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Detective Freddie Goldman
Kelly Morrissey was a young girl who didn't like to stay. She liked to hang out with her friends. June 12, 1984 Kelly walks to a payphone near a Shell gas station over on Merrick Road in Lynbrook and meets up with another one of her friends and they make some phone calls. After that payphone, we don't know where Kelly went.
Vicky Papagno
Knowing Kelly, there is no way. I believe she ran away.
Narrator/Reporter
No.
Interviewer/Host
And then on November 10, 1984, just five months later, y disappears.
Detective Freddie Goldman
Yes.
Interviewer/Host
And what is the initial thought?
Detective Freddie Goldman
The initial thought is there might be a connection. Theresa worked at the roller rink on Merrick Road in Lynbrook. Hot Skates.
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
And for her to go to Hot Skates, she would have to walk in this direction down the street.
Narrator/Reporter
Did you ever worry about her walking?
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
No, I never really worried about her
Detective Freddie Goldman
walking anywhere in the neighborhood. That evening. She apparently got fired. She's upset and then she leaves.
Interviewer/Host
Wasn't she supposed to go to Lisa Kaplan's house?
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Yeah.
Detective Freddie Goldman
Her best friend. Yeah.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
She was going to come to my house after she got off of work and sleepover.
Interviewer/Host
So it becomes like 9 o', clock.
Narrator/Reporter
She's not there.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Yep.
Interviewer/Host
9:30, not there.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
10 o'.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
Clock.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I just thought maybe she went home. Well, the next morning her mother called and her mom asked my mom, can you please have Lisa send Theresa home? And my mom said, theresa's not here. Her mom called the police department. We went to all the places we would hang out and she wasn't anywhere that we searched.
Vicky Papagno
It's just very coincidental. Same neighborhood, same time frame, two girls who knew each other. I'm like, something's not right. Something's just not right.
Detective Freddie Goldman
And then 25 days later, there's two boys coming back to hang out here in the woods. They see a body and they run to the deli and ask to call 91 1. Police show up and they find Theresa Fusco. Teresa had been strangled, beaten and raped.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
It truly was shattering at 16 to never have lost anybody that you loved in such a horrific way. You just can't get over that.
Detective Freddie Goldman
But until there's a connection in the two cases, one's still a missing girl and now one's a homicide. John Koga was brought in by the detectives as a suspect in the murder of Teresa Fosco. And during that time, he confessed to the murder of Teresa.
John Kogut
We decided that I had to kill her.
Detective Freddie Goldman
And then during that confession, he implicated two of his buddies.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
And when I saw the three men who were arrested in handcuffs, I thought to myself, who are these people? They're older.
Interviewer/Host
Who are they? The theory was always it was three guys.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
Yeah.
Interviewer/Host
And the DNA didn't match any of them?
Detective Freddie Goldman
No, it didn't.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
If they didn't do it, then who did it?
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Today we arraigned 63 year old Richard Bilodo for the murder of Teresa Fusco.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
And I said, okay, here we go again.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
Erin Moriarty reports The killing of Teresa Fusco.
Narrator/Reporter
First, 15 year old Kelly Morrissey vanished into the night. On June 12, 1984. She left her home after dinner and never came back. Five months later, it was her friend, Teresa Fusco. On November 10, 1984, the 16 year old left her job at Hot Skates, a popular roller rink, never to be heard from again. 41 years ago, trying to find them was a different job. Police had to look for real footprints, not digital ones, and it was easy to vanish without a trace. Kelly Morrissey and Teresa Fusco were growing up in the suburbs of Long Island. Vicky Papagno lived around the corner from Kelly in Massapequa.
Vicky Papagno
She actually was. The first person I ever smoked a cigarette with was Kelly. I was from a divorced family, she was from a divorced family. We connected that way. She was like my sister. I never had.
Narrator/Reporter
When they were in junior high, Kelly's family moved about 10 miles away to Lynbrook. By then, Kelly had made some new friends.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
One of the first people that she met when she moved to Lynbrook was Theresa Fusco.
Narrator/Reporter
Kelly's mother Iris, and her then fiance, Paul Olmstead watched the friendship develop.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
She was very good friends with Teresa and so she made friends very easily.
Narrator/Reporter
She met her friends at malls and in person. Kids roamed around freely. No one could keep tabs on each other. 24 7. It was a different time and Kelly Morrissey and Teresa Fusco were typical teens for 1984.
Detective Freddie Goldman
Well, let's take them on a little stroll down memory lane.
Narrator/Reporter
That was the year Ronald Reagan was president. Ghostbusters and Footloose were the breakout hits. Madonna was climbing the charts and fashion followed. It was the year Steve Jobs introduced something revolutionary.
John Kogut
Hello, I am Magenta.
Vicky Papagno
We didn't have cell phones, social media, so we were pen pals. We would get our stationery and we would just write back and forth and that's how we communicated.
Narrator/Reporter
When Vicki was visiting Kelly, she would sometimes hang out with Teresa, who also became her pen pal.
Vicky Papagno
Postmark 1982, from Lynbrook, New York, from Teresa Fusco. And it says, Dear Vicki. Hi, what's up? Nothing much here. When are you going to visit Kelly again? When you do, call me, okay? How's all the boys there? They cute.
Narrator/Reporter
In Lynbrook, by far the best place to meet boys was at Hot Skates, as advertised here in 1984.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
What are you doing tonight?
Vicky Papagno
Oh, we would go to Hot Skates roller rink. We would go there, roller skate around.
Interviewer/Host
How important was Hot Skates in your life?
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Oh, Hot Skates was A big deal to everybody that lived in the area, even outside of the area. We would just go there and hang out with our friends and listen to music.
Narrator/Reporter
Lisa Kaplan, now Johnson, was Teresa Fusco's closest friend.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
We always would try to dress very similar. We would buy the same clothing. We would wear our makeup the same.
Narrator/Reporter
Did you guys confide in each other about everything?
Interviewer/Host
Literally everything.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Literally everything.
Narrator/Reporter
No one gave safety a second thought.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
You could walk absolutely anywhere and not be afraid of anything in the dark during the day, alone with friends.
Narrator/Reporter
And that explains why it was business as usual at the Morrissey house a couple miles away. When 15 year old Kelly walked out the front door alone after dinner. She said she'd be back by 9:30. It was June 12, 1984. Iris didn't give it a second thought. She and Paul were raising eight children together.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
Somebody came in. I heard somebody in the kitchen, yelled down, I'm home. And okay. You could hear doors opening, closing, kids coming in and out. And I took it. It was Kelly. It wasn't till the next morning when she didn't come down to go to school that I went down there and realized that her bed wasn't made and the clothes were still there and she hadn't come in.
Interviewer/Host
I mean, were you panicking at that point, Iris?
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
Oh, yeah. And then we called the police, but they told us that she wasn't missing 24 hours at that point. And they really wouldn't take up a report on those days. They waited.
Narrator/Reporter
Nassau county detective Freddie Goldman would review both Teresa and Kelly's cases some 25 years later. He's retired now, but he agreed to walk us through the timeline and the evidence from back then. At the time of Kelly's disappearance, he says police found no reason to think there was a crime. It seemed like she was a runaway.
Detective Freddie Goldman
There's tons of missing persons cases on a daily basis.
Interviewer/Host
Is that how Kelly Morrissey's case was initially handled?
Detective Freddie Goldman
Of course, yeah.
Vicky Papagno
At 15 years old, she wouldn't know how to do life unless somebody was there to help her. I don't foresee her ever just running away and not talking to anyone, not reaching out to anyone. So I knew it was serious from day one.
Narrator/Reporter
Months went by with no sign of Kelly.
Interviewer/Host
That had to be so tough.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
Oh, it was. I mean, everywhere I went, every child from the back looked like Kelly had stopped to look to see if it was Kelly. It was horrible.
Narrator/Reporter
If Kelly had been written off as a runaway and not a priority, five months later, her case got a second look. It was November 10th Teresa Fusco never showed up at Lisa's house for their sleepover.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I thought maybe she went to somebody else's house, and so I called a few friends and said, you know, did Theresa come over? At that point, I still wasn't overly concerned.
Narrator/Reporter
Theresa's parents were divorced the next morning. Her father, Thomas, had a scheduled visit and arrived at his ex's house to pick up his daughter.
Interviewer/Host
How soon did you realize that this was a problem?
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
I know my wife and I looked at each other and said, something's not right here. We realized this is out of norm. What do we do now?
Interviewer/Host
When did you become really concerned?
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I became really concerned when she wasn't ready for school on Monday morning. We walked to school every morning. Why wasn't she there?
Narrator/Reporter
Monday came and went. It would be almost a month before anyone knew what had happened to Teresa.
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Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
This is my daughter, Teresa. She was my precious little girl.
Narrator/Reporter
For Teresa Fusco's father, Thomas, and her brother John, we were happy. It seemed as though the entire town of Lynbrook was out looking for her.
Interviewer/Host
How big was the search?
John Fusco (Teresa's Brother)
Everyone. And then some. Everybody everywhere.
Narrator/Reporter
Nearly a month later, not far from Hot Skates and near the Long island railroad tracks, Teresa's body was discovered beaten, raped and strangled, buried under a pile of leaves and wooden shipping pallets. Thomas and John are still haunted by where she was found.
John Fusco (Teresa's Brother)
I looked over it twice. Yeah, I didn't know she was under the pallet. We just walked over the pallet and I'm glad I didn't find her. That would have killed me.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I never heard the word homicide.
Narrator/Reporter
So when two homicide detectives arrived at Lisa's house, she didn't yet understand what that meant.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
And they said, well, we think we found her. My heart started to race. I started to get excited thinking, my God, thank God they found her. And then they told me that they found a body at 16.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
It was life shattering when her body was found. It was a shock, not just to the limber community, but I think to all of Nassau County.
Narrator/Reporter
Ann Donnelly would grow up to be the Nassau County District Attorney. But before that, she had a childhood a lot like Teresa Fusco's.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
I used to hang out at Hot Skates when I was a kid. I was in college when it happened. It changed the way we saw the world back in the 80s. It changed all that. Not for the better.
Vicky Papagno
These are news articles I collected throughout the years on this case.
Narrator/Reporter
41 years later, Vicky Papagno keeps a sad scrapbook. It Tells a story of losing her tooth. Friends Teresa and Kelly.
Vicky Papagno
This one which includes both of them. Lynbrook girl missing second from the village.
Narrator/Reporter
Kelly had been missing for nearly six months when Theresa was found.
Vicky Papagno
It's just too coincidental to me. I feel like whoever committed Theresa could have something to do with Kelly.
Interviewer/Host
You have two girls who went missing and then one who was murdered.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Yep.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I was afraid to be home alone at nighttime. It was frightening because we had no answers.
Narrator/Reporter
Investigators on Teresa's case had very little to go on. No footprints, no fingerprints, no murder weapon. Hair samples were taken from Teresa. Also a sexual assault swab. But DNA testing had not advanced enough to find out who it belonged to. While looking for links between the two girls, they zeroed in on John Kogut, a 21 year old landscaper who told detectives he had dated Kelly for about a week.
Vicky Papagno
I've heard the name John Colgart before. It was early right when she first started liking him or dating him.
Narrator/Reporter
Kogut was asked about Kelly's disappearance. He also was asked about about Teresa's killing and denied any knowledge of it. Cogutt agreed to come in and take a polygraph test. Four days later he did and police told him he failed it. Cogutt was interrogated through the night and into the next morning. After nearly 12 hours of questioning, his denials changed. Nassau county detective Joseph Ferrari Volpe wrote down what he said. Kogut told him that on the night Teresa went missing, Kogut was with John Restivo and Dennis Halstead in John's van when they saw Teresa walking away from hot skates. Dennis Halstead was known to investigators back then, says Freddie Goldman. He had had some minor brushes with police.
Detective Freddie Goldman
Dennis. Dennis Halstead had an apartment adjacent to the Shell gas station where Kelly was last seen. At that payphone. We were told that Kelly hung out in that apartment frequently. She had the key to his apartment.
Interviewer/Host
It sounds like Dennis Halstead was viewed kind of as a bad influence on the younger kids in the area.
Detective Freddie Goldman
It would seem. Yeah.
Narrator/Reporter
John Restivo was more of a clean slate.
Detective Freddie Goldman
He was a working fellow. Although he was friends with them. He didn't have a background like them. He didn't hang out in Dennis apartment or that we knew of.
Narrator/Reporter
Police took Hogan to the district attorney's office where he was videotaped.
Assistant District Attorney George Peck
I want to talk to you about the death of Teresa Fusco.
Detective Freddie Goldman
He was interviewed by Assistant District attorney George Peck. He agreed to go on video
Interviewer/Host
camera.
Narrator/Reporter
Rolling. Kogut detailed what happened to Teresa once she got into the van that night. Kogut told investigators that Teresa was raped twice by Dennis Halsted and John Restivo. When she said she was going to tell somebody, they couldn't let that happen,
John Kogut
we decided that I had to kill her. And Dennis told her that she had died.
Assistant District Attorney George Peck
And what did. Did John agree to this too?
John Kogut
John didn't say nothing.
Narrator/Reporter
And then John Kogut describes how he killed Theresa.
Assistant District Attorney George Peck
And then what happened after you got the rope?
John Kogut
I wrapped it around the neck twice and then I tightened it like this. And then her body was limp.
Narrator/Reporter
John Kogut would later recant everything he told police. But on that day, Goldman says investigators were confident they had Teresa Fusco's killer in custody and had the evidence they needed to prove it. But later on that very same day, another teenage girl went missing. March 26, 1985. When 19 year old Jackie Martarella didn't show up to start her shift at Burger King, her older brother Martin knew something was off.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
She's very prompt. She was very dependable.
And for her to not show up the most, we knew there was something wrong.
Narrator/Reporter
Most nights, Jackie walked to work from the family home in Oceanside, a town a few miles away from Lynbrook. How would she get there if she's walking? What was the route she would take
Interviewer/Host
to go to Burger King?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
Pretty much straight down Long Beach Road.
Interviewer/Host
Did you ever worry about her walking?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
Not really, no. No.
Narrator/Reporter
Jackie had recently graduated from high school. She was working part time and taking accounting classes, saving money to buy a car. How would you describe your sister?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
Describe her?
Narrator/Reporter
She was very girly, complete with posters of teen pop stars on her bedroom wall.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
I remember Leif Garrett, whoever he was.
Interviewer/Host
I remember Leif Garrett.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
There was hostess of that. She was into dance. She liked doing that. She liked her clothes, Meg finicky with her clothes.
Narrator/Reporter
And now she was missing.
Interviewer/Host
So what did you and your father do?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
I think we called the police and then they took notes and then they started looking and then those other two came up and they were, you know, saying, look what's happening here. So it became. Everybody became interested.
Narrator/Reporter
Nearly a month went by with no sign of Jackie.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
You know, all the worst thoughts go through your mind when something like that happens. And of course, what happened to happen, it's the worst of the worst. They found her body 26 days later in Woodmere Golf Course.
Narrator/Reporter
April 22, 1985. A man looking for golf balls in the high grass off the 17th hole found a naked body. It was Jackie.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
She was murdered, obviously, and discarded.
Narrator/Reporter
According to former Nassau county detective Freddie Goldman, Jackie was left the same way. Teresa Fusco had been raped and strangled initially.
Interviewer/Host
Did investigators think, oh, my God, these cases all have to be connected?
Detective Freddie Goldman
Yes and no. But with Kogart sitting there, it kind of, you know, it threw a monkey wrench and everything.
Narrator/Reporter
John Kogut, the man who had confessed to killing Teresa Fusco, was in police custody.
Detective Freddie Goldman
How could he be the killer if we had him in custody the same day that she went missing? So obviously it wasn't him yet. Could it be a Holstead Restivo?
Narrator/Reporter
But no, Jackie's homicide was not going to be easy to solve. Her body was so badly decomposed, no DNA swab could be taken.
Detective Freddie Goldman
I'm sure it heightened the alertness and awareness of the community, because now you know that there's somebody out there that's, you know, going after young girls.
Narrator/Reporter
Kelly Morrissey was still missing. Police knew she had hung out at Dennis Halsted's apartment, but there was nothing more to tie Halstead or Cogut to her disappearance.
Interviewer/Host
Was there any evidence that indicated that they were involved in Kelly's disappearance?
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
No.
Narrator/Reporter
No. Theresa Fosco's killing was the only case police could pin down. By June 1985, John Kogut, John Restivo, and Dennis Halstead had all been charged with her rape and murder, and all three pledged pleaded not guilty. Kogut went on trial first. Later, Halstead and Restivo were tried together.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I remember sitting in the witness box testifying, and the district attorney saying, please speak louder.
Narrator/Reporter
Lisa Johnson was just 18 and a star witness.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
And here I am, you know, sitting there, very meek and timid and in a room full of strangers, testifying about my friend who was killed. It was difficult. It still is difficult.
Narrator/Reporter
John Kogut offered an alibi, and according to a New Yorker magazine investigation, the van police said was used in Teresa's abduction was actually out of commission and up on cinder blocks the day Teresa went missing. But two hairs belonging to Teresa that police say they recovered from the floor of Restivo's van were too powerful to ignore. And Kogut's detailed confession trumped everything.
John Kogut
I wrapped it around the neck.
Narrator/Reporter
By February of 1987, Kogut, Halsey, and Restivo had been convicted of the rape and murder of Teresa Fusco and sentenced to more than 30 years to life. It had by then been two long years for Teresa's dad. He and the rest of her family tried to move on.
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
We thought believingly that there was time for closure. We had gone to parents of murdered children. We had support, and they were looking for support, and we were looking for support, closure.
Narrator/Reporter
But there was no closure. What prosecutors had insisted was an airtight case against the three men was going to blow up spectacularly. In 2003, nearly 19 years after Teresa was killed, more sophisticated DNA testing became available. It told a different story. John Kogut, John Restevo and Dennis Halsted's convictions were all overturned. Just six hours ago, after 17 years in prison, the murder rape convictions of three Long island men were overturned following stunning new DNA evidence. And new testing not only ruled out Kogut, Halsted and Restivo, it pointed to someone else entirely. Another unknown male. Everything Teresa Fusco's family and friends thought they knew about her killing and her killer was changing.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Wait a second. There was investigation. Investigations. We trusted the detectives. We trusted the police to do the right thing. How could they do this to us?
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Lloyd Lockridge (Podcast Host)
Lloyd Lockridge and I'm the host of a new podcast from Odyssey called Family Lore. In this podcast, I'm going to have people on to tell unusual and sometimes far fetched stories about their families.
Narrator/Reporter
I've heard my whole life that she invented the margarita.
Lloyd Lockridge (Podcast Host)
And then we're going to investigate those stories and find out how much of it is true.
Narrator/Reporter
He gets a patent one month before the Wright Brothers. Oh my God.
Lloyd Lockridge (Podcast Host)
Please follow and listen to Family Lore an Odyssey podcast available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your shows.
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Narrator/Reporter
After almost 18 years, John. John Restivo and Dennis Halstead were out of prison and in the arms of their families. I waited for this for 18 years and I'm just. I'm sorry.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
I'm just really.
Narrator/Reporter
I just can't believe it's happening. But their legal problems were not over. Nassau County District attorney Dennis Dillon had decided to retry all things for the murder of Teresa Fusco, starting with John Cogut, who again pleaded not guilty. There was still his videotaped confession, and that became the centerpiece of the case against Kogut at his second trial in September 2005.
John Kogut
We decided that I had to kill him.
Narrator/Reporter
The confession, the prosecution argued, was more important than all other evidence, even the new DNA.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
When I saw the video, I go, whoa, it looks like it's legit.
Narrator/Reporter
But Cogut's defense attorney, Paul Castillero, says the video is misleading. As damaging as Kogut's statements sound, he says, it's what you don't see on camera that matters.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
Part of it is, you know, it's staged.
Narrator/Reporter
There is a detective sitting off camera
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
watching it and monitoring it and making sure it goes right. It's like a play.
Narrator/Reporter
Here. Kogut struggles with names. Teresa Fusco, Theresa Fosco, even his alleged accomplice's name.
John Kogut
John Restivo, Dennis Shapiro.
Narrator/Reporter
And then asks for help.
John Kogut
What's his last name?
Assistant District Attorney George Peck
Well, are you talking to Detective Alfe, who's also in the room?
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
That kind of shows it was coerced.
Narrator/Reporter
Kogut was an easy target. Castilero says he had a 10th grade education and a substance abuse problem that Castilero says police took advantage of.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
Tells him about his drinking, his drugs, all the stuff that they can use against him.
Narrator/Reporter
And then Castilero says they lied to him.
Interviewer/Host
The police told John Kogut that he failed a polygraph.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
No, John Kogut passed this polygraph test with flying colors.
Narrator/Reporter
And even though Kogut had already told police over and over that he had nothing to do with Teresa Fusco's killing, Castilero says they convinced him he did.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
They told him he blacked out. He didn't remember. You know, this is what you did. This is where you took her.
John Kogut
I didn't even remember the next morning.
Assistant District Attorney George Peck
Didn't Remember what?
John Kogut
What had happened?
Assistant District Attorney George Peck
Well, you remember it now, don't you?
John Kogut
Yeah.
Narrator/Reporter
By the time this video was recorded, Kogut had been in custody for 18 hours, interrogated for nearly 12 of them, and awake for almost 30.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
At some point in time, you know, you want out, you give in.
Narrator/Reporter
But the confession wasn't the only thing prosecutors would have to defend. They had to contend with the new DNA evidence pointing to an unknown male. So prosecutors suggested that Theresa must have been with someone else right before she was abducted by Kogut, Halsted, and Restivo.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
Then all of a sudden, she had a consensual sexual encounter. That's what they said.
Narrator/Reporter
But investigators were never able to identify
Interviewer/Host
anyone who had been sexually involved with Teresa.
Narrator/Reporter
And Teresa's best friend, Lisa, had to take the stand again at this trial to talk about it.
Interviewer/Host
And, I mean, this is a tough question to ask, and I want to ask it properly, but as far as you know, was Theresa even sexually activated?
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Absolutely not. And we spoke about that, and that's not something that she was going to do before she was married.
Narrator/Reporter
Lisa, once their star witness, was, this time around, undercutting their case.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
They went against their own witnesses and, in fact, argued that she went from being a virgin to being someone who had a quickie in a skating rink where she worked. It was preposterous. It was demeaning.
Interviewer/Host
Did that make you mad?
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
It did, because it's not something she would have done ever. And I will go to my grave saying that Teresa was not having sex with anybody.
Narrator/Reporter
Prosecutors did still have the physical evidence from the first trial, the two hairs belonging to Teresa that police said they found on the floor of John Restivo's van. But that, too, Casaleiro argued, was. Was tainted. There was a science to analyzing whether the hairs came from someone dead or alive.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
They displayed a certain decomposition that is only present when the hairs are attached to the head of a person who is deceased.
Narrator/Reporter
That meant the hairs could not have been left in the van while Teresa was still alive. According to Castilero, we believe that they
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
went in and took them from the medical examiner's office and said they found them in the van. In other words, they were planted.
Narrator/Reporter
But in closing, prosecutors denied the hairs were planted after Castigliero was able to raise serious questions about the prosecution's case. Kogut's fate was in the hands of one person, a single judge, not a jury. Cogutt had decided to take his chance with a bench trial, and after nearly three months of testimony, the judge reached a verdict.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
This is Judge Ort's. Decision, the court will not accept the confession and accordingly finds the defendant not guilty of murder in the second degree under count one.
Interviewer/Host
And what does that mean when the judge won't accept the confession?
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
It means that the confession is false. It is not credible. And that's what the judge found. He did not believe the confession.
Narrator/Reporter
Eight days later, the prosecution formally dismissed the charges against Restivo and Halsted.
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
When John Koga was acquitted, I was devastated only because I've seen that confession of his over and over again, and I believed then that he was telling the truth.
John Fusco (Teresa's Brother)
It makes you feel like you got hit in the face with a frigging shovel and you don't know how to bounce back from that.
Narrator/Reporter
It was December of 2005. Teresa Fusco had been dead for more than 20 years. And now nothing about her case could be laid to rest.
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
It's for me as the father. Heartache, heartache to go through it over again.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I felt as if the life had been sucked out of me. Everything that we fought for, everything that we testified for, everything that was investigated, and all of the proof and all of the evidence meant nothing. If they didn't do it, then who did it?
Advertiser/Announcer
Good morning.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
I'd like to thank my investigators and my prosecutors handling this case for standing here with me today.
Narrator/Reporter
On October 15, 2025, Ann Donnelly, now the Nassau County District Attorney, had a startling announcement.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
And after two decades of this case running cold, we have indicted Theresa's killer.
Narrator/Reporter
The FBI, using the new science of genetic genealogy, had found a match to the unknown DNA.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Today we arraigned 63 year old Richard Bilodo of Center Mariches for the murder of Teresa Fusco.
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Narrator/Reporter
Why aren't we counting anymore?
Interviewer/Host
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Narrator/Reporter
Will never get counted again.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
Nope.
Narrator/Reporter
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Narrator/Reporter
Nearly 41 years later, and thanks to genetic genealogy, Nassau County DA Ann Donnelly was sure they had finally, finally found Teresa Fusco's killer.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Teresa's life was violently stolen from her. More than 40 years ago. But the past is never forgotten.
Narrator/Reporter
Once the unidentified DNA sample was matched to 63 year old Richard Bille du surveillance began a few months later. Prosecutors say a straw in a discarded smoothie cup confirmed he was their man. Bille Doo has denied the charges. At the time of his arrest, he was working at Walmart stocking shelves. At the time of Teresa's killing, he was 23 and living close by.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
He was living with his grandparents. It's about one mile away from Hot Skates. It's about one mile away from the Fusco residence.
Narrator/Reporter
He was a man who had seemingly always lived below the radar. Prosecutor Jared Rosenblatt.
Interviewer/Host
Had he ever been married?
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
No.
Interviewer/Host
Does he have family or close friends?
Narrator/Reporter
He has a brother that he's close to. I can't speak about how close they are.
Interviewer/Host
And does he have hobbies? Does this guy do anything other than go to work?
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
I think he gambles on sports a lot.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
In interviews we conducted with Teresa's friends and family, no one recognized this defendant as someone who was ever a associated with Teresa.
Narrator/Reporter
In 1984, authorities wouldn't speculate about how Richard Billadeu may have come in contact with Teresa Fusco, but DA Ann Donnelly says she knows he did.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
When you have a DNA match, 100% match. We got the guy.
Narrator/Reporter
William Kephart and Daniel Russo, Billidou's defense attorneys, see it differently.
Interviewer/Host
What evidence are you aware of that connects Richard Billadeu to the murder of Teresa Fusco?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
The DNA.
John Kogut
That's it?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
That's it.
Narrator/Reporter
And they don't find it convincing?
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
It's being overstated and overvalued.
Defense Attorney William Kephart or Daniel Russo
And what's more, this district attorney's office, this Police Department in 1985 stood before a court and said, these three men did this and they had an ample amount of evidence to prove it.
Interviewer/Host
Was that a concern that they're going to point to the fact that three men went on trial, were convicted for this crime?
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Yes, I would assume that's what they're going to say. But the difference now is we have science behind us, which they didn't have 40 years ago. And to me, you don't beat the scientific evidence.
Narrator/Reporter
But at John Kogut's retrial in 2005, the Nassau County DA's office had argued the opposite, that the unidentified DNA taken from Teresa was meaningless.
Defense Attorney William Kephart or Daniel Russo
The same DA's office stood up and said, we still believe based on all of this evidence, that these men are responsible for Ms. Fusco's death. So I don't know how. Now, in 2025. Because you were able to put a name to that DNA, suddenly none of that matters anymore.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
All of their lies against John Kogut, John Restivo, and Dennis Halsted are going to come back and haunt them during this retrial.
Narrator/Reporter
Paul Casalero, John Kogut's former defense attorney, fears that Bill Ledoux's lawyers will put the blame on the three men who were cleared of the murder two decades ago.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
They're going to have a trial in which I'm sure the defense is going to be arguing they're guilty.
Narrator/Reporter
And Casilliero says that's just more salt in the wound. For John Kogut, Dennis Halstead, and John Restivo, it's never ending.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
What Nassau county did to them just has no end.
Narrator/Reporter
All three men sued Nassau County. Two of them were awarded damages, $18
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million each, to Restivo and co defendant Dennis Halstead, both exonerated a decade ago for the 1984 murder and rape of Lynbrook teenager Teresa Fusco.
Narrator/Reporter
But in Kogut's case, a jury found no wrongdoing by Nassau county police and gave him nothing.
Interviewer/Host
Let me ask you, though, if in fact, Richard Bilodeau is convicted, will either one of you apologize to the three guys who were convicted?
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
No, because I don't owe them an apology. I wasn't even in the office at the time.
Interviewer/Host
I know you didn't represent the office.
Narrator/Reporter
Yeah. But for the Nassau County DA's office,
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Mr. Dillon did what he thought was right when he dismissed against two of them. And I think, you know, they got their apology at that point.
Paul Castillero (Defense Attorney)
The idea that the District Attorney of Nassau county can apologize to these three guys for what they did to them is outrageous.
Narrator/Reporter
While the Nassau county authorities say once again they have the killer of Teresa Fusco, Richard Billidou is not facing charges in either Kelly Morrissey's or Jackie Martarella's cases. Both remain unsolved, leaving two families in limbo.
Martin Martarella (Jackie's Brother)
I mean, you're anticipating something, and then it never shows up. She didn't have a bad bone in her body. She missed out on just living a simple life, you know.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
You know, I look at women in their 50s now and think,
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
that could
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
be Kelly, and that's how old she would be.
Narrator/Reporter
When Richard Bille Duke goes on trial for the murder of Teresa Fusco, her father Thomas, and her once best friend Lisa, will be back in the courtroom for what they hope will be the last time.
Thomas Fusco (Teresa's Father)
Closures to me is that if this is the individual, then justice will be done. It's just completely over 41 years is over. Beginning and end.
Interviewer/Host
Do you hope, do you think that it might finally be resolved this time around? Or do you still have questions?
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
I trust in the DNA this time. I am so hopeful that there will be a conviction and we can finally put this to rest.
Interviewer/Host
41 years afterwards words.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
It's a long time. It's a lifetime.
Interviewer/Host
Mom, can you tell me a story?
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Interviewer/Host
Was she brave?
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She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.
Narrator/Reporter
Did you have to fight a dragon?
Advertiser/Announcer
Nope.
Carvana Advertiser
She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually.
Interviewer/Host
Was it scary?
Carvana Advertiser
Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be.
Narrator/Reporter
Did the car have a sunroof?
Narrator/Advertiser
It did.
Iris Morrissey (Kelly's Mother)
Did, actually.
Interviewer/Host
Okay, good story.
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Narrator/Reporter
We're coming at you with everything we got.
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This is the mindset.
Ann Donnelly (Nassau County District Attorney)
Free.
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This is the mantra.
Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Free.
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Lisa Johnson (Teresa's Best Friend)
Huzzah.
Pluto TV Advertiser
Pluto TV stream now pay.
Interviewer/Host
Never.
Date: April 27, 2026
Podcast: 48 Hours
Host: CBS News
Correspondent: Erin Moriarty
In this gripping episode, “48 Hours” recounts the haunting story of Theresa Fusco’s murder, a case that spanned four decades, devastated families, exposed profound flaws in the criminal justice system, and was finally reignited and seemingly resolved by cutting-edge DNA science. The episode traces the fates of three teenage girls from Long Island—Theresa Fusco, Kelly Morrissey, and Jackie Martarella—whose stories became entwined in a chilling mystery. Through candid interviews, courtroom drama, and the emotional toll on families and friends, listeners are transported through time, witnessing first-hand how an investigation can go wrong—and, ultimately, how new technology can bring long-overdue answers.
"She was going to come to my house after she got off work and sleepover."
"It truly was shattering at 16 to never have lost anybody that you loved in such a horrific way. You just can't get over that." – Lisa Johnson
"We decided that I had to kill her." – John Kogut’s confession (later recanted)
"By February of 1987, Kogut, Halsey, and Restivo had been convicted... and sentenced to more than 30 years to life."
"Wait a second. There was investigations. We trusted the detectives. We trusted the police to do the right thing. How could they do this to us?" – Lisa Johnson
"No, John Kogut passed this polygraph test with flying colors."
"The court will not accept the confession and accordingly finds the defendant not guilty of murder..."
"And after two decades of this case running cold, we have indicted Theresa's killer."
"When you have a DNA match, 100% match. We got the guy."
"...the difference now is we have science behind us, which they didn’t have 40 years ago."
"You know, I look at women in their 50s now and think... that could be Kelly."
Lisa Johnson, on the hell of losing her best friend ([05:21]):
"It truly was shattering at 16 to never have lost anybody that you loved in such a horrific way. You just can’t get over that."
Ann Donnelly on the culture shift after the murder ([18:49]):
"It changed the way we saw the world back in the 80s. It changed all that. Not for the better."
John Fusco, on the effect of acquittal and judicial reversals ([40:02]):
"It makes you feel like you got hit in the face with a frigging shovel and you don't know how to bounce back from that."
DA Donnelly, staking her case on DNA ([44:17]):
"When you have a DNA match, 100% match. We got the guy."
Lisa Johnson, on whether this will finally bring closure ([49:02]):
"I trust in the DNA this time. I am so hopeful that there will be a conviction and we can finally put this to rest."
The story of Theresa Fusco’s murder is a devastating and far-reaching saga—an account of tragedy, investigative tunnel vision, judicial error, and, finally, the promise of justice through modern science. This episode spotlights the life-altering consequences when law enforcement gets it wrong: false confessions, ruined lives, and years lost for both the innocent and the families of victims. Yet, it also affirms the relentless yearning for truth and closure, embodied in the persistence of family, friends, and technological advances.
The episode concludes with cautious hopes for finality, as a new suspect faces trial, but tempered by the reality that Kelly Morrissey and Jackie Martarella’s mysteries may never be solved.
For those who haven’t listened:
This episode offers a masterclass in true crime storytelling, blending personal anguish with systematic analysis, eliciting empathy for all affected, and evoking sobering questions about justice, memory, and the ongoing search for closure.