More than 20 years after a brutal murder in Chevy Chase, Montgomery County Police said they’ve caught the guy who did it. Leslie Preer was found dead in her home, and thanks to DNA evidence, cops were able to arrest her alleged killer this week.
On Tuesday police announced they arrested Preer’s daughter’s former boyfriend, Eugene Gligor.
In May 2001, detectives said they were called to the home on Drummond Avenue by Preer’s colleagues when she didn't show up for work.
Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department was assigned to the Bethesda district as a sergeant back in the early 2000s, and he still remembers the fear felt by neighbors.
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“There were a lot of people on edge as a result because no one knew, right? What was the motive, right? Who was responsible?” Jones said.
He said detectives recovered DNA evidence from the scene after the murder, but they weren't able to connect the dots until earlier this month.
“The DNA evidence came back to a male subject. That’s all we knew,” Jones said. “In this particular case, they were able to track back to the defendant in this case and identify him as a possible suspect.”
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Gligor was arrested in D.C. and is now facing a first degree murder charge, but Jones said the investigation is far from over.
“We never give up, we never forget,” he said. “We empathize with victim’s families. We’re not going to stop investigating cases no matter what.”
Jones said detectives spent most of the day interviewing the suspect as they try to figure out an exact motive.