Kriti Mehrotra
It was December 5, 1984, when 16-year-old Theresa Fusco was found brutally killed in a wooded area less than a mile away from her home after having disappeared almost a month prior. The entire community of Lynbrook, New York, was left shaken, as explored in Hulu’s ‘IMPACT x Nightline: The Last Straw: Solving Theresa Fusco’s Murder,’ and an intense search for her assailant/s ensued. Unfortunately, even though over four decades have gone by, her case remains open to this day as the three local men initially apprehended for the crime had actually been wrongly convicted.
Dennis Halstead is a Family Man Trying to Lead a Good Life in Florida
Dennis Halstead was a contractor as well as a married father of 5 when he was first taken into custody in 1985 in connection with Theresa Fusco’s murder, which turned into an official arrest not long after. According to records, not only was he implicated in a confession by John Kogut, but officials also believed they had found Theresa’s hair inside a third co-defendant’s, John Restivo’s, vehicle. The family man was convicted following a joint trial alongside Restivo in late 1986, roughly 9 months after Kogut had already been tried and convicted after a separate trial. They were later sentenced to 33½ years to life in prison, but they all appealed while vehemently maintaining their innocence.
However, it reportedly wasn’t until the 1990s that it became evident that none of their DNAs matched the one recovered from Theresa’s remains, leading to further legal proceedings. In the end, after testing of an intact vaginal swab excluded all three men once again, their convictions were vacated, and they were released from prison in 2003 after 18 years behind bars. “Naturally, there will be anger and bitterness… something I’m going to have to deal with, but I just want to go on with my life and try to make it through, one day at a time,” Dennis said at the time of his release. “It’s going to take a long time to build my life.” It took two more years for the charges against the three men to be dropped, following which the family man reportedly moved to Florida to be closer to his children and their growing families.
After all, Dennis had become a grandfather of four while incarcerated, so he wanted to be near his loved ones as much as possible in the time to follow, both in an emotional and physical sense. He eventually sued the authorities for his wrongful conviction, for which he, as well as his co-defendant John Restivo, was awarded $18 million in damages by the federal court in 2014. The verdict was upheld upon appeal in 2017, yet not everything has since been sunshine and roses because the now 70-year-old has allegedly long struggled with anxiety and alcohol abuse. As per records, he faced assaults during his time in prison, which pushed him to rely on alcohol as a form of solace, but he has not responded well to treatments in the years to have gone by. Nevertheless, he remains a proud husband, father, and grandfather.
John Restivo Prefers to Remain Well Away From the Limelight
When John Restivo was arrested in 1985, he was a 27-year-old moving company owner trying to build a good life in his home state of New York, unaware he would lose his freedom for 18 years. That’s because he was implicated in Theresa’s 1984 rape and homicide through John Kogut’s confession, with officials believing that the 2 hairs recovered from his van corroborated the former. During his late 1986 trial, a forensic analyst also testified that these 2 hairs were microscopically similar to those of the victim, appearing identical from “root to tip, including artificial treatment.” As a result, he was sentenced, alongside his co-defendants, to 33½ years to life in prison. The verdict was overturned in its entirety in June 2003, and he was released before all charges were dismissed in 2005.
When John was asked what he was most excited about after his release, he made it clear that all he wanted was home-cooked food from his mother and his freedom in every sense. “For years… someone would ask me how I’m doing, and I’d say, ‘Not good, I woke up on the wrong side of the wall this morning,'” he said in a candid interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America. John continued, “Yesterday I was able to say, ‘I woke up on the right side of the wall this morning,'” indicating he was doing well and trying to make the most of what he has now. From what we can tell, with the $18 million settlement he won for his wrongful conviction in 2014, which was upheld in 2017, it appears that his mindset remains the same today. In other words, the 67-year-old Florida resident seemingly leads an optimistic, quiet life away from prying eyes.
After Years of Legal Troubles, John Kogut Has Chosen to Remain Private
It was on March 26, 1985, when 21-year-old landscaper John Kogut was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and rape in connection with Theresa’s late 1984 homicide. According to records, officials claimed he had surfaced as a suspect following over 400 interviews, resulting in him being subjected to an interrogation that allegedly lasted 18 hours. At the end of it, per the show, he settled on the sixth version of his accounts of what had happened to the 16-year-old and signed a confession.
When John ultimately stood trial a year later in March 1986, his defense team vehemently maintained his confession was coerced after hours of questioning without a break. They even argued that officials had repeatedly lied to him about failing his polygraph, as well as the fact that the 7-page confession he signed was actually written by a detective. Yet, it didn’t pan out, so he was convicted and sentenced to 33½ years to life in prison, which essentially set the tone for Dennis Halstead and John Restivo’s joint November trial, too. As if that’s not enough, after the trio’s conviction was vacated in 2003, John faced court alone again in 2005, but this time, his bench trial concluded in his acquittal on both counts.
Merely 8 days later, on December 29, 2005, the charges against his two co-defendants were dismissed for good, too, meaning that after 20 long years, they were legally cleared of all suspicion. John eventually tried to sue authorities for his wrongful conviction, but his claims were denied on the basis of his confession, despite his claims that it had been coerced. Since then, John has gotten into legal trouble again, as he was sentenced to 6 months in Hunterdon County Jail in 2007 for his role in a February 2006 home invasion. However, apart from that, it appears as if the now 61-year-old continues to reside in New York, where he has chosen to lead a private life while being surrounded by his loved ones.
Read More: Theresa Fusco Murder: Where is Richard Bilodeau Now?
