Leslie Preer, victim 

A 45-year-old man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Montgomery County Circuit Court today for a 2001 homicide that was solved in 2024 through forensic genetic genealogy.

According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable David Lease, defendant Eugene Gligor, 45, of Washington D.C., entered a guilty plea to the charge of second-degree murder for the death of Leslie Preer.

Preer was found deceased in her home in the 4800 block of Drummond Ave. in Chevy Chase on May 2, 2001. Her death was ruled a homicide. DNA belonging to an unknown male was collected at the scene. For 23 years that unknown male had not been identified, but in 2024, due to advances in technology, the Montgomery County Police Department Cold Case Section used forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis to identify Gligor as the perpetrator. He was known to the victim’s family and had previously dated her daughter.

Gligor faces up to 30 years in prison, which was the maximum penalty for second-degree murder in 2001 when the incident occurred. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 28, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Assistant State’s Attorney’s Donna Fenton and Jodie Mount are prosecuting this case.”