Benjamin Ashford|Man arrested in 2001 murder of Maryland woman; daughter says he’s her ex-boyfriend

The Benjamin Ashfordapparent ex-boyfriend of a Virginia woman is in custody for the 2001 murder of her mother in a homicide case that stumped Maryland authorities for 23 years.

Eugene Teodor Gligor, 44, has been arrested for allegedly killing 50-year-old Leslie Jennings Preer, who was found murdered inside her Chevy Chase, Maryland home after she did not show up for work on May 2, 2001, the Montgomery County Department of Police said Tuesday in a news release.

Investigators recovered DNA evidence from the crime scene in 2001, according to the department. In September 2022, "blood evidence from the scene was submitted to a lab for forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis," resulting in Gligor being identified as a potential suspect, police added.

When detectives collected DNA evidence from Gligor and compared it to DNA from the crime scene, they discovered on June 9 that the "analysis generated a positive match," the department said.

Once police obtained a warrant on June 15, the U.S. Marshal's Task Force in D.C. arrested Gligor on June 18 and charged him with first-degree murder, according to the release.

'It’s been a hell of a day!'

Gligor seemed to have ties to the Preer family as Leslie Preer's daughter, Lauren Preer, told Fox 5 that the two dated when they were 15.

"It’s been a hell of a day!" Lauren Preer said, per Fox 5. "He was my ex-boyfriend!"

Gligor grew up in the same neighborhood as the Peers, and their families were acquainted, according to Lauren Preer, per the TV station.

USA TODAY reached out to Lauren Preer, who according to her social media profiles resides in Fairfax, Virginia, but has not received a response.

Lauren Preer and Eugene Gligor encountered each other last year

Lauren Preer and Gligor even ran into one another at a restaurant in D.C. last year, she told Fox 5.

"I’ve spoken to him," she said, the TV station reported. "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. 

Gligor is in the process of being extradited to Maryland from D.C., police said.

Leslie Preer's death not ruled a homicide until two days after her body was found

Police found the body of Leslie Preer in an upstairs bedroom, the Washington Post reported in 2001. Preer was found with "apparent trauma to her body," police said in a May 2022 news release.

Sandy Preer, Leslie Preer's husband, last saw his wife around 7:45 a.m. that morning, the Post reported, citing a 911 call from May 2, 2001. He and Preer's employer discovered the "suspicious scene" at the home, according to the 2022 release.

Investigators weren't fully sure what happened in the Preer home due to there being no clear signs of forced entry, according to the Post, per police. Also, the neighborhood had a low crime rate and law enforcement had not been called to the Preer home in the past, the outlet reported, again citing officials.

Leslie Preer's death was not classified as a homicide until two days after her body was found, and after the medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy, the outlet said, per police.