Police on Long Island said they solved the murder of a grandmother in 1997 all because of a smudge found at the crime scene that was analyzed with the help of new advanced DNA technology.
Questions had haunted the Lustig family for 28 years, and on Monday, the answers about the rape and murder of 69-year-old mother and grandmother Ann Lustig reopened wounds that were all-too familiar.
“What if? How could this happen? And of course, who took my grandmother Ann from us in the winter of 1997?” said Joseph Saccone, Lustig’s grandson,
Saccone stood alongside Lustig’s daughter and the investigators who were finally able to give the family answers to their long-held questions.
“You were able to give us something that generations of investigators were unable to: a name, a face,” Saccone said.
Suffolk County’s Cold Case Task Force had solved this in only a year, identifying Steven Briecke of West Islip as Lustig’s killer.
“We’re happy to be able to provide a small measure of closure to the Saccone and Lustig family. They deserve it,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
The DA said DNA technology that didn’t exist 28 years ago helped reach the outcome. A smudge from Lustig’s sweatshirt was the key evidence, with DNA from that smudge matched to Briecke’s DNA, found in a database for felons.
Briecke had been on parole for assault at the time of Lustig’s murder.
“Hard case to crack. When I left the technology wasn’t there,” said retired homicide detective Patrick Paladino, who had worked the case.
Paladino said Briecke became a suspect after a witness spotted his van near the woods where Lustig’s body was found. However, investigators were unable to make an arrest.
“Brutal murder. One that stays with you for your whole career and beyond,” said Vincent Stephen, Paladino’s partner.
In fact, no arrest will ever be made, nor charges ever filed against Briecke. That’s because he died in 2014 at age 56.
“Had Briecke not passed away we would have charged him with the commission of this crime,” said DA Tierney.
Even with full justice out of reach for their family, the Lustigs offered investigators their thanks.
“My family and I consider us fortunate. The monster that took her last breath from her and stole her precious smile is no longer walking among us,” said Saccone. “You confirmed that the hope of an answer is always worth holding onto and that it’s important to never give up.”
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