PHOTO: MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF POLICE
Authorities in Maryland have arrested a man in connection with a 23-year-old homicide case, revealing that the suspect is the ex-boyfriend of the victim’s daughter. Leslie Preer was found murdered in her Chevy Chase home on May 2, 2001, after she failed to show up for work, according to a statement from the Montgomery County Police on Tuesday, June 18.
Initial DNA evidence was collected at the crime scene in 2001. In 2022, this blood evidence was used in a genealogical DNA analysis, which matched earlier this month to Eugene Teodor Gligor, a potential suspect identified by the police. Lauren Preer, the daughter of the victim, told local TV station WTTG that Gligor was her boyfriend before her mother’s death.
“It’s been a hell of a day,” Lauren said, noting that she saw Gligor as recently as last year. Lauren recounted that they grew up in the same neighborhood and began dating when she was 15. She was 24 when her mother was killed. Over the years, she never suspected Gligor of being involved in the murder. “Not at all,” she stated.
A year ago, Lauren ran into Gligor at a restaurant, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “I’ve spoken to him. He didn’t seem weird,” she said. “How you can look somebody in the eye knowing that you committed this crime and act like nothing happened is pretty unreal.”
The police have not provided additional details about a motive or cause of death. Gligor, now 44, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Washington, D.C., and is awaiting extradition to Maryland. He has been charged with first-degree murder.
It remains unclear if Gligor has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf. The case, which had remained unsolved for over two decades, is now seeing a new chapter as authorities continue to piece together the events leading up to Leslie Preer’s tragic death.
