Nearly three decades after two elderly psychiatric patients were brutally attacked on Long Island, advanced DNA technology has finally identified their predator—but the suspect’s death means families will never see justice served in court.
Story Highlights
- Advanced DNA testing identifies Stephen Brickey as perpetrator of 1996 rape and 1997 rape-murder of elderly psychiatric patients
- Suspect is deceased, preventing prosecution and denying families courtroom justice after 28-year wait
- Both victims were vulnerable elderly women attacked near Kings Park State Psychiatric Hospital
- Suffolk County Cold Case Task Force used cutting-edge forensic technology to solve cases with 3 trillion-to-1 DNA certainty
Breakthrough Identifies Deceased Predator
Suffolk County prosecutors announced that Stephen Brickey, now deceased and formerly of West Islip, committed both the December 1996 rape of an 82-year-old woman and the February 1997 rape and murder of 69-year-old Ann Lustig. District Attorney Ray Tierney emphasized the statistical certainty of the DNA match, stating the odds against it being anyone else are 3 trillion to one. The breakthrough came through advanced DNA analysis and fiber comparison techniques that were unavailable during the original investigations in the late 1990s.
Vulnerable Victims Targeted Near Hospital
Both elderly women were psychiatric patients attacked while waiting for transportation near Kings Park State Psychiatric Hospital. Ann Lustig was waiting for a taxi outside the facility when she was assaulted and murdered, her body discovered the following day. The earlier victim, an unnamed 82-year-old woman, was raped just two months prior in the same vicinity. These crimes highlight the vulnerability of elderly psychiatric patients and raise serious questions about institutional security measures that failed to protect these defenseless women.
Major break in Long Island cold case murder, rape of elderly psych patients — but there’s bad news for families seeking justice: DA https://t.co/B7svdMUPWn pic.twitter.com/mvnmNRkQUy
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) November 11, 2025
Families Denied Courtroom Justice
The identification of Brickey as the perpetrator brings answers but no legal accountability for the families who have waited nearly three decades for justice. With the suspect deceased, no prosecution can proceed, leaving victims’ relatives with closure but without the satisfaction of seeing their loved ones’ killer face trial. This represents a bitter reality for families of cold case victims—scientific advances can solve mysteries but cannot resurrect the dead for prosecution. The case demonstrates both the power and limitations of modern forensic technology in delivering true justice.
