Maryland family man stuns courtroom by admitting to brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend's mother
A Maryland man has confessed to the decades-old murder of his high school girlfriend's mother.
Eugene Gligor, 45, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to second-degree murder for the 2001 killing of 50-year-old Leslie Preer - who was the mother of his school sweetheart, Lauren Preer.
Preer was found dead in her Chevy Chase home on May 2, 2001, after she failed to show up to work that morning and her colleague decided to check on her.
The coworker, along with Preer's husband Carl, went to the house and found blood in the foyer, then her body in an upstairs bedroom.
'Mr. Preer called out his wife's name and looked quickly throughout the home but could not find her,' Assistant State's Attorney Jodie Mount said in court, reported The Washington Post.
Investigators concluded her death was a homicide as the result of blunt force trauma inflicted during a struggle.
Police collected DNA evidence from the scene, but with no leads, the case went cold for years.
In 2022, detectives re-examined blood gathered from the crime scene using new forensic genealogy to establish a DNA link, which then led them to Gligor.
His arrest last year stunned the victim's daughter, Lauren Preer, who realized she had dated her mother's killer when they were teenagers.
'We started dating when we were 15, so his family and my family knew each other,' Lauren told Fox 5.
Eerily, Lauren had run into Gligor at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. before his arrest under normal pretenses. He acted like nothing had happened.
'I've spoken to him. He didn't seem weird and how you could look someone in the eye and know that you committed this crime and act like nothing happened is pretty unreal,' she said.
Police linked the DNA to Gligor using forensic genealogy that found a connection to 'distant relative from Romania.'
From there, investigators built a family tree that connected Gligor, a name they recognized as Lauren's young love.
Authorities then arranged for Gligor to be taken through extra airport security screening where they gave him a water bottle that was used to match the DNA, according to court documents.
No motive has been given for Preer's murder, but records indicate he was a mischievous high-schooler and had some substance abuse issues, reported Fox News.
Gligor worked at a real-estate firm and colleagues described him as 'zen' and 'a happy, positive person,' according the Post.
When asked if Gligor was ever on her radar as being a potential suspect, Lauren responded: 'No, not at all.'
Now, the grieving daughter is relieved that her mother and family is finally getting justice.
'Lauren, her family, and friends have waited 24 years to finally get closure and justice for this horrific crime that tore her family apart,' family attorney Benjamin Kurtz told Fox News Digital.
'The fact that it turned out to be someone they allowed in their home with open arms, just makes it that much harder to understand.'
Gligor faces up to 30 years in prison - the maximum sentencing for second-degree murder in 2001 when the crime occurred - and sentencing is scheduled for August 28.
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