Prosecutors: Investigators used DNA from straw to link defendant to 1984 murder

A suspect is expected to be indicted today for the 1984 killing of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, News 12 sources say.

Jonathan Gordon

Oct 15, 2025, 2:59 PM

Updated 11 min ago

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A man has been indicted for murdering a Lynbrook teen more than 40 years ago, prosecutors say.
The indictment stems from an incident back on Nov. 10, 1984, when Theresa Fusco, 16, was walking home after being fired from her job at Hot Skates roller rink in Lynbrook. On Dec. 5, her body was found in a wooded area close to where she had worked.
On March 25, 1985, police arrested John Kogut, who was 21 at the time, on charges of second-degree murder and rape.
Police said he confessed to the crime and implicated two others, John Restivo, who was 26 at that time, and Dennis Halstead, who was 31 at that time.
At that time, Kogut told police his two friends raped Fusco and he strangled her. He later recanted and said police forced his confession.
Still, all three men were charged with second-degree murder and rape.
Kogut was tried first, then Restivo and Halstead were tried together.
Prosecutors said hairs found in Restivo's van linked the trio to Fusco, though all three men denied having anything to do with the crime.
In May 1986, Kogut was convicted and sentenced to 31 years and six months to life in prison. Restivo and Halstead were convicted in November 1986 and sentenced to 33 years and four months to life in prison.
In 2003, new DNA technology excluded all three men as potential suspects. At that time, the single DNA profile could not be identified.
A judge vacated all three convictions in June 2003 and the men were released after serving 18 years each in state prison.
Kogut was acquitted during a retrial in 2005. Later that year, prosecutors dismissed the charges against Restivo and Halstead.
In 2016, Restivo and Halstead filed a federal lawsuit that claimed that Nassau County had refused to pay the settlement. That lawsuit sought the original $36 million plus another $7 million for fees, interest and other expenses.
In 2017, Nassau County appealed and lost.