DC man accused of killing ex-girlfriend's mom waives bond hearing
A D.C. man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s mother more than two decades ago has waived his right to a bond hearing, remaining in jail without bond.
Eugene Gligor, 44, has been charged with first-degree murder for the May 2001 killing of Leslie Preer.
Preer’s body was found in a bathroom in the upstairs of her Chevy Chase home with about seven lacerations to her head and signs of strangulation, according to court documents.
Preer was the mother of Gligor’s ex-girlfriend Lauren, who he dated for some five years. At the time of Preer’s murder, the two were not together.
Because Gligor waived his right to a bond hearing Monday, there were no arguments made by defense attorneys on his behalf.
Brief remarks were made by both defense attorneys and prosecutors before Judge Amy Bills in Montgomery County District Court before Gligor was ordered to be held without bond.
The investigation began in May 2001, after Preer did not show up for work.
During a welfare check, court documents state there was "blood spatter and smeared blood on the walls near the front door" of the Chevy Chase home, along with evidence that someone tried to clean up the blood from the crime scene and moved the body to the bathroom where Preer was eventually found.
Featured
Ex-boyfriend charged in 2001 Chevy Chase mom's murder after DNA match
A man has been arrested in connection with a 2001 cold-case murder in Chevy Chase, bringing a long-awaited breakthrough to an investigation that has left the victim's family in shock.
DNA from the scene was collected and submitted in CODIS, which is a program that manages DNA databases, but there were no matches.
Eventually, detectives sought to use forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis to find a match.
"You need the approval of a judge. A circuit court judge from Montgomery County did approve the police and state’s attorney’s office to take samples of blood that had been seized at the crime scene and forwarded that to a genealogical DNA company that identified the name "Gligor" as being related to the samples that were in multiple locations throughout the house," Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said Monday.
According to McCarthy, the analysis using the 2001 evidence essentially created a family tree, and the surname "Gligor" was identified.
"What is really important here is understanding the use that DNA is, to solving cold cases in general. In particular, accessibility to genealogical DNA," he said. "If you take a 23-and-me, and it goes into a database, in some instances … We may check the database, and they may come back if we’re allowed to look at genealogical DNA, and it might say …’Well, it’s not John McCarthy, but it’s his brother. Or it’s his father or mother.’"
Gligor’s name had already been on the case files from when the investigation began due to his dating history with Preer’s daughter.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 5, Gligor had never been arrested for any crimes where his DNA would have been entered in CODIS.
Police ask for help solving 2001 murder of woman in Montgomery County
Montgomery County Police are asking for the public's help with an unsolved murder from 21 years ago. Leslie Preer was murdered inside her Chevy Chase home, and police believe her killer is still out there.
On June 4, detectives observed him at Dulles International Airport and collected an empty water bottle he drank from and threw away.
The bottle was processed for a DNA profile and compared to the DNA evidence collected from the crime scene in 2001, which investigators say was a positive match.
"In order to get this, we had to get a search warrant and prove that you exhausted all other potential avenues because of the privacy interests that are related to DNA," McCarthy said Monday. "I think one of the things we should be looking at as a community is where are we in terms of restricting the use of genealogical info and data for the purposes of some criminal cases?"
Preer’s family and loved ones were at the court hearing Monday.
Her daughter said the hearing was "challenging" and declined to comment in depth, though she added the case has been a "shock" to her.
"We remember Leslie Preer, and we miss Leslie Preer," another family friend said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 19, though McCarthy said it’s likely the grand jury will take action before then.