Theresa Dusevitch (Queen of Diamonds, Florida)

Jan 7, 2026

Kelly Henderson, the lead investigator on Theresa Dusevitch’s cold case, is a seasoned detective reexamining a 1973 homicide. She discusses evidence retesting, surprising DNA leads, and renewed scrutiny of long-known persons of interest. Short, tense updates reveal how new science and fresh tips are shaping the search for answers.

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INSIGHT

DNA Broke A Longstanding Case Link

Debra Espy and Teresa Dusovich had strikingly similar victim profiles but DNA eventually excluded the shared suspect Dennis Murphy for Teresa.
This separation shows apparent links (time/place/style) can be coincidental and reopen stalled investigations.

ANECDOTE

Last Seen At The Matador Club

Teresa Dusovich was last seen between 8–11 PM on November 20, 1973 at the Matador Club in Valparaiso.
Ashley Flowers and Kelly Henderson visited the still-operating Matador Club to confirm the exact last-seen location and atmosphere described in records.

ANECDOTE

Surviving Victim Linked By Ballistics

A surviving 15-year-old shot in May 1974 provided a bullet that forensic testing matched to the gun that killed Teresa.
The shooter escaped and the weapon was never recovered, but ballistic matching firmly links the two shootings.

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Our card this week is Theresa Dusevitch, the Queen of Diamonds from Florida.

For 50 years, Theresa Dusevitch’s case was intrinsically tied to Debra Espey’s murder. Both women were 19 years old when they were killed back in 1973, just eight months apart. There were other similarities, too: Both women were found nude from the waist down, their shirts pulled up, hands over their heads, with head wounds as their cause of death. The wooded area where each young woman was found was just three miles apart in and near a town, ironically enough, named Niceville, Florida. But at the end of 2025, Debra Epsey’s case was solved, and her killer turned out to be an acquaintance of hers, Dennis Murphy. In learning that Dennis killed Debra, law enforcement was able to conclude through DNA that he did not kill Theresa–meaning all the connections that seemed to be linked were just a coincidence. So now, detectives are looking at Theresa’s case with new eyes. And with the momentum of one 1973 cold case solved under their belt, they’re hoping you might help them get another.

If you know anything about the murder of Theresa Dusevitch on November 23, 1973, please call the Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at 850-836-TIPS (8477) or submit an anonymous tip at emeraldcoastcrimestoppers.com.

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