DC Man Hid Brutal Past Behind Zen Persona

For 24 years, a brutal murder sat unresolved — until a name from the victim's past emerged in the most unexpected way. Here's how a quiet man with a Zen reputation turned out to be hiding a secret darker than anyone could have imagined.

A Mother Found Dead — and a Case That Went Cold

On May 2, 2001, 50-year-old Leslie Preer was found dead in her Chevy Chase, Maryland home. Blood was splattered through the house, and her body was discovered upstairs. The signs pointed to a violent struggle. But despite collecting DNA at the scene, police couldn't find a match. The case went cold for over two decades.

A Breakthrough With a Water Bottle

Everything changed in 2022, when investigators turned to forensic genetic genealogy. By submitting the unidentified DNA into a commercial database, they got a hit — a distant relative living in Romania. That connection eventually led police to Eugene Teodor Gligor, a man who, as it turned out, had dated Leslie Preer's daughter, Lauren, when they were teenagers.

To confirm their suspicion, detectives covertly collected Gligor's DNA from a discarded water bottle at Dulles International Airport. It matched DNA found under Leslie Preer's fingernails.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Gligor had been living just miles from the crime scene in Washington, D.C., working at a real estate firm. He reportedly had a friendly, Zen-like demeanor. He had no known criminal record at the time, and prosecutors have not disclosed a motive.

Lauren Preer, the daughter of the victim and Gligor's former high school girlfriend, was stunned. She told Fox 5, "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."

A Shocking Confession

In May 2025, Eugene Gligor, now 45, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court to second-degree murder. According to prosecutors, there was no evidence the murder was premeditated — but the brutality of the attack, involving blunt force trauma and strangulation, made it no less horrifying.

The court also heard about how Gligor's home as a teenager had been visited frequently by police for noise complaints, underage drinking, and drug use — clues that didn't seem to raise suspicion at the time. A tip about his possible connection to the crime came in 2002 but went nowhere — until the DNA link brought it all back.

Justice, At Last

Gligor has been held without bond since his June 2024 arrest. He faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 28, 2025. While it may not be full closure, Leslie Preer's family finally has answers.

"Lauren, her family, and friends have waited 24 years to finally get closure and justice for this horrific crime that tore her family apart," said family attorney Benjamin Kurtz, as reported by the Daily Mail. "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."

References:Maryland family man who lived in plain sight for nearly 25 years confesses to killing his childhood sweetheart's mom | Maryland family man stuns courtroom by admitting to brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend's mother | DC man pleads guilty to second-degree murder in decades-old cold case | Ex-boyfriend charged in 2001 Chevy Chase mom's murder after DNA match