By:JOSEPH KELLARD
Louis Telese, 44, arrested in June 2002 after the case was open for 18 years, has pleaded innocent to the charge that he murdered Susan Eigen, 41, and Richard, 17. Telese's attorneys say that he was attending a family function at the time of the murders. The prosecution says he broke into the Eigen home in order to take money to support a drug habit.
On Feb. 26, 1984 the bodies Susan Eigen, and her teen son, Richard, were found in their Ocean Harbor Drive home by Eigen's younger son, Michael, who was 11 at the time, according to a spokesman for the county's Homicide Squad.
Susan Eigen was found brutally beaten on the second floor hallway of her home, and detectives report that she was sexually assaulted. Her son was also beaten and bound to a metal railing, and had a plastic bag tied over his head.
Prosecutors allege the murder was the result of an attempted robbery that went wrong, and will try to prove Telese entered the home knowing Susan Eigen was inside and was surprised when her son came home.
At the time of the murders, Telese lived in Brooklyn and was introduced to the Eigens by friends who lived next door to them. Thereafter he had met them on several occasions, but on the day of the murder he was not an invited guest, police said. At the time, Susan Eigen was married but separated and living with her three children in Oceanside.
"This was a brutal crime that stuck with us for all these years," said Chief of Detectives Herbert Foust, who at the time of the murders served as the Fourth Precinct Commander, said at a press conference after Telese was arrested in June 2002. "It just left a void and it's good to know I can retire now with this off my chest."
Telese was arrested outside his home in Nanuet in Rockland County after the case remained open for two decades.
During those 18 years, detectives failed to find a match to fingerprints found at the crime scene. Telese was arrested in 1987 for possession of cocaine, but because he was arrested by the federal authorities, the prints were never made available. The following year, Telese applied for a job as a school bus driver in New York City, and his fingerprints were taken.
"It wasn't until now, with recent technology, that we could find a match in our database," said the county Homicide Squad spokesman.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement organizations are sharing databases and information on cross-reference crimes. With prints finally available, Detective Charles Costello, who worked on the case originally, said he was able to make a match between Telese and the Eigen crime scene, and informed his superiors.
"This was a strenuous three-month investigation, once we had what we needed," Foust said. "But there was a tremendous amount of effort put into this case. I'm just glad we made this arrest. This is something that just stuck to your craw."
"It's been a long time before I stopped shaking," Michael said. "While I certainly thought this day was coming, I wasn't prepared for it."
