In 2001, Leslie Preer was killed inside her own home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and for more than twenty years, her family and the community didnt know who committed the horrific act.
However, after an extensive investigation that lasted for years, a man who once dated the victim's daughter was found guilty of the crime.
On Aug. 28, 2025, Eugene Teodor Gligor, 45, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Leslie Preer which happened in her home in May, 2001.
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| Leslie Preer |
On May 2, 2001, officers with the Montgomery County Police Department were sent to Leslie Preer's residence to conduct a welfare check after she failed to report to her job.
Upon entering the home, police found Preer's body in an upstairs bathroom, and she was found lying face down, partially inside the shower.
According to police reports, there were signs of a struggle at the crime scene as the furniture in the living room was toppled over, and blood was smeared on the walls.
An autopsy later determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma and strangulation, as reported by PEOPLE
During the investigation, detectives collected DNA from blood at the scene and from skin cells found under Leslie Preer’s fingernails.
Forensic tests showed that the DNA belonged to a man, and because of this, police first investigated her husband at the time, Carl “Sandy” Preer.
However, his DNA did not match the samples, so he was ruled out. With no other suspects and no matches in law enforcement databases, the case eventually became cold.
In 2022, Detectives Tara Augustin and Alyson Dupouy submitted the existing DNA evidence for forensic genetic genealogy analysis after the case was reopened.
This process is a modern technology that compares unknown DNA profiles against public databases to identify potential familial matches.
Using this method, detectives traced the DNA profile to a family with origins in Romania, and further forensic investigation into the family tree led them to the surname Gligor.
According to police reports, the name had appeared in an old tip from a neighbor who suggested Preer's daughter's former boyfriend, Eugene Gligor, might be involved.
To confirm the match, detectives needed a direct DNA sample from Eugene Gligor as his DNA was not on file with any law enforcement agency.
Police eventually tracked Gligor to Washington Dulles International Airport, where they recovered a water bottle he had discarded.
Testing later confirmed that the DNA from the bottle matched the samples collected from the crime scene in 2001.
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| Eugene Gligor's Arrest |
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| Eugene Gligor at the time |
Eugene Gligor was arrested outside his Washington, D.C., apartment in June 2024, as seen in the video above
He initially denied involvement in the crime but in May 2025, Gligor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
During the sentencing hearing on Aug. 28, 2025, the courtroom was filled with more than 60 people, including family and friends of the victim.
Judge David Lease sentenced Gligor to 30 years, with eight years suspended, resulting in a 22-year active prison term and upon release, Gligor will serve five years of supervised probation.
The judge also ordered Gligor to undergo mental health treatment and to have no contact with the Preer family.
Addressing the court before sentencing, Gligor stated that he had experienced blackouts due to drug and alcohol abuse around the time of the murder.
He said he recalled entering the Preer home that morning but did not remember the events that followed.
Gligor was known to the Preer family prior to the murder because he had been in a previous relationship with Leslie Preer's daughter, Lauren Preer, when the two were in high school.
Lauren Preer told Fox 5 that they dated at age 15 and that Gligor had spent time with her family at dinners and social gatherings.
Lauren Preer, who was 24 at the time of the murder, told investigators she did not suspect Gligor.
She also recalled meeting up with him at a Washington, D.C., bar a few weeks after her mother's death, where he offered condolences for her loss.
"Lauren, her family, and friends have waited 24 years to finally get closure and justice for this horrific crime that tore her family apart," the family’s attorney Benjamin Kurtz said in a statement after Gligor's plea.
"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," he added.
As of October 2025, inmate records indicate Gligor is housed at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Washington County, as per PEOPLE.
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