WEBVTT - Smoothie Straw Cracks a 41 Year Old Murder Case 

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, there're folks. It is Saturday, October the eighteenth, and

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<v Speaker 1>police this week made an arrest in the brutal rape

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<v Speaker 1>and murder of a teenage girl. It only took them

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<v Speaker 1>forty years and a smoothie straw to make the arrest.

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<v Speaker 1>And by the way, this is a crime that three

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<v Speaker 1>other men have already been convicted for and they were

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<v Speaker 1>exonerated of. And welcome everybody to this episode of Amy

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<v Speaker 1>and TJ Robes. Cold cases are one thing takes so

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<v Speaker 1>long for families to get justice. The idea that there

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<v Speaker 1>were three other men that went to prison for decades

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<v Speaker 1>for this same crime that they did not commit.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a story that is hard to believe.

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<v Speaker 3>It's heartbreaking for so many people.

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<v Speaker 2>The family of the victim, sixteen year old girl, of

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<v Speaker 2>the three men who were convicted for her murder, that

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<v Speaker 2>spent more than a decade behind bars, seventeen years in

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<v Speaker 2>prison for a crime they did not commit, and this

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<v Speaker 2>all came to light. It wasn't lost on us that

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<v Speaker 2>this all came to light on a week where we

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<v Speaker 2>have executed five people for murders and it was supposed

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<v Speaker 2>to be six because one has been stayed. But this

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<v Speaker 2>is all just to me a highlight a highlighted moment

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<v Speaker 2>in time where we can say, hey, our justice system

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<v Speaker 2>is flawed.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, look we know it is. No system is perfect.

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<v Speaker 1>That's fine. But when you talk about people losing decades

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<v Speaker 1>of their life and a mistake like this, may I mean, look,

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<v Speaker 1>this was a brutal enough crime that it's not beyond

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<v Speaker 1>the imagine that this is a crime in some places

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<v Speaker 1>that someone could have gotten the death penalty.

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<v Speaker 2>This happened in New York, so it would have been

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<v Speaker 2>more unlikely that that would have happened.

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<v Speaker 1>So that we understand and we get but if a

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<v Speaker 1>mistake like this can be made that it takes us

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<v Speaker 1>twenty years to realize our mistake, then man, it scares

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<v Speaker 1>the hell out of you.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a fascinating story. It's a cautionary story, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's a story that I think everyone needs to hear.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the story of a sixteen year old girl.

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<v Speaker 2>Her name was Teresa Fusco. She was found raped and

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<v Speaker 2>strangled to death in a wooded area on Long Island.

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<v Speaker 2>This happened in nineteen eighty four. Her body was found

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<v Speaker 2>on December fifth. She was just leaving work. In fact,

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<v Speaker 2>she left work in tears. She was working at a

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<v Speaker 2>roller skating rink and she had just been fired and

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<v Speaker 2>she left in tears. She thought that was the worst

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<v Speaker 2>thing that could have happened her. At sixteen and just

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<v Speaker 2>moments later, yes before ten pm, she was abducted by

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<v Speaker 2>someone and at one point police thought it was three men.

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<v Speaker 2>But this week police have arrested sixty three year old

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<v Speaker 2>Richard Billdeaux and charged him with two counts of second

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<v Speaker 2>degree murder and one count of murder during the course

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<v Speaker 2>of a rape. And this was forty one years in

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<v Speaker 2>the making this arrest.

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<v Speaker 1>Look, and we just mentioned this is right, they're arresting someone.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess they didn't know to be looking for anybody

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<v Speaker 1>else for the past couple of decades because there were

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<v Speaker 1>three men convicted of this after this young lady was

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<v Speaker 1>found murdered and they went to prison. And it wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>until and because of yes, advances in DNA testing that

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<v Speaker 1>we are here that proved that those three men. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>at the time that DNA testing was done, they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily have another suspect that this left them too, But

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<v Speaker 1>they knew these three men were not involved based on

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<v Speaker 1>DNA found on that young lady's body. So a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of them got I can't remember the amount, but million

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<v Speaker 1>dollar settlements.

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<v Speaker 2>Eighteen million dollars apiece. So they were convicted. And look

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<v Speaker 2>how often we put so much stock into coerce confessions,

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<v Speaker 2>unreliable testimony by jail house informants. But that is how

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<v Speaker 2>they were convicted. And yes, as you mentioned, advanced DNA

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<v Speaker 2>testing cleared these men, Dennis Halstead, John Cogut, and John Restivo.

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<v Speaker 3>They sued two of them.

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<v Speaker 2>Restivo and Halsteed were awarded eighteen million dollars apiece for

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<v Speaker 2>the seventeen years more than seventeen years they served in

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<v Speaker 2>prison for a crime they did not commit. And thank

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<v Speaker 2>God for DNA testing because that is the reason why

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<v Speaker 2>these men were exonerated, and it is the reason why

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<v Speaker 2>now Richard billdeou behind bars.

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<v Speaker 1>How many more, I mean, I know there are people

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<v Speaker 1>who are there organizations dedicated to this type of work

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<v Speaker 1>to exonerate folks, but how many more?

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<v Speaker 3>Really?

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<v Speaker 1>It eighty four? I mean that was that was a

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<v Speaker 1>while back, sure, forty years, but man, we've learned so

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<v Speaker 1>much more and it was so I don't want to

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<v Speaker 1>say easy what the journey was like to get them exonerated.

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<v Speaker 1>But like a test, here is this, here's the test,

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<v Speaker 1>test this, and we'll have our answer about guilt or innocence.

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<v Speaker 1>It just like this should be accessible to everybody. This

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<v Speaker 1>just should not happen. I hate it for those men.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I mean, this is the kind of story where

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<v Speaker 2>you want to go and give your time to the

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<v Speaker 2>Innocence Project, which devotes that organization devotes its resources into

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<v Speaker 2>DNA testing specifically because that is irrefutable. When you have

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<v Speaker 2>someone that is clearly exonerated by or clearly responsible for

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<v Speaker 2>based on DNA evidence, I mean that is that is

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<v Speaker 2>the type of evidence that can absolutely change the outcome

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<v Speaker 2>and should change the outcome.

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<v Speaker 3>Of a trial.

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<v Speaker 1>So we move forward. Here we are now, so how

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<v Speaker 1>do they get this guy? Well, as far as police go,

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<v Speaker 1>they say they got a tip, and they've actually been

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<v Speaker 1>they've had their eye on this suspect at least since

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<v Speaker 1>early last year, and so they have been following him around,

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<v Speaker 1>keeping an eye on him. But again, the key to

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<v Speaker 1>this case, Robes, which has exonerated three men, is DNA.

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<v Speaker 1>So DNA was key in following this guy around and

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<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out ropes. And we've seen some of

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<v Speaker 1>this We watched a lot of true grime stories, and

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<v Speaker 1>we've seen this one play out before.

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<v Speaker 2>You know that this is going to be a movie

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<v Speaker 2>or a made for TV movie or a docu series,

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<v Speaker 2>because this has all of the hallmarks of it. So

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<v Speaker 2>Richard Bilodeou, he's sixty three years old now, but starting

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<v Speaker 2>last year or even beforehand, they started surveilling him. As

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<v Speaker 2>TJ just said, they actually in February watched Billodeou get

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<v Speaker 2>as smoothie from a cafe in Suffolk County. When he finished,

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<v Speaker 2>he threw the cup and the straw in the trash.

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<v Speaker 2>Investigators went into the trash can, pulled out the cup

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<v Speaker 2>and the straw and used it to test it for

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<v Speaker 2>DNA and guess what. That DNA sample tested positive as

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<v Speaker 2>a match to the DNA found on Fusco's body.

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<v Speaker 3>We mentioned she was raped, so they.

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<v Speaker 2>Had DNA from the killer who raped her, and it

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<v Speaker 2>matched Billadel sixty sixty three.

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<v Speaker 3>He was twenty three at the time of the murder.

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<v Speaker 2>And they went back and looked at the time of Wow,

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<v Speaker 2>I just it's so sad.

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<v Speaker 3>Sixteen years old, sixteen.

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<v Speaker 2>Year old Teresa Fusco at the time of her murder,

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<v Speaker 2>Billigo was living with his grandparents less than a mile

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<v Speaker 2>away from where she lived and from the roller rink

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<v Speaker 2>where she was last seen alive. So he was at

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<v Speaker 2>the time at the place. And now they have the

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<v Speaker 2>DNA linking him.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, this is a this is an incredible story.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know which way to go with, right, the

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<v Speaker 1>family has peace after all of these years. You have

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<v Speaker 1>all these characters, now the family involved. You have the family,

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<v Speaker 1>the victim, those three men being exonerated, and then the

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<v Speaker 1>family friends, people who have been around this guy for

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<v Speaker 1>the past forty years.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so here's what we know about him.

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<v Speaker 2>He has been living on Long Island for the last

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<v Speaker 2>forty years, and for the past twelve years he's been

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<v Speaker 2>stocking shelves at a local walmart. So here's this guy

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<v Speaker 2>who's now being accused of this horrific, heinous crime, and

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<v Speaker 2>he watched three other men pay for his crime. Clearly

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<v Speaker 2>he saw that all go down. But here's something really interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>When detectives finally confronted him about this DNA match from

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<v Speaker 2>him to the victim, Reportedly, according to detectives, he replied,

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<v Speaker 2>they said they asked him, why why does your DNA

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<v Speaker 2>match a sample found with Teresa's body from the nineteen eighties.

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<v Speaker 2>Here was his response, people got away with murder. Back then,

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<v Speaker 2>DNA testing was not around, and it was almost as

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<v Speaker 2>if he was kind of.

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<v Speaker 3>Bragging about it at that point.

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<v Speaker 2>Now he has now pleaded not guilty this week and

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<v Speaker 2>he is proclaiming his innocence. But according to investigators, that

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<v Speaker 2>is what he said when he was confronted with the evidence.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I'm what that means. Maybe we'll see that

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<v Speaker 1>on one of the true crime documentaries from the interrogation

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<v Speaker 1>room and see how that all went down. But that's

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<v Speaker 1>he had to be to a point that he thought

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<v Speaker 1>that call would never come and that knock would ever

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<v Speaker 1>come on the door. Now, I wonder if he had

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<v Speaker 1>been keeping up with his story of the past several

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<v Speaker 1>years and knew that these men had been exonerated, and

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<v Speaker 1>maybe he had been sweating for a little while. But

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<v Speaker 1>forty one years. Again, we've seen a few true crime

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<v Speaker 1>stories of this nature, but forty one years.

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<v Speaker 3>He had to have thought he had gotten away with it.

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<v Speaker 3>Think about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Those three men, their convictions were overturned in two thousand

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<v Speaker 2>and three. That's twenty two years ago. So for twenty

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<v Speaker 2>two years, the men first served seventeen years, then twenty

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<v Speaker 2>two years has gone by.

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<v Speaker 1>So maybe he was sweating it for the first few

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<v Speaker 1>years and now for the past decade. Really he might

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<v Speaker 1>have forgotten about it. Again. I say forget it, what

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, not to forget something like that. But rome's

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<v Speaker 1>to think he's been living forty years and working around people.

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<v Speaker 1>This was a horrific thing done to a sixteen year

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<v Speaker 1>old girl. This was awful. This is monstrous stuff. And

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<v Speaker 1>he went about life, he was interacting with people. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sure he worked with people. Somebody hired him, and what

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<v Speaker 1>are those people thinking.

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<v Speaker 2>His neighbors have been talking saying he was always scary.

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<v Speaker 2>They told their kids to stay away from him. People

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<v Speaker 2>talked about his weird, strange, bad energy. So it's always

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<v Speaker 2>after the fact, of course, people are like, I always

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<v Speaker 2>knew something was up with that guy. But people have

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<v Speaker 2>definitely been speaking out and speaking up about how he

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<v Speaker 2>was a creepy guy and they always felt a little

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<v Speaker 2>uneasy and didn't want their kids around him. It's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of interesting when people give off a certain energy. So,

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<v Speaker 2>of course, easy to say after the fact, easy to

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<v Speaker 2>say after his arrest, but they're certainly speaking up and

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<v Speaker 2>he has maintained his innocence despite I mean, can you

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<v Speaker 2>imagine the last thing he was thinking as he ordered

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<v Speaker 2>that smoothie, finished it and threw it in the trash.

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<v Speaker 2>Can can you imagine he would never in a million

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<v Speaker 2>years have thought that was going to be his undoing.

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<v Speaker 1>Look, it says you always have. It is the presumption

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<v Speaker 1>of innocence until you are proven guilty. His lawyer, I

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<v Speaker 1>thought was kind of if anything could be kind of

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<v Speaker 1>funny and how he said it. He said, look, three

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<v Speaker 1>people have been exonerated in this case. If this is

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<v Speaker 1>ever a case of not rushing to judgment, this would

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<v Speaker 1>be it makes a good point, like, okay, whatever it

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<v Speaker 1>looks like, but we will defend our client. But this

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<v Speaker 1>case is a very well it's obviously close to us

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<v Speaker 1>here in New York because Long Island's right across the way.

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<v Speaker 1>But this case and the timing of it coming smack

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<v Speaker 1>dab in the middle of a stretch of time in

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<v Speaker 1>this country where we had six executions in eight days.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh wait, there actually were only five because would you believe, folks, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>one of them was stopped. Why because there's a question

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<v Speaker 1>about the guilt or innocence of the man who's on

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<v Speaker 1>death row. Stay with us.

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<v Speaker 2>We continue talking about this unbelievable and truly unbelievable and

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<v Speaker 2>fascinating case about the death and the murder of sixteen

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<v Speaker 2>year old Teresa Fusco. What happened forty one years ago

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<v Speaker 2>in nineteen eighty four on Long Island and New York.

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<v Speaker 2>Three men had been initially convicted, spent seventeen years behind

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<v Speaker 2>bars before being exonerated by DNA evidence.

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<v Speaker 3>And now they say.

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<v Speaker 2>Police believe they finally have the man in custody who

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<v Speaker 2>they believe killed Teresa all those years ago, because DNA

0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:27.079
<v Speaker 2>evidence connects him to the crime. And look, we talk

0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:30.360
<v Speaker 2>about how it's fascinating, We talk about the larger conversation

0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:34.319
<v Speaker 2>about getting things right and how flawed our justice system is,

0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.560
<v Speaker 2>and certainly the higher level of executions we're seeing in

0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.680
<v Speaker 2>this country. But I also just want to point out

0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.839
<v Speaker 2>the human element of this. And my god, her father,

0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:49.320
<v Speaker 2>Teresa Fusco's father, was at the bail hearing this week

0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.000
<v Speaker 2>of this man who's now finally been arrested for his

0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:58.559
<v Speaker 2>daughter's death. And I was wiping away tears reading about

0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.720
<v Speaker 2>this father and seeing the picture. There's Thomas Fusco said

0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:05.000
<v Speaker 2>that this arrest and of course the trial and ultimately

0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.520
<v Speaker 2>he hopes the conviction will bring closure finally for him

0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.720
<v Speaker 2>and his family. But he said this, I never gave

0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:12.760
<v Speaker 2>up hope. I've always had faith in this system. But

0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:15.520
<v Speaker 2>before I leave this earth, I'm very happy that since

0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.840
<v Speaker 2>my ex wife's not here, she passed away back in

0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:22.120
<v Speaker 2>twenty nineteen, and that I'm here with my family and

0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:24.840
<v Speaker 2>the district attorney. And he pulled out a picture, a

0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:28.280
<v Speaker 2>laminated photo of his daughter that he says he carries

0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.640
<v Speaker 2>in his jacket pocket with him, and he said, with

0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.960
<v Speaker 2>his lip shaking, she still lives in my heart, as

0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:38.640
<v Speaker 2>you can see all these years later. The emotion that

0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:42.000
<v Speaker 2>washed over him, it was just it was so moving

0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:46.680
<v Speaker 2>to think about just the unbelievable toll this had to

0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:49.240
<v Speaker 2>have taken on him and his entire family and everyone

0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:49.880
<v Speaker 2>who loved her.

0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:55.400
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they haven't been at peace. It's been tumultuous. I

0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.840
<v Speaker 1>don't know. I didn't wasn't familiar enough with the story

0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:00.800
<v Speaker 1>that I don't know if there were all always questions

0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:03.720
<v Speaker 1>about the guilt of these three men. I don't know

0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:06.800
<v Speaker 1>if the family thought that was their closure and it

0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.920
<v Speaker 1>was done or not. But then to think when those

0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:14.760
<v Speaker 1>men are exonerated, that was twenty years ago and they've

0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.120
<v Speaker 1>been now, it's almost like she's murdered all over again.

0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.360
<v Speaker 1>There's a killer has been on the loose this whole time,

0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.400
<v Speaker 1>and so I can't imagine the ups and downs that

0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.640
<v Speaker 1>look waiting five years for closure is one thing. This

0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.120
<v Speaker 1>is you got closure twenty years ago just to be

0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.520
<v Speaker 1>told no, that wasn't it, and now you're getting it again.

0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:33.320
<v Speaker 1>I mean, your heartbreaks for those folks.

0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:36.000
<v Speaker 2>Heartbreak, and then also to think that three men paid

0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.320
<v Speaker 2>a price that they didn't deserve to pay.

0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.280
<v Speaker 3>You'd also feel terrible about that.

0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:43.600
<v Speaker 1>Maybe how you felt about those men at one point.

0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.560
<v Speaker 1>I wonder if there were every any apologies relationships or

0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.240
<v Speaker 1>not that they need to apologize to those men, but

0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:51.920
<v Speaker 1>it's just if they ever reached out in some way.

0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:55.400
<v Speaker 1>That's this. They were in jail for nearly two decades

0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:59.120
<v Speaker 1>for a crime they did not commit that should never

0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.560
<v Speaker 1>ever happen, ever ever.

0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:04.960
<v Speaker 2>Happened, But thank goodness, it was able to be righted.

0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:07.440
<v Speaker 2>Not that you could ever get back those years, but

0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 2>at least they were just imprisoned. And I hate to

0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:14.480
<v Speaker 2>say that I'm not minimizing at all their experience. But

0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:18.400
<v Speaker 2>I say this with the perspective of capital punishment.

0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, because we are as we sit here on a

0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:27.120
<v Speaker 1>Saturday now. Two days ago, a guy in Texas was

0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.280
<v Speaker 1>supposed to be dead and he's still alive right now

0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:32.320
<v Speaker 1>because of a stay of execution. We've covered this plenty.

0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:34.960
<v Speaker 1>Robert Robertson was supposed to be the first person executed

0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:40.320
<v Speaker 1>after a shaken baby syndrome conviction, if you will, And

0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.440
<v Speaker 1>there are questions now because there are new science. This

0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:47.200
<v Speaker 1>wasn't DNA, but science evolved to where what he was

0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:50.440
<v Speaker 1>convicted on and the science they use is considered junk science.

0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:55.680
<v Speaker 1>So that mistake, yes, could have cost a guy his

0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:59.840
<v Speaker 1>life two days ago. In this country, we should always

0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.440
<v Speaker 1>pump the brakes and be sure. I know everybody on

0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.719
<v Speaker 1>Cell Block D says they didn't do it. I know

0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:10.480
<v Speaker 1>that's the joke, but sometimes guys on blog B and

0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.760
<v Speaker 1>C and A and elsewhere have a very good point.

0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.520
<v Speaker 1>We have to take these seriously and on all capital punishment.

0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:19.560
<v Speaker 1>If there's f oh, we just take a beat. If

0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.080
<v Speaker 1>we need two more weeks to figure this out, we

0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:22.120
<v Speaker 1>should always do that, you know.

0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:22.800
<v Speaker 3>And it reminds me.

0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:26.480
<v Speaker 2>Look, I'm not saying that Lance Shockley of Missouri, who

0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:29.520
<v Speaker 2>was also executed this week, was innocent in any way,

0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:32.520
<v Speaker 2>shape or form, but he till the moment he was

0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:37.639
<v Speaker 2>pronounced dead at six thirteen pm this week and Missouri

0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:39.200
<v Speaker 2>claimed that he was innocent.

0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.680
<v Speaker 1>Again, plenty do I'm not saying just take their word

0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:46.520
<v Speaker 1>for it, but there are questions about that illegal questions well,

0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:47.800
<v Speaker 1>the Supreme about the case.

0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:50.480
<v Speaker 3>Three justices felt like he should have gotten a new tribal.

0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:53.960
<v Speaker 1>If Soda Mayor says there's a question that he didn't

0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:58.440
<v Speaker 1>get all his his the rights do, then I'll listen

0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:01.600
<v Speaker 1>to that. I'll listen to the Yes, that's fine. When

0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.120
<v Speaker 1>somebody's life is on the line, I'll listen to that, Yeah,

0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>for sure. But it's just funny that this case comes

0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.119
<v Speaker 1>up this week on the same week that we have

0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:15.879
<v Speaker 1>seen I guess a life spared because we decided to

0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.080
<v Speaker 1>take a beat and look at new evidence, and now

0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:22.840
<v Speaker 1>we're seeing that hearing this case that three men, their lives,

0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.280
<v Speaker 1>you could argue, were spared that well, that DNA had

0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:29.760
<v Speaker 1>never been tested. Who was out there yelling and screaming

0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.560
<v Speaker 1>in their corner and rooting for them? I don't know

0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:34.159
<v Speaker 1>if they had good enough lawyers, maybe there was an

0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:37.359
<v Speaker 1>Innocence Project, but ma'am, more of this work needs to

0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:39.280
<v Speaker 1>be done, and I be done. And I applaud any

0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:41.520
<v Speaker 1>of you all out there from the Innocence Project on

0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.920
<v Speaker 1>who do this work, because it is critically important.

0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.760
<v Speaker 2>Work and we all, we all can't even imagine what

0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.000
<v Speaker 2>it would be like to be the family members left

0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.680
<v Speaker 2>behind when someone who we loved was brutally murdered. Of course,

0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:57.399
<v Speaker 2>everyone wants justice, but we want to make sure we

0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.280
<v Speaker 2>get it right, and so this story just was such

0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:04.639
<v Speaker 2>a glaring example of that very very thing. So Richard Bilodeaux,

0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:06.639
<v Speaker 2>we will follow the story. He is supposed to be

0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:11.320
<v Speaker 2>back in court on November twenty first, and we will

0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.720
<v Speaker 2>bring you the very latest on that if he is convicted,

0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:16.560
<v Speaker 2>he will face twenty five years to life in prison,

0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.760
<v Speaker 2>and certainly we hope that the family of Teresa Fusco

0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:24.359
<v Speaker 2>finally finally gets the justice and peace that they have

0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:26.840
<v Speaker 2>been waiting for for far too long, for these past

0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:30.119
<v Speaker 2>four decades. Thank you so much for listening to us. Everyone.

0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 3>I'm Amy Robot alongside TJ. Holmes. We will talk to

0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:33.120
<v Speaker 3>you soon