Catherine (Cathy) Cesnik was a Catholic sister and taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough (later renamed Seton Keough), an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore. True crime is only getting more popular, and Netflix never misses an opportunity to contribute to the zeitgeist, giving us The Keepers. (Aside from reports that Maskell invited uniformed officers to assault the girls). Granted, there was the argument that this was, technically, still within three years Jean Wehner and Teresa Lancaster had just recovered those memories. Another time, he pressed his gun to the side of Jean Wehner's head, actually pulling the trigger only for her to realize it was unloaded. But that argument didn't fly in the 90s. No one, not even fellow Keough graduates, knew that Jean Hargadon-Wehner was the so-called "Jane Doe" who came forward in the early 1990's and accused the Archdiocese of Baltimore of allowing the abuse to continue. Detective Nick Giangrasso still thought it was someone tied to the church, though, and began to look into Father A. Joseph Maskell. 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. Cold cases", "About the BCoPD Cold Case Unit and the Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik Homicide", "Police: Exhumed Priest's DNA Does Not Match Evidence from Crime Scene Killing of Sister Cathy", "Priest's Body Exhumed from Randallstown Cemetery in Investigation of Baltimore Nun's Decades-Old Killing", "The Dead Nun, the School Sex Scandal, and the Amateur Detectives Fighting for Justice", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Catherine_Cesnik&oldid=1117759661, This page was last edited on 23 October 2022, at 12:23. She "was found strangled and stabbed to death in a small creek . May 11, 2017 at 2:54 pm. [2] Her paternal grandparents, John (Jan) and Johanna Tomec esnik, were Slovenians who emigrated from Yugoslavia,[3] while her maternal grandfather, Joseph Omulac, came from Yugoslavia and maternal grandmother, Martha Hudok, came from Austria. The Baltimore Sun reported in late 2016 that since 2011 the archdiocese has paid out settlements to Maskell's alleged victims. On Nov. 13, 1969, six days after Sister Cathy Cesnik vanished, not to be found murdered for two long months, a second young woman20-year-old Joyce Maleckiwas found strangled and stabbed to death in a small creek located on the U.S. Army's Fort Meade military base in Anne Arundel County, only a few miles from where Cesnik's body would . And that wasn't the only time he threatened to expose his victims, saying he would get one of the girls expelled and sent to a facility for having done drugs a secret she'd confided in him because she'd thought he loved her. Cesnik went missing on the night of Nov. 7, 1969 after stopping by a local shopping center to pick up buns from a bakery, cash a check and buy an engagement present for her sister, the Sun . September 2, 2018 / nickvdl. According to the Baltimore Sun, as evening fell on Nov. 7, 1969, Sister Catherine Cesnik left her unassuming apartment, heading to the Edmondson Village Shopping Center around 7:30 p.m. As far as her roommate, Sister Helen Russell Phillips, could tell, she was headed out to buy an engagement gift for her sister, as well as run a few errands. [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. She was warm and energetic, always ready to engage with her students, writing musicals for them to perform on stage, or inventing games to encourage them to teach each other new vocabulary. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved Because of the condition of Cesnik's corpse, police were unable to tell if she had been sexually assaulted. Catherine Cesnik's disappearance scared a lot of people. Meteorological records also reveal that temperatures during the week in question were warm enough for maggots to hatch. Because the federal government keeps stalling and refusing to release information under the FOIA regarding Joyce Maleckis murder, there are likely countless pieces of possibly helpful evidence related to the homicides of both Joyce Malecki and Sister Cathy. They have internal records on everyone including A. Joseph Maskell. What the show doesnt touch on, however, is Koobs supposed relationship with Sister Cathy. But, on top of that, she had a natural gift for teaching. In the show, the audience briefly hears about the fact that Ireland has claims on A. Joseph Maskell, as well, that the Catholic Church continues to cover up. Unfortunately, Russell is . None of these cases have been solved. But I can whole-heartedly say, Cathy has been very much a part of all this.. As one of the Baltimore detectives who initially worked on the case, Nick Giangrasso, told a reporter for Huffington Post: 'The Catholic Church had a lot of input into the police department. In fact, people around the world were so distraught at learning about Sister Cathy's case that they started flooding the Baltimore County Police with calls. In a school where a number of the teachers seemed to know Joseph Maskell was "weird" but sent students to him at his request, Catherine Cesnik offered a light in a very dark, twisted place. Cesnik, a 26 . 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.On November 7, 1969, Cesnik disappeared. Father A. Joseph Maskell was a person of interest for a reason, it seemed. 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. In 2004, a retired Baltimore homicide detective told the Baltimore City Paper that the church lawyers had 'stepped in and they talked to the higher-ups at the police department. Sister Catherine 'Cathy' Cesnik, a pretty and popular 26-year-old nun who taught at an all-girls Catholic school in Baltimore, was last seen by her roommate, another nun, going off to shop on the evening of Friday November 7, 1969. (just outside Baltimore), covered in snow and partially hidden by a nearby embankment. However, theres even more to the story to be considered: Sharon Mays husband used to be a state cop. "Our best hope for solving this case at this point lies with the people who are still alive. Peter McKeon (possibly with Sister Helen Phillips and Rev. Despite the fact that Father Maskell's DNA does not match the DNA found at the crime scene, Armacost notes that the results don't necessarily clear him as a suspect. Or does White know more than hes telling his audience? Their work is featured prominently, in "The Keepers.. Inside Baltimore sheds some light on the idea that Cesnik's murder wasn't a lone incident. 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. As in, a three-year-old who remembers it. Really, the whole thing raises a lot of questions, summarized by Huffpost. Phillips never saw her roommate again after she left that evening, and even a store clerk couldn't confirm Cesnik's presence there that night. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Advocates, filmmakers say they have not given up. 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? She also talked about what happened after Sister Cathy found out about it. 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. Former students of the Catholic school have maintained that the priest was somehow involved in Sister Cathy's murder. Ryan White says hes seen a lot of people doubt whether the story is true at all, and insists that Koob is absolutely certain this happened, while the police are absolutely certain it did not. Reunion on 'Blue Bloods', 'Sister Wives' Star Meri Brown Clarifies Her Sexuality After Split From Kody. The amount of people that have seen The Keepers now is mind-blowing around the world, White said. It continues to be one of several theories.. On January 3, 1970, the body of Catherine Cesnik was found by two hunters. 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. I do believe in so many other things than I ever did before. And why should they? Its important to take this confession from Koob with a grain of salt, as he is proven in the show to be less than the most reliable of witnesses, but, as White says, I dont know where the truth lies.. RELATED:Netflixs Tiger King: 15 Best Joe Exotic Quotes. A girl who did threaten to report him soon found his gun in her mouth, as he told her that no one would believe her he had a fancy degree from Johns Hopkins, after all. I always felt like there was some reason for me to be here and I didn't know what it was. Either way, theyre lying and withholding information that would be helpful to the case. The most terrifying though? On the evening she disappeared, Sister Cathy was reportedly counseling one of the abused girls when Maskell unexpectedly showed up. It's just a theory one that makes sense, but also one that the police actually can't prove. However, White did still get to talk to them he even got to talk to the anonymous student he mentions in the series. Around 7:30pm on . And when those kids got older, Maskell would give them rides home or to appointments. 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. He later became a Methodist minister, but before that (and before Cesnik had taken her final vows as a nun), he'd asked her to marry him. [7] She cashed a paycheck at First National Bank in Catonsville that night. 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. Nearly 20 years ago, Nugent had been calling many former students from the now-closed Archbishop Keough High School, for a story on Sister Cesnik, who was murdered in 1969. Given that Catherine Cesnik actively fought against Joseph Maskell's abuse by standing up for the girls, as well as Maskell's propensity toward really terrible threats, it's easiest to assume that the motive for her murder laid somewhere in that area. Hoskins did write about her theory on the killer in her book "Keeping On: How I came To Know Why I Was Born.. [5] On November 7, 1969, she left the apartment she shared with Helen Russell Phillips at the Carriage House Apartments, at 131 North Bend Road in Catonsville, en route to the Edmondson Village Shopping Center to purchase a gift for her sister's engagement at Hecht's jewelry store. The Baltimore police has since reopened its investigation. Regardless of why the school is closing, the walls will never be able to talk now. Later in 1994, authorities exhumed boxes Maskell had buried in a Baltimore cemetery and found one to contain child pornography. Does he ever reveal them? Many people first met Gemma Hoskins through her appearance on "The Keepers," a 2017 Emmy-nominated Netflix docuseries, that focused on the death of Sister Cathy Cesnik and cases of sexual abuse at . NEXT:10 Creepy Documentaries To Watch If You Loved The Keepers. Students, parents and the local media buzzed about the 26-year-old's disappearance. [4] Cesnik had three siblings. A young, conspicuously attractive woman, 1 she connected with her students. And you know it really just began as us with our camera, taking these trips to Baltimore not knowing that it would ever even become anything.. Friends which, reportedly, also included uniformed police officers. 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. [11] Cesnik's body was not found until January 3, 1970, and its discovery by two hunters was not in the wooded location near Fort Meade, but on the open hill trash dump of a small business property in Lansdowne. Instead, it made more sense if someone Catherine Cesnik already knew coerced her from the car. Her co-workers had kind words to say about her. Though, of course, they insist theyre doing everything they can to help victims of abuse, on the subject of Maskell, they remain as vague and unhelpful as ever. Sister Cathy was left in a remote area of Lansdowne, near a garbage dump. Whats worse than considering the fact that A. Joseph Maskell terrorized one community? Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . She still spends at least part of every day trying to find those people. Frightened and feeling threatened by the strapping, dominating clergyman who was popular with churchgoers for his Sunday masses the girl decided to keep secret her gruesome discovery. There is no word on whether the Attorney General's investigators will gain access to those records. She'd said no, but they still kept writing love letters and spending time together. Photos hit the internet, many of which have been taken down, that where morbid and graphic of the crash site where Kobe's helicopter went down, killing 9 people. The Catholic Church seems to know how to clean up its messes in general, withThe Guardian uncovering a much wider scandal in Boston (which led to worldwide concerns). RELATED: 10 Exciting New Netflix Originals Still Coming In 2019. She was found dead two months later. Sister Catherine Cesnik, a nun from the School Sisters of Notre Dame, a teaching order, began her career at Archbishop Keough High School, a private, all-girls Catholic School. Investigators dug up Maskell's grav to compare the DNA of Maskell, to evidence from the crime scene. ', The comments below have not been moderated, By Leads dried up quickly and no one came forward with information about Cathy's whereabouts, and the search dragged on for months. However, this is a small step towards justice. Maskell was a police chaplain and he knew people in high places that's how they got away with it. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Keepers, a 7-part documentary, is currently available to stream on Netflix. They did stuff. Born in Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1942, reports the Baltimore Sun, Cesnik was described by her younger sister as devoted and rather ambitious. By 1994, Maskell no longer worked at the high school and was the pastor of Holy Cross Church in Baltimore. Her unsolved murder served as the basis for the Netflix documentary series The Keepers in 2017. Jerry Oppenheimer For Dailymail.com There are a lot of people that are living that should be behind bars, she said. She was found dead two months later. Pamela Lynn Conyers, 16, was last seen at the shopping mall in Glen Burnie on October 16, 1970, police said. Huffpost added that choke marks colored her neck, and a quarter-sized hole in the back of her skull pointed to her actual cause of death blunt force trauma, leading to a skull fracture and brain hemorrhaging. With new evidence cropping up recently, this article has been updated to reflect evenmorefacts and clues that the docuseries overlooked. Priests regularly got away scot-free. According to Crime Museum, a hunter and his son found Catherine Cesnik's body at an informal garbage dump in Landsowne, Md. Despite the time, speculation, and later surge of interest in the case, Catherine Cesnik's murder has still gone unsolved. As the next morning rolled around, Catherine Cesnik still hadn't returned to the apartment, and her roommate became very concerned. Maskell denied involvement in any form of abuse. Rather conveniently, they also couldn't find any other corroborating statements regarding Joseph Maskell's abuse (Jean Wehner's lawyers had no trouble). There are a lot of different stories about how Maskell threatened the girls into silence, and Huffpost has the details. But I do think that there are individuals who are still living who know exactly what happened, she said. One of the initial persons of interest was a Jesuit priest who had been romantically involved with the pretty nun, and had once asked her to marry him, before she took her vows. And we hope that someone will be able to come forward with conclusive information about the murder. One of the most frustrating aspects of being a true crime fan is dealing with endless cover-ups from authorities and government entities, like police and the FBI. The student let herself out right away but could tell that Maskell knew what was happening. In The Keepers another Keough graduate - Jean Hargadon-Wehner - talked on camera about her abuse by two priests, Neil Magnus and Joseph Maskell, and other men at the school. Much like the government, the Catholic Church has their own internal system for keeping track of the people who make up their organization. The murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik remains unsolved to this day. I think it's pretty undeniable by the end of The Keepers that they are, and Jean is the nexus of that, White said. 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 life had been threatened and she had allegedly been abused by the priest. "The Keepers" premieres on Netflix May 19. The service at the at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pinehurst, North Carolina lasted 1 hour. Four former students also claimed that they were abused by Maskell, and a Baltimore Archdiocese spokesman acknowledged that Maskell was 'credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. Nicole currently resides in Massachusetts with their husband and two best friends. RELATED:10 Best True Crime Shows On Netflix. For this week, I sailed through a second viewing of the entire seven-part series about the link between Sister Cathy Cesnik's 1969 murder and sexual abuse at a girls parochial school in Baltimore. But amidst the many . The theory that she was killed because she knew something about abuse that was going on by priests within the church continues to be a theory, but is not the only theory. Sharon Mays husband, V. Eric W. May, Sr., was a state cop while Sharon was a prosecutor, providing the two of them even more opportunity to participate in a cover-up. The idea that he terrorized many, and that the Catholic Church chose not to stop him. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Read on to learn about the victim. James Maskell, A. Joseph Maskells uncle, is a similarly powerful and threatening figure that deserves to be prodded harder. Expand. They say they were trying to find enough evidence for viewers to conclude that the nun's murder, and the sexual abuse must be related. (Cesnik) was a nun. She taught English and ran the drama club. "Buried in Baltimore: The Mysterious Murder of a Nun Who Knew Too Much", "Justice for Sister Cathy is Long Overdue", "With New Lead, Police Reopen Old Murder Case", "Timeline: The Sister Catherine Cesnik Case", "Sister Catherine Cesnik Case: Missing Nun's Body Found in Lansdowne", "Baltimore Priest Victim: Police Were in on Sexual Abuse", "Jane Doe et al. She left for Baltimore at 18 to join the School Sisters of Notre Dame, eventually going on to teach at Archbishop Keough High School. The green 1970 Maverick had been parked illegally near the apartment. Did you encounter any technical issues? A little more digging brought with it the fact that neighbors had seen the car parked there since 10:30 p.m., though it had been in her assigned parking spot behind the building just two hours earlier (via Baltimore Sun). In another scenario, James Maskell arrested a man named Phillip Shane after the two of them got into an altercation and Maskell lied about how they came to blows. It was no wonder that in the wake of the news, the students were all quietly shocked, worried that the police might stop looking for her. In fact, people around the world were so distraught at learning about Sister Cathys case that they started flooding the Baltimore County Police with calls. Prior to the funeral, the city of Frederick put purple ribbons [Shan'ann's favorite color] all over the city. Crime Museumadds that the car itself was newly caked in mud. Anyone who saw The Keepers remembers former priest Gerry Koob and his story about the police bringing in Sister Cathys genitals wrapped in newspaper and tossing them on a table in front of Koob. Her case has remained open ever since, Armacost said. 2. I don't understand what happens on the other side, she said. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. She'd spin stories and excuses, telling Maskell that they were studying or otherwise occupied by something that they couldn't get away from. The Murder Of Catherine Cesnik, The Nun Who Knew Too Much. Wehner, who reported her allegations about Maskell to the Baltimore Archdiocese in 1992, claimed that the only nun at the school who sought to help the abused girls was Sister Cathy. But that charming faade was shattered in 1992. Her former students believe that Sister Cathy was murdered as part of a cover-up to protect a priest at the school, A. Joseph Maskell, who Cesnik suspected was guilty of sexual abuse of students. It just means that there's no link between Maskell and the crime scene. Two months later, her body was found in a frozen field in Baltimore County. They have another project scheduled to come out later this year. And after almost 50 years, Sister Cathy's murder has remained unsolved. By 1994, over a dozen allegations had been filed against Maskell by different women, some of whom had been abused, and others who had managed to fend off Maskell's advances. This is presumed to be the source of the DNA sample found at the murder scene, but Ryan White knows theres even more that Baltimore County Police arent saying. Joyce Helen Malecki, 20, disappeared from Harundale Mall a few days after Cesnik; her . In 1994, two women identified only as 'Jane Doe' and 'Jane Roe' alleged that Maskell had raped them when they were students at Sister Cathy's school. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . Viewers of The Keepers do not fondly reflect on Sharon May, the prosecutor in charge of the Maryland State Attorneys Office Sex Abuse Unit. In 2017, Netflix released an original documentary called The Keepers which reignited interest in the unsolved murders of Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki in 1969. Both . memorial page for Sr Catherine Anne "Cathy" Cesnik (17 Nov 1942-7 Nov 1969), Find a Grave Memorial ID 61142401, citing .
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