Bombshell twist in 2001 cold case murder as cops arrest suspect with shocking link to the victim’s family
A long-dormant cold case murder in Maryland has finally been solved, but the discovery of the suspect has left the victim’s family reeling.
The accused killer had been in a relationship with the victim’s daughter.
When Leslie Preer’s co-worker arrived at her Chevy Chase home one morning in 2001 because she hadn’t shown up for work that morning, she found blood in the foyer and then her body in an upstairs bedroom. Washingtonpost reported.
She called Montgomery police.
Investigators concluded her death was a homicide due to blunt force trauma inflicted during a struggle.
However, as there were no leads, Preer’s case remained cold for years.
That was until DNA advances made it possible for evidence collected at the scene on June 9 to match someone who knew the victim’s daughter, Lauren Preer, all too well.
“It was a great day… ‘He was my ex-boyfriend!’ she said Fox 5 DC.
Twenty-three years ago, Leslie Preer’s (pictured) co-worker went to check on her co-worker in the town of Chevy Chase after she failed to show up for work. After finding blood in the foyer, the coworker called Montgomery police, who found Preer’s body in an upstairs bedroom.
Leslie Preer’s death was ruled a homicide, but because there were no leads, her case remained cold for years. That is, until DNA evidence collected at the scene on June 9 recently matched someone who knew the victim’s daughter, Lauren Preer, all too well (Photo: The house in which Leslie’s body was found)
Lauren and Gligor grew up in the same neighborhood and their families were friends.
“We started dating when we were 15, so his family and my family knew each other,” Lauren said.
Police have not revealed whether Lauren and Gligor were still dating at the time of Preer’s murder.
Oddly enough, Lauren had run into Gligor at a DC restaurant under normal pretenses this past year.
He acted as if nothing had happened.
‘I spoke to him. He didn’t look weird, and how you can look someone in the eye and know you committed this crime and act like nothing happened is pretty surreal,” she said.
In 2022, detectives re-examined blood collected from the crime scene in 2001 using new forensic genealogy to establish a DNA link, which then led them to 44-year-old Eugene Gligor.
When asked if Gligor was ever on her radar as a potential suspect, Lauren replied, “No, not at all.”
Montgomery County Police Chief Nicholas Augustine attributed the cold case arrest to significant advances in forensic technology.
“It’s the forensic genealogy that helped us find a name or DNA relationship to link it to the victim,” Augustinus said. “It will take us many years, whether it’s 20 or 40 years, to find the answers and hold people accountable for violent incidents that have occurred in the past.”
DNA evidence collected at the scene on June 9 recently matched someone who knew the victim’s daughter, Lauren Preer, all too well. ‘It was a great day!’ she told Fox 5 DC. “He was my ex-boyfriend!”
In 2022, detectives re-examined blood evidence recovered from the crime scene in 2001 and used forensic genealogy to establish a DNA link, which led them to 44-year-old Eugene Gligor, who was Lauren’s ex-boyfriend in high school was school.
After the case went cold for years, authorities even offered a $10,000 reward for anyone who provided information leading to an arrest in 2022.
Gligor was arrested on Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Sunday.
The suspect is currently in DC and awaiting extradition to Montgomery County, Maryland.
It is unclear if he has entered a plea at this time.
Police have not revealed whether Lauren and Gligor were still dating at the time of Leslie’s murder (pictured).