Long Island authorities say they’ve solved a murder and a rape case involving separate elderly mental hospital patients.
The suspect, Steven Briecke, died in 2014.
DNA testing connect Briecke to the February 1997 killing of 69-year-old Ann Lustig and the December 1996 sex assault of an unidentified 82-year-old patient, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said Monday. Both women had been reported missing from the defunct Kings Park State Psychiatric Hospital.
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Lustig died from blunt force trauma and neck compression, but didn’t identify Briecke as a suspect.
The second victim told investigators a man forced her into his vehicle after she declined his offer for a ride, then raped her at a private residence before bringing her back to the hospital.
Investigators believed the cases were connected due to the nature of the attacks and fibers recovered from the victims, prosecutors said. The technology available at the time wasn’t helpful in cracking the cases.
The district attorney’s office assigned a Cold Case Task Force to investigate the attacks in April 2024. That unit, along with the Suffolk County Police Department, is credited with identifying Briecke.
His DNA profile was on record from a 1985 conviction for burglary and assault as well as a 2003 sex assault on a Florida resident who was less than 16 years old, prosecutors said Monday. He also “had multiple convictions for public lewdness” according to authorities.
The task force determined that a van described by a witness belonged to Briecke’s mother after DNA testing established him as a suspect.
“Resolving long-overdue crimes that have haunted the victim’s loved ones and our community for far too long is why we established the Cold Case Task Force,” said District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement. “Thanks to the power of forensic science and the persistence of law enforcement, we can now say with confidence who was responsible for these horrific crimes.”
The District Attorney’s office told the Daily News that Briecke died on Jan, 16, 2014 in Florida, while free on parole.
