Eugene

Summary

Blood and Water: Episode 5 – Eugene

Podcast: Blood and Water
Host: Stephanie Ramos (ABC News)
Date: May 26, 2026

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Main Theme

This episode dives into the tangled story of Eugene Glegor, once a beloved high school boyfriend of Leslie Preer's daughter, Lauren, who decades later is revealed—by state-of-the-art forensic techniques—to have killed Leslie Preer in 2001. The episode unravel the progression from high school reminiscences to the cold-case breakthrough, examining Eugene's character, the technical detective work that cracked the case, and the emotional fallout for Leslie's family.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Chance Encounter and Renewed Interest

• [00:28] In 2022, Lauren Preer fortuitously runs into Eugene Glegor—her old high school boyfriend—at a DC restaurant.
  • Lauren describes the meeting as casual and old-friend-like, with nothing remarkable to hint at what would come.
• Genetic Genealogy Breakthrough: This encounter happens before detectives, through genetic genealogy, trace the “unknown male” DNA from the crime scene to a Romanian blog and the Glegor family.

2. Revisiting High School and the Preer-Glegor Relationship

• [03:33–08:32] The episode recollects Eugene and Lauren’s relationship, as remembered by Lauren, Bryce Thomas (a friend), and Lisa Wood.
  • Prom memories, Lauren’s mother Leslie acting the “cool mom,” and Eugene being the charismatic, charming boyfriend fully accepted by the Preer family.
  • Their amicable breakup:

    "We just had a talk and we both kind of agreed, like, we just had a mutual breakup. We were kids." – Lauren Preer [08:23]

3. Suspicion and Missing the Funeral

• [09:07] The focus shifts to Leslie’s funeral. Notably, Eugene does not attend—despite his family being there.

  "I remember asking Lauren specifically...where is Eugene? And her saying...it was too much for him to handle. And I just remember being so upset..." – Bryce Thomas [09:40]

• Detectives' Perspective: His absence alongside his family attending stands out as a “troubling detail” to cold case detectives.

  "But yet Eugene decided he didn’t want to go. It made no sense." – Detective Tara Augustin [10:31]

• Timeline Clue: Days after the murder, Eugene is pulled over by police en route to Oregon—a sudden road trip that caught friends off guard and put him far from the crime scene.

4. Eugene’s Adult Life and Personality

• [13:19–16:37] Eugene’s life post-high school: food service in NYC, a "salesy" tech startup employee, twice married and divorced.
  • Jordan Wires, a former mentee, describes Eugene as charismatic, “bubbly,” in recovery from alcoholism, and an advocate for self-help and impulse control.

    "You need to agree to not take anything personally. How other people interact with you...is not a reflection of you." – Jordan Wires, paraphrasing Eugene [15:30] "He really taught me a lot. He did." – Jordan Wires [16:37]

5. Uncovering a Troubling History

• [19:44–22:46] Detectives find evidence of Eugene’s volatility and violence, particularly during his second marriage.
  • A 2021 petition for a protective order recounts verbal and emotional abuse, threats, breaking into a shared home, and erratic behavior linked to addiction and firearm possession.

    "He had moved out, and he showed up...it was very scary. And I ended up calling the police...I did not stay there again because I was afraid of him.” – Ex-wife [21:03] "He throws objects, punches walls. And I fear for my safety when he has these outbursts." – Ex-wife, quoting court documents [21:27]

  • The court denied the petition (no grounds for statutory “abuse”), but with both ex-wives citing substance abuse as a marriage-ending problem.

    “He did a really good job of, I guess, Jekyll and hiding.” – Second Ex-wife [22:25]

6. Technical Investigation and Gathering DNA

• [23:23–26:37] Despite the circumstantial buildup, detectives still lack Eugene’s DNA to confirm the genetic genealogy hit.
  • Strategy: Detectives decide to discreetly collect discarded DNA when Eugene returns to the U.S. from abroad—he leaves a water bottle at Dulles Airport.

    "Toothbrushes, discarded chewing gum, flicked cigarette butts. Police have surreptitiously recovered DNA from all these objects and used them to crack cold cases." – Stephanie Ramos [24:42]

  • Breakthrough: The water bottle DNA sample is analyzed.

    “We obtained the sample on a Sunday, and by Friday, we had a report saying that it was a—" – Detective Tara Augustin [26:20]

  • Resolution: DNA conclusively links Eugene to the murder.

    "It’s always a huge sense of satisfaction when you can finally say, oh, we solved it. We know who did it." – Detective Tara Augustin [26:44]

7. Emotional Fallout and Closure for the Family

• [27:09–27:24] Prosecutors and detectives express the cathartic relief of finally identifying the killer.

  "If you put two years of your life as an investigator and as a prosecutor into building probable cause for an arrest, it’s a pretty joyful moment to realize you’ve got your guy." – State’s Attorney John McCarthy [27:09] “Being able to give that answer to the entire family, to Lauren, and to clear her dad’s name is huge. It was...really satisfying on multiple levels.” – Detective Tara Augustin [27:24]

8. Arrest & Next Steps

• [27:49–28:08] Eugene is arrested; the episode ends as detectives prepare for the confrontation and interrogation.

  "With Eugene Glegor in custody, detectives finally have the opportunity to talk to him face to face and confront him with what they had found." – Stephanie Ramos [27:56]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• [01:50, Lauren Preer]: “It wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t think anything of it. We hugged like, ‘good to see you, bye.’”
• [05:12, Bryce Thomas]: “It was Eugene and Lauren, not just Eugene...It was us. It’s like us against the world.”
• [09:40, Bryce Thomas]: "That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard. ... Where the hell is Eugene?"
• [15:57, Jordan Wires]: "Having control over your thoughts and being able to see them as they come in and not just impulsively react to them is...the first step toward being able to have control over your life.”
• [21:27, Ex-wife]: “Eugene is an addict and has two guns. His behavior has been erratic and scary for a couple of years off and on. ... I fear for my safety when he has these outbursts.”
• [23:05, Det. Augustin]: “Seeing that one of his ex-wives had filed for a petition for a protection order...put red flags in my mind because I’m like, okay, well, that’s because of either a threat of violence or a fear of violence.”
• [26:44, Det. Augustin]: "It’s always a huge sense of satisfaction when you can finally say, oh, we solved it. We know who did it."
• [27:24, Det. Augustin]: “Being able to give that answer to the entire family, to Lauren, and to clear her dad’s name is huge.”

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment & Summary | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:28 | Lauren's chance meeting with Eugene | | 03:33 | Reminiscing about Eugene and Lauren’s high school days | | 09:07 | Reflections on Leslie Preer's funeral | | 10:31 | Detectives question Eugene’s absence from the funeral | | 13:19 | Eugene’s career and reputation as an adult | | 19:44 | Detectives examine Eugene’s turbulent relationships | | 23:23 | Investigators pursue Eugene's DNA sample | | 26:37 | DNA match made—case breakthrough | | 27:09 | Prosecutor reacts to the DNA hit | | 27:49 | Eugene’s arrest; interrogation planned |

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode maintains a reflective and investigative tone, weaving between warm recollections and the chilling realization of betrayal and violence. There’s palpable relief from all parties when the case is finally solved, but also resonance of tragedy for Leslie and her family. Detective Tara Augustin’s calm candor propels the narrative with authority, while Lauren, Bryce, and others bring emotional realism to the episode through personal anecdotes and gut-level reactions.

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For listeners and new readers:
This episode is a comprehensive portrait—by turns nostalgic, ominous, and ultimately cathartic—of how a decades-old murder mystery was solved, and how trauma, suspicion, and perseverance intersect in the search for truth and closure. The combination of forensic innovation, persistent detective work, and the nuances of human relationships drives this compelling chapter of Blood and Water.

Transcript

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

varies by location the Montgomery County Cold Case Unit began re examining Leslie Preord's murder in 2022. It was around this time that Lauren Preer, now in her 40s, ran into an old flame at a restaurant in DC.

[Lauren Preer]

There is some type of not like a party, but just a gathering and Eugene was there.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Eugene Glegor, her high school boyfriend. The two had split up amicably some 25 years earlier.

[Interviewer/Detective]

A nice one.

[Lauren Preer]

Probably like three years ago. It wasn't that long ago, let me put it that way.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This chance encounter was before detectives had the breakthrough we discussed in the last episode, before genetic genealogy led police to a blog for the and in Romanian containing a family's history and the name Glegor.

[Interviewer/Detective]

What was he like? Did he say anything to you? What was his demeanor?

[Lauren Preer]

He just came up and he was like hi. I was like hey, I haven't seen you in so long. Looked me right in the eyes.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The conversation, Lauren says, was perfectly civil, a brief catching up between two 40 somethings who'd known each other a lifetime ago.

[Lauren Preer]

And I was like, how have you been? He was like, I got married again. I said, well that's great. You know, just casual conversation and it wasn't a big deal. I didn't think anything of it. We hugged like, good to see you. Bye.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This would not be the last time Lauren Preer would see Eugene Clegor, and the next time would be under vastly different circumstances. Because not long after this chance run in, detectives set their focus on Eugene Glegor.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

He would put one Persona out there and try to make himself look like one type of person. But behind closed doors he was a different person.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So who was Eugene Glegor and did he kill Leslie Prier? From ABC Audio In 2020 I'm Stephanie Ramos and this is Blood and water Episode 5 Eugene As I mentioned, Eugene Glegor and Lauren Preer broke up a few years prior to Leslie's murder. Before the breakup, the two were inseparable. They were part of a close knit Friend group. Lauren and her high school friends still remember those times fondly, including one particular night in the spring of 1995.

[Interviewer/Detective]

So here you are. This is the night of promotion.

[Lauren Preer]

Correct. And that's Bryce.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Bryce Thomas, one of Lauren's friends from high school.

[Bryce Thomas]

Yeah, this was the night of prom. Class of 95, you know, gathered at Lauren's house. A couple of the parents were out front taking pictures.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The photo shows three young couples. The boys are dapper, if a little awkward in what might be rented tuxedos. The girls look pure 90s with spaghetti strap mini dresses and face framing curls. Lauren remembers Leslie playing cool mom that night.

[Lauren Preer]

My mom had got us, which she shouldn't have done, but she did gotten us a thing of wine coolers. So we were having fun even though we were obviously under 21.

[Bryce Thomas]

Yeah, I remember just getting a limousine after then and dancing more than I've ever danced in my life.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The song atop the Billboard charts for seven weeks that spring was Montel Jordan's. This is how we do It. So yeah, lots of dancing.

[Lauren Preer]

We had fun. We stayed up all night. It was a beautiful evening. We had a blast. That was our prom night. And that's my best friend Lisa. That's me, that's Eugene.

[Bryce Thomas]

There were couples and then there was Eugene and Lauren type of couple. And they were together always.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The two began dating in Lauren's junior year. After that, Bryce says they started seeing each other all the time.

[Bryce Thomas]

It was always, let's go hang out. It was Eugene and Lauren, not just Eugene. It wasn't hanging out with Lauren. It was let's go have Eugene and Lauren.

[Lauren Preer]

He just became part of the group. We just became a crew. It was us. It's like us against the world.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Friends remember Eugene as a talker, a conversationalist, good with girls and good with parents.

[Lauren Preer]

He was very charismatic. He was a ladies man. All the girls loved him. But I got him. So we just became a thing. I mean, I loved him back then, I really did.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Another friend, Lisa Wood, saw this young love up close.

[Lisa Wood]

I would say the relationship between Eugene and Lauren was as serious as one could be for high school.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The couple stayed together even after Lauren left for college.

[Lisa Wood]

I know for her it was, you know, it felt very special. And she loved him. They were in a long term committed relationship for years. Lauren's parents, her mom in particular, was definitely very welcoming of Eugene.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren says Eugene even joined the Prears on a couple of family vacations.

[Lauren Preer]

My mom was just open door, you know, she loved him, she adored him and he Come to my parents house and I wasn't even home yet.

[Interviewer/Detective]

So he would be there at the house sometimes, kind of waiting for you to come home. So he'd be there with your parents, just hanging out?

[Lauren Preer]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer/Detective]

Without you there.

[Lauren Preer]

Correct.

[Interviewer/Detective]

So they had their own relationship. I'm sure they had their own conversations. Your mom would engage, right?

[Lauren Preer]

I'm sure my dad was part of that. But my mom and Eugene, my dad was like, I'm gonna go watch sports or something.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Like we said in our last episode, Sandy Prior never liked Eugene. Whether that paternal instinct was justified or not, it was true that Lauren and some of her friends were no strangers to some light mischief. Bryce remembers smoking cigarettes with Eugene after school and spending time at his place.

[Bryce Thomas]

His house was very, very nice. Big backyard with concealed in with bushes around the back. So easy to hide from the parents. We would probably end up, we would cut class together eventually and go hang out at his house and play video games the afternoon.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

You guys were rebels.

[Interviewer/Detective]

I mean, smoking cigarettes, cutting glass.

[Bryce Thomas]

Yeah. Let's just say we were a little bit more resourceful than a lot of other kids at that early age.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But some teenaged mischief aside, Bryce was clear about who Eugene was.

[Bryce Thomas]

He would have been the last person to jump in if like we got a scuffle with any guys from like a different school and like there was any kind of altercation, he would be one of the last people you want to have your back.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Not really a fighter.

[Bryce Thomas]

No, not a fighter at all.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

And by all accounts, Eugene and Lauren's breakup after four years or so together was amicable.

[Lauren Preer]

We just had a talk and we both kind of agreed, like we just had a mutual breakup. We were, we were kids.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The two went their separate ways, their lives went on. And then Lauren lost her mom. By the time Leslie Prier was murdered, Lauren and Eugene had been broken up for about three years. For all intents and purposes, Eugene was out of the prior's lives and had been for years. But as cold case detectives looked into Eugene Glegor's history, one date in particular stood out. May 11, 2001, the day of Leslie Prear's funeral.

[Lauren Preer]

I remember this church service and my dad and I were obviously sitting together and we sang Beatles songs.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren and her dad were surrounded by loved ones that day.

[Bryce Thomas]

Just the amount of people there, the amount of friends from high school. It was very well attended, very well attended.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren's friend Bryce was there, along with droves of others. Friends, family, acquaintances, all there to pay their respects. But Bryce noticed one person was missing. From the church.

[Bryce Thomas]

I remember asking Lauren specifically. I was like, where is Eugene? And her saying to me that it was too much for him to handle. And I just remember being so upset, just being. I can't believe that he would make this about him. That's the most selfish thing I've ever heard. It just rubbed me so wrong. I was like, where the hell is Eugene?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sure, Eugene and Lauren had broken up a few years earlier, but other members of the Glegor family did attend the funeral. Eugene's parents and brother were there two decades later when cold case detectives were looking into Eugene. And his absence on this day was suspicious. Detective Tara Augustin.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

His mom and dad and brother went to the funeral, felt compelled because their families had this close relationship at one point. But yet Eugene decided he didn't want to go. It made no sense.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So where had Eugene been just a

[Detective Tara Augustin]

few days after the murder? He had been pulled over by police in a state in the middle of the country, nowhere near here. And later on, after talking to some of his friends, we realized that he took a spur of the moment trip to Oregon, all the way across the country to visit a friend that had moved there. And he called him while he was on the way and said, oh, I'm in Iowa. I'll be there in however many hours. And caught the friend by surprise.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So he took off right after the murder. He was on the road, headed west. Yep. It was a troubling detail. And there would be others. Authorities scrutinized what Eugene Glegor had been up to in the years after Leslie Preer's death. What kind of man had he become? And what exactly was he capable of?

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

In the years after high school, Eugene Glegor worked in the food service industry in New York City. At one point he was a maitre d at a Michelin starred restaurant. He reportedly hosted super bowl parties and joined fantasy football leagues. He was married twice, divorced Twice, and by 2018 he was back living around Washington D.C. working at a tech startup.

[Jordan Wires]

My first impression of Eugene was that he was a very bubbly, friendly, gregarious person. You know, a classic salesperson.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Jordan Wires had just begun working at the same startup as Eugene.

[Jordan Wires]

People liked him a lot. Everyone's like, oh, you know, that's Eugene. He was like a salesy kind of guy. So I think probably that turns some people off of like, okay, well you know, he's a fast talker and that kind of a thing in the way that like a lot of salespeople will turn people off, you know.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But Jordan liked Eugene.

[Jordan Wires]

You know, my boss at the time set up some time with him. Just say, you know, talk to Eugene about what he does and his job. And I just remember leaving the meeting with good vibes and like, I mean I was a young employee navigating how to be a professional. You know, I went to him for advice all the time.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Their office had a workplace mentorship program and Eugene became Jordan's mentor. Over countless trips to a Starbucks near their office, Jordan's mentor doled out what seemed like hard earned wisdom.

[Jordan Wires]

I didn't probe too much into his background, but I everybody knew it was open knowledge that he didn't drink. He was a recovering alcoholic. He had clearly been to AA and internalized a lot of self help best practices, so to speak.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Jordan described Eugene as having a certain Zen quality. Jordan says that at one point Eugene gave him a gift. It was a copy of the self help classic the Four A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.

[Jordan Wires]

Can I remember the four agreements right now? No. Some of the things I remember are you need to agree to not take anything personally. How other people interact with you and go through the world is not a reflection of you, it's a reflection of them.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Jordan says Eugene talked about concepts like self actualization. And the importance of impulse control.

[Jordan Wires]

I remember distinctly having lunch with him and him telling me, you know, having control over your thoughts and being able to see them as they come in and not just impulsively react to them is, you know, the first step toward being able to have control over your life. He was clearly a guy who had done some reading some self help books who had like, I assumed, been to therapy. Maybe a little woo woo, not in the sense of like, you know, he was into like mysticism or anything, but like he just wasn't afraid to have conversations about difficult topics, egos, setting your ego aside about things. And he really taught me a lot. He did.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But a few years later, as detectives continued their investigation, they found more details that suggested Eugene might not always have been a Zen as he seemed.

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Cold case detectives Tara Augustin and Allison Dupois had their big breakthrough in June 2024. That was when genetic genealogy led them to the name Gleegore, which, as I looked into Eugene, they found hints of a volatile past.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

So this is a petition for a protective order. And this was from his second wife after they got divorced.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The petition was one of the documents laid out on a table during my interview with detectives last summer. It was filed in Maryland Court in 2021.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

There's a lot of details in here about the verbal and emotional abuse.

[Interviewer/Detective]

So she was frightened?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Yeah, yeah, she was.

[Interviewer/Detective]

She was afraid of something.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

She thought he might go after her. Detectives Augustine and Dupuy would interview the woman who filed this petition.

[Interviewee (Ex-wife or related witness)]

I felt scared when I went to do the protective order. It was actually because he had threatened my boyfriend at the time.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

In the petition, she said Eugene came into her home unannounced, the home they used to share, to collect his belongings.

[Interviewee (Ex-wife or related witness)]

He had moved out, and he showed up. He was supposed to let me know and get my approval before coming over. And he just came in, and it was very scary. And I ended up calling the police, and I ended up leaving that house that night. I did not stay there again because I was afraid of him. Yeah, it was probably the only time that I was like, oh, my God, like, this is really scary.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

She wrote in the petition, eugene is an addict and has two guns. His behavior has been erratic and scary for a couple of years. Off and on. Eugene repeatedly calls me a and yells into my face. He throws objects, punches walls. And I fear for my safety when he has these outbursts. I am seeking protection from this verbal abuse and escalation. The petition was ultimately denied by the court, which said there were, quote, no reasonable grounds to believe that abuse as defined in the statute occurred. Detectives also spoke with Glegor's other ex wife. She said Glegor could be a different person when he drank.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

Was he, like, a danger to himself, like, saying he would, like, harm himself or just being impulsive, going out drinking and driving or what kind of stuff?

[Second Ex-wife of Eugene]

Second, he definitely started taking two different directions where my crutch was making celery juice. His was hiding a bottle under, you know, kitchen counter while working kind of thing. But he did a really good job of, I guess, Jekyll and hiding.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

I don't know what you want to call that.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

It got to a point with both of them that they ended up getting divorced because of his substance abuse issues.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

For detectives, an image of Eugene Glegor was coming into focus.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

Seeing that one of his ex wives had filed for a petition for a protection order immediately, that kind of put red flags in my mind because I'm like, okay, well, that's because of either a threat of violence or a fear of violence.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

When detectives suspected that Glegor might have killed Leslie Prior, they still needed more evidence. Remember, at this point, the detectives have the crime scene DNA from an unknown male. They had used genetic genealogy to find possible relatives of whoever's DNA that was. That process led them to the name Glegor. What detectives did not have was Eugene Glegor's DNA. Without that, they couldn't be sure that his DNA matched what was at the scene. But as Detective Augustin points out, getting a suspect's DNA is no easy task. It can quickly go sideways in similar

[Detective Tara Augustin]

cases to this when a suspect has been identified. There have been a couple of times where it hasn't worked out well, where a person who thinks they've gotten away with a crime for 20, 40 years, the police are coming to finally ask them for their DNA. They know why. Because they killed someone, and they then it turns into a bad situation sometimes. So we wanted to try to do it in the safest way possible before we confronted Eugene with any of the evidence. So we decided that we were going to have some officers follow him and try to obtain a discarded DNA sample.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Toothbrushes, discarded chewing gum, flicked cigarette butts. Police have surreptitiously recovered DNA from all these objects and used them to crack cold cases. Detectives Augustine and dupois decided to do something similar to obtain a sample of Eugene Gleegort's DNA.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

Doing our research, I realized that he was a frequent traveler, and we got information that he was actually overseas and that he would be returning to the United States on a certain date. And we had the flight information.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Detectives learned that Glegor would be flying into Dulles Airport in Virginia.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

I relayed that information to our officers, and they decided, okay, well, we'll pick up on them at the airport and see if we can get them getting rid of anything.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

According to court documents, when Glegor arrived at customs, he was pulled out of line by customs and border patrol officers. They took his passport and escorted him to an interview room. The room was mostly bare. There was a couch and a coffee table stocked with snacks and miniature bottles of water. Glegor sat on the couch while a CBP officer interviewed him. At some point, Glygor drank one of those bottles of water and left it on the coffee table. Sometime after that, the officers let Glegor leave.

[Second Ex-wife of Eugene]

He.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

He disappeared among the throngs of anonymous travelers, seemingly unaware that Montgomery county police had collected a potentially key piece of evidence.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

They were able to obtain a discarded water bottle. And we collected that, submitted it to the lab. We obtained the sample on a Sunday, and by Friday, we had a report saying that it was a.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Finally. After more than two decades, you finally have a DNA match.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

Yeah.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

What was that like?

[Detective Tara Augustin]

I mean, it's always a huge sense of satisfaction when you can finally say, oh, we solved it. We know who did it.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

For detectives, there was no longer any doubt Eugene Glegor had killed Leslie Preer. The DNA proved it. The news spread to the county prosecutor's office. State's Attorney John McCarthy, the lead prosecutor.

[State's Attorney John McCarthy]

She literally was jumping up and down, my God, we got a hit on this case. If you put two years of your life as an investigator and as a prosecutor into building probable cause for an arrest, it's a pretty joyful moment to realize you've got your guy.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

Being able to give that answer to the entire family, to Lauren, and to clear her dad's name is huge. It was. It was just really satisfying on multiple levels.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But before Detective Augustine could share the news with Lauren and with the world, there was one more thing to do.

[Bryce Thomas]

Hands up, man. Hands up.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

With Eugene Glegor in custody, detectives finally have the opportunity to talk to him face to face and confront him with what they had found.

[Detective Tara Augustin]

Hygiene.

[Interviewee (Ex-wife or related witness)]

Hello.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

It's an interrogation unlike any other. Blood and water is a production of abc audio in 2020, hosted by me, stephanie ramos. Produced by madeline wood, shane mckeon and kiara powell. With help from emily shutz and caitlin schiffer. Edited by gianna palmer. Our supervising producer is susie liu. Music by evan viola. Mixing and mastering by bob mallory. Scoring by kiara powell. Special thanks to katie dendoz, janice johnston, sean dooley, chris donovan, camille peterson, christina corbin, gail deutch, amanda carr, ellie joestad, angie adam and michelle margulis. Josh cohan is our director of podcast programming. Eamon mcniff is our executive producer.

[Interviewee (Ex-wife or related witness)]

No.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Oh, no.

[Get Real Show Host]

Welcome to Get Real. I Got Something to say. A weekly talk show for the reality TV obsessed.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Oh, my God. He's gotta be deliciously desperate.

[Grow Therapy Advertiser]

Why do these girls forgive him?

[Jordan Wires]

Well, she has a soft spot for troubled men.

[Interviewee (Ex-wife or related witness)]

Boo bloody woo.

[Get Real Show Host]

This is your show. Find Get Real wherever you you get your podcast.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Love runs deeper than we know.

[Get Real Show Host]

And stream new episodes Thursdays on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus.