a new DreamLab that opened in Paramus on June 5.
The 12,000-square-foot DreamLab, the second of its kind in the state and 12th in the country, will offer a variety of labs, workspaces, meeting rooms and other multipurpose spaces to serve North Jersey’s 19,000 Girl Scouts. The organization, open to ages 5 to 18, serves Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties and the northern half of Warren County.
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The center held a ribbon-cutting on Friday morning with Girl Scout leadership and local dignitaries, including County Executive Jim Tedesco, Commissioner Tracy Zur and Assemblymembers Lisa Swain and Chris Tully.
The Girl Scouts owned the 300 Forest Ave. location for 50 years, primarily using it as office space, but decided to reimagine the space in a $3 million renovation to create new programming space for its members.
Seeing the DreamLab get off the ground was important to Tedesco, whose mother helped found the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey branch. During the opening ceremony, he recounted his days spent at Girl Scout camp in the summers.
“It actually shaped who I am today,” said Tedesco. “It was what helped make me realize that I wanted to give back to my community as I grew up.”
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Tedesco said the space will act as a community hub not just for Girl Scouts, but for nonprofits, local schools and organizations.
A few older scouts lead a design team to help the organization plan activities that would best prepare their fellow members for the world, like investing in robotics and other STEM related activities.
“We worked together not only to design a space where girls of all ages can come to enrich themselves, but also select programs that we believe can be highly beneficial and educational,” said 18-year-old Yasmine Lalani, one of the Girl Scout design team ambassadors.
One scout alumni, 19-year-old Isabella Santa Cruz of Glen Rock, even worked with the center to help build a sensory room as a safe space for neurodivergent members.
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“Inclusion isn’t just a feature, but a foundation of meaningful impact,” Santa Cruz said. “The sensory room provides a peaceful sanctuary to escape the noise, listen to their inner voices and develop the self-awareness they need to lead.”
During the DreamLab’s first day, visitors could try out the space’s many features, including a podcast room, 3D printers, a kid-safe power tool called a Chomp Saw and test out Sphero BOLT, a robotic ball that is controlled and programmed with an app.
“I’m really excited for the girls to come in here,” said Nicole Ricci, 23, a Girl Scout alumni helping people try the Sphero BOLT. “It will be a great space for them to be creative and learn.”
Sandra Kenoff, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, is hopeful the DreamLab will inspire the next generation of leaders.
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“From the beginning, we were committed to ensuring this space reflects the voices of the girls and the communities we serve,” said Kenoff.
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (WFMZ) — 59 creameries across the Commonwealth are serving up a sweet summer connecting dairy lovers with Pennsylvania farms.
June 4 kicked off the Ninth Annual Scooped Ice Cream Trail.
Ice cream lovers can register online and fill out a digital passport as they visit participating creameries. Each visit earns points towards various prizes.
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The owners of Batch Microcreamery in Center Valley tell 69 News they’re excited to be part of the trail for the third year in a row, attracting visitors locally and out-of-state.
“This is the third location of the ice cream trail that I’ve been on,” said Kamden Acevedo.
Acevedo is originally from Staten Island and said he’s motivated to try other locations on the trail throughout the state.
“I love ice cream. I’m going to try, I’m going to try my hardest honestly,” Acevedo stated.
Dana Reibman and her daughter are just happy for the sweet treat.
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“We’re all up for ice cream all the time. We come here probably about once a month because we like trying the different flavors. As you can see, she really enjoys the cookie monster flavor,” Reibman explained.
