It came with the threat that he would tell her father that she'd been "whoring around," and that those consequences would be far worse. With new evidence cropping up recently, this article has been updated to reflect evenmorefacts and clues that the docuseries overlooked. Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. However, Spitz, who worked on the case, later confirmed that there had been maggots in both the victim's mouth and trachea when found. They have another project scheduled to come out later this year. murders for possible connections to Sister Cathy. Catherine Anne Cesnik SSND (born November 17, 1942; disappeared November 7, 1969) was an American Catholic religious sister who taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Now, WJZ has learned Baltimore County Police may be closer than ever to solving the murder of 26-year-old Sister Cathy Cesnik. One of Baltimores most infamous cold cases, Cesniks death is the subject of a new documentary series, The Keepers, which releases May 19 on Netflix. One of the friends Helen Phillips had called upon, Koob had been dating Catherine Cesnik at the time. Sister Catherine Cesnik is pictured with her father, Joseph Cesnik. Jean Wehner also added that, one day, Cesnik took her aside, just to ask if the priests were hurting her. This seven-episode docuseries explores the still-unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Gerard Koob was an initial person of interest. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. It just means that there's no link between Maskell and the crime scene. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. One of those calls went to a retired Baltimore County teacher, Gemma Hoskins. The church was her life and the people important to her were in the church, said Armacost. Ryan White's aunt attended Archbishop Keough High School, and had stayed in touch with Jean Hargadon-Wehner. v. A. Joseph Maskell et al. For us, our bar was more about bringing these womens experiences to light and starting this conversation.. Detectives investigating her death believe she may have encountered her murderer outside her apartment since her car was found parked in the complex the day after her disappearance. Her account was brought into question by scientific evidence showing that it would have been impossible for maggots to be alive at that time of year. Maskell denied involvement in any form of abuse. Police then announced that the DNA taken from A. Joseph Maskell was not a direct match to the DNA found at the two-month-old murder scene, where 26-year-old Sister Cathy was found decomposing in 1970. Well, for all the fans with remaining questions, there has been an update in the murder case. They were always invited to come to her apartment, where she checked in on the situation regarding Maskell. The Boston Archdiocese had been regularly making private settlements, paying for silence when it came to reports of abuse by priests. It's been almost five decades since 26-year-old nun and teacher Sister Cathy Cesnik was senselessly murdered back in 1969 and to this day, those closest to her are still looking for answers . Some of the women recalled feeling drugged during those events, during which Maskell would basically share them with his friends as he saw fit. I don't understand what happens on the other side, she said. One of them, Jean Wehner, was the student who claimed Maskell had taken her to view Cesnik's body in the dump. As it turned out, he had close ties to the police: his brother was a lieutenant, and Maskell was chaplain for the Baltimore County force, along with the state police and the Maryland National Guard. The sisters were incredibly close, even after Cesnik felt that God had called out to her to become a nun. 'Father Maskell picked me up, took me to a wooded area where there was a lot of policemen gathered around, he left me in the backseat and two policemen abused me while Maskell stood next to the car. Ultimately, Maskell died in 2001, having never been charged for a thing. Sister Cathy Cesnik was reported missing after she failed to return home from a shopping trip in November 1969. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved . Inside Baltimore sheds some light on the idea that Cesnik's murder wasn't a lone incident. By William Cannon On February 28, police opened the grave of Rev. November 1969: Sister Cathy Cesnik disappears. Many believe a quiet cover-up orchestrated by the Catholic Church and . Catherine Cesnik's disappearance scared a lot of people. [1] Her body was discovered on January 3, 1970, near a garbage dump in the Baltimore suburb of Lansdowne. Today, almost a half-century later, the murder of Sister Cathy who was once compared to Julie Andrews' character in 'The Sound of Music' because of her beauty and bubbly personality is still one of law enforcement's most mysterious cold cases. The first clue in the disappearance was found pretty early her car ended up giving some insight into what happened but mostly brought more confusion. Sister Catherine Cesnik is pictured with her father, Joseph Cesnik. Determining whether Maskells DNA matches the evidence remaining from the crime scene is a box that must be checked, said Armacost. A few more branches were caught on the radio antenna, while another twig was found stuck to the turn signal lever on the steering wheel, a piece of yellow thread caught onto it. ', Giangrasso also believed Sister Cathy's killing was church-related, telling the Huffington Post: 'I personally thought it was in-house, within her social network the priests and the religious order.'. I do believe in so many other things than I ever did before. A 1994 story in the Baltimore Sun, revealed that she had information about Cesnik's murdered condition, such as the maggots on her face, known only to the cops. Her body was found in Lansdowne, south of Baltimore, on January 3, 1970. Rather conveniently, they also couldn't find any other corroborating statements regarding Joseph Maskell's abuse (Jean Wehner's lawyers had no trouble). [5], In the fall of 1969, Cesnik was teaching drama and English at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland,[6] a school for girls that had opened in 1965. Many have speculated on the identity of this mysterious Brother Bob, with most pointing to Ed (Edgar Davidson) as being the most obvious answer, but some are now speculating that Father Robert Flaherty is Brother Bob. Father Maskell was a counselor and chaplain at Archbishop Keough from 1967 to 1975. Father Maskell was a counselor and chaplain at Archbishop Keough from 1967 to 1975. On November 7, 1969, 26-year-old Sister Catherine Cesnik vanished. When Wehner could only nod in reply, Cesnik promised that she would take care of it (though Maskell did continue to abuse students after that, too). An undated photo of Sister Cathy Cesnik, whose body was found at a dumping area Jan . The Baltimore Sun explained that Rev. Something was clearly wrong, and so, according to the Baltimore Sun, Helen Russell Phillips called on the help of a few friends revs. All Rights Reserved. Giangrasso, pointing to the discovery of the car, and the fact that it was returned close to where Sister Cathy lived, theorized that the killer was someone who she knew and possibly whom she trusted. Oddly, her Ford Maverick, which she had recently purchased, was found just a block from her apartment parked illegally in a no parking area and unlocked. He was said to have allowed girls at the school to talk about sex and drugs in his office, and even permitted alcohol and cigarettes during gatherings in his rectory living quarters. White tells us there is some dogged reporting happening right now in Ireland, digging deeper into the time that A. Joseph Maskell spent there, in addition to his time spent in the United States. According to the Baltimore Sun report on Cesnik's death, Malecki was a 20-year-old from nearby Lansdowne at the time of her death. And when those kids got older, Maskell would give them rides home or to appointments. Teresa Lancaster also mentioned times when he would take them to a gynecologist Dr. Christian Richter for check-ups, during which he would occasionally assault them on the table (Richter would later deny being a part of the abuse). Leads dried up quickly and no one came forward with information about Cathy's whereabouts, and the search dragged on for months. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. Autopsy findings reportedly narrowed the time of death to between 4:30 a.m. and as late as 7:30 a.m. an hour after Krauseneck claimed to have left the house. This begs the question, though, that if White says he included everything he knew, and we know he had to remove names for legal reasons where in the documentary does he reveal these hidden suspects? Father A. Joseph Maskell was a person of interest for a reason, it seemed. It didn't take long for him to lose his position as a pastor, spending some time in a psychiatric hospital (though he was released shortly after, apparently perfectly fit to work at another church). Her body was discovered on January 3, 1970, near a garbage dump in the Baltimore suburb of Lansdowne.Her unsolved murder served as the basis for . Often, survivors would choose to remain anonymous, and the crew of The Keepers respected that choice and removed their stories, names, and/or faces from the series. Though White says he included absolutely all the information he knew in the documentary, he did contradict himself later by saying, The project was heavily vetted by lawyers there were times when I believed we knew somebody that was involved in the abuse, but we couldn't include a name for legal reasons. True crime buffs will know that this often happens, that the law tangles everything up in red tape so details like names and dates will be removed from stories. When she was reported missing later that night, several dozen cops and half-a-dozen dog teams unsuccessfully searched a wide swath of Baltimore's southwest neighborhood searching for clues to her whereabouts. Source:https://www.spreaker.com/user/americancrimecast/sistercathy-1Join Gemma Hoskins and Shane Waters in this new podcast series about the unsolved murder . And she has not stopped looking into the murder of her former teacher. (just outside Baltimore), covered in snow and partially hidden by a nearby embankment. [6], Immediately after Cesnik's disappearance, police searched the area for her body without success. So it probably wasn't the result of some random act of violence. James Maskell, A. Joseph Maskells uncle, is a similarly powerful and threatening figure that deserves to be prodded harder. Reply. She was "Jane Roe" in that ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit. . So the case couldn't go forward. 1 of 40. As for filmmakers Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave, after The Keepers they produced a documentary with Dr. Ruth, and then another one about the two women who assassinated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's brother. The Keepers: Pieces Of Evidence The Show Leaves Out, 16 TV Shows Too Disturbing To Binge-Watch, 10 Exciting New Netflix Originals Still Coming In 2019, Netflixs Tiger King: 15 Best Joe Exotic Quotes, Everything Available At Launch On HBO Max, 10 Creepy Documentaries To Watch If You Loved The Keepers, Wesley Crusher Is Now A Big Star Trek Picard Season 3 Question, Last Of Us Episode 6's Joel Ending Change From Game Defended By Director, How I Met Your Mother Stars Hold Mini-Reunion In New Image. Did you encounter any technical issues? The words scared Wehner into silence for decades. One night, he invited Wehner into his car, only to take her to see Cesnik's dead body, long before it was discovered. Inside, a bakery box filled with buns sat on the front seat (probably from Edmondson Village), along with some leaves and twigs. Former students of the Catholic school have maintained that the priest was somehow involved in Sister Cathy's murder. White is unconvinced that the DNA found at the scene on a cigarette butt would match A. Joseph Maskells DNA, but he remains positive that, eventually, someone will catch whoever murdered Sister Cathy and theyll finally figure out why. Another woman, Teresa Lancaster, also came forward. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . ', The comments below have not been moderated, By As the next morning rolled around, Catherine Cesnik still hadn't returned to the apartment, and her roommate became very concerned. And that often involved stripping them of their clothes, touching them in his "godly manner," or forcing them to pose for nude photos while he and the school's religious director watched with, wellunrestrained pleasure. One of the students was actually there to talk about Maskell the night before Cesnik disappeared, only for Maskell himself to barge into the apartment. But when he was questioned by the police, he had an ironclad alibi for the night of Sister Cathy's disappearance. The autopsy concluded her cause of death . The exhumation of a Catholic priests body by Baltimore County Police could hold the key to solving the 47-year-old cold case of a murdered nun. It was thrown out on a technicality, according to Huffpost. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. Born in Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1942, reports the Baltimore Sun, Cesnik was described by her younger sister as devoted and rather ambitious. Joyce Maleckis murder is explored as much as it can be as being potentially connected to the murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, but theres still so much that Abbie, Gemma, and audiences dont know. Grace Elizabeth Montanye, 16, met a stranger at a shopping mall on Sept 29, 1971, northwest of Baltimore, according to police. Father Neil Magnus Is A Possible Suspect On 'The Keepers'. It made sense that she'd gone into some kind of wooded area, and with Leakin Park near where the car was found, it was a place to start. There is no word on whether the Attorney General's investigators will gain access to those records. [7], In 2017, CBS Baltimore reported allegations from three women that during Cesnik's tenure at Archbishop Keough High School, two of the priests, Joseph Maskell and E. Neil Magnus, were sexually abusing the girls at the school in addition to trafficking them to others. 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