Priests regularly got away scot-free. ', One former student, Teresa Lancaster, told WJZ-TV in Baltimore, that Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it.'. Jean and other former students of Sister Cathy believe that the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the authorities covered up Sister Cathy's murder after she suspected Father Maskell was sexually abusing several young girls at the school. 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. As in, a three-year-old who remembers it. Jan. 3, 1970, changed that. Updated by Nicole Mello on June 14, 2020: Justice still has not been found for Sister Cathy. 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. One of the friends Helen Phillips had called upon, Koob had been dating Catherine Cesnik at the time. But, again, that didn't go anywhere, with Maskell always conveniently too busy to talk. Something was clearly wrong, and so, according to the Baltimore Sun, Helen Russell Phillips called on the help of a few friends revs. 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). After Maskell died in 2001, the two women decided to go public, using their real names. I'm determined that if there is something I can do in my lifetime to change things, I think the keepers has already changed society quite a bit, Hoskins said. The exact area couldn't actually be reached by car, meaning that she would've been forced to walk there, or possibly carried. Both . Whats worse than considering the fact that A. Joseph Maskell terrorized one community? She also talked about what happened after Sister Cathy found out about it. She "was found strangled and stabbed to death in a small creek . Catherine Cesnik's disappearance scared a lot of people. She was "Jane Roe" in that ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit. Every bit of it, vividly. Viewers of The Keepers do not fondly reflect on Sharon May, the prosecutor in charge of the Maryland State Attorneys Office Sex Abuse Unit. They were all young, attractive women, police said, who looked similar. The weapon that caused it? But the autopsy results, which were not . Baltimore Detective Lt. Sam Bowerman always believed Sister Cathy was killed by a man who either lived in, or was familiar with, the area around the Carriage House Apartments, knew the location off Monument Avenue where her body was dumped, and that the murder was unplanned. One night, he invited Wehner into his car, only to take her to see Cesnik's dead body, long before it was discovered. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved And after almost 50 years, Sister Cathy's murder has remained unsolved. By William Cannon Stuff being crimes, and they're walking around.. [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. All rights reserved. In the 1990s, sexual assault and abuse allegations began to surface against Maskell, who had served as a chaplain at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore. And she has not stopped looking into the murder of her former teacher. Stirred to action, the Police exhumed the remains of A. Joseph Maskell, the former priest accused of murdering Sister Cathy, and took a DNA sample to test against DNA found at the murder scene. The girl left but the next day, she later claimed, Maskell waved a gun at her, warning he'd kill her and her family if she revealed the abuse. Inside Baltimore sheds some light on the idea that Cesnik's murder wasn't a lone incident. An autopsy attributed her death to a skull fracture caused by a blow to her left temple with a blunt instrument. 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. There are a lot of people that are living that should be behind bars, she said. [13][14] Police spokeswoman Elise Armacost announced that this discovery does not exclude Maskell from being a suspect in the case. prior to the release of the Netflix documentary series 'The Keepers', for DNA testing involving the murder of Cathy Cesnik. CNN reported in 2017 that police had the okay to exhume his body for DNA testing, but even then, the DNA wasn't a match with what was found at the crime scene. People from all over Baltimore County helped the police comb local parks and wooded areas for any sign of her. But that's where things get hazy. True crime is only getting more popular, and Netflix never misses an opportunity to contribute to the zeitgeist, giving us The Keepers. 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 . Potential suspects seem like they should shed some light on a case, but that wasn't the case here, as Huffpost documents. On May 17, the Baltimore Sun reported that his DNA did not match a sample that was taken. Sister Cathy Cesnik was reported missing after she failed to return home from a shopping trip in November 1969. They are waiting to learn if those results link Maskell to the death of a nun who, according to an attorney, was a confidant to young women who had been assaulted by the priest. 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. The sisters were incredibly close, even after Cesnik felt that God had called out to her to become a nun. I think he's dead, but I may be wrong. catherine cesnik autopsy photos. For us, our bar was more about bringing these womens experiences to light and starting this conversation.. Either way, theyre lying and withholding information that would be helpful to the case. But I can whole-heartedly say, Cathy has been very much a part of all this.. (Cesnik) was a nun. Koob had an alibi for the night he'd been out at a movie with another priest and claimed not to know anything. 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. It just means that there's no link between Maskell and the crime scene. The words scared Wehner into silence for decades. The show is responsible for initiating a deeper look into the case of A. Joseph Maskell and Sister Cathy Cesnik, as Baltimore County Police start investigating again due to a public outcry. She Was Found Fatally Beaten Two Months After Disappearing in 1969. I don't understand what happens on the other side, she said. What the show doesnt get into is that the FBI has pushed back the date even further now. So it probably wasn't the result of some random act of violence. A lot of power. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. On the evening she disappeared, Sister Cathy was reportedly counseling one of the abused girls when Maskell unexpectedly showed up. Well, for all the fans with remaining questions, there has been an update in the murder case. Soon they were linking that abuse to Sister Cathy's murder, and speculation that she was going to blow the whistle and tell all. 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. She was last seen just before leaving . "The Keepers" premieres on Netflix May 19. The filmmakers said they were not trying to solve the murder of Sister Cathy, or the murder of Joyce Malecki, which is also featured in the series. As the next morning rolled around, Catherine Cesnik still hadn't returned to the apartment, and her roommate became very concerned. When he was removed from the ministry he fled to Ireland, where he lived for a time before returning to the Baltimore area, according to police. Their work is featured prominently, in "The Keepers.. Sean Caine, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said the archdiocese removed Maskell from his post as soon as they learned of the allegations in 1992, in order to conduct their own investigation. A Warner Bros. Jerry Oppenheimer For Dailymail.com 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 . 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). There are countless untold stories backing up the accusations made against A. Joseph Maskell and the Catholic Church that the docuseries doesnt even begin to explore. Her body was found in Lansdowne, south of Baltimore, on January 3, 1970. Stories shared by Capital Gazette showed that Cesnik was thought of fondly by all the people she'd worked with, despite being a teacher at Western High School for only a couple months. However, White did still get to talk to them he even got to talk to the anonymous student he mentions in the series. The show is responsible for initiating a deeper look into the case of A. Joseph Maskell and Sister Cathy Cesnik, as Baltimore County Police start investigating again due to a public outcry. The news shook a lot of people, to put it lightly. Other times, he would arrange full pseudo brothels. And why should they? If the Archdiocese is willing to blatantly lie about this, what else are they lying about? But now, because of witness testimony, and a multi-part documentary about the Cesnik murder to be aired on Netflix beginning on May 19, there is hope that her killer may be identified and the case finally be put to rest. ', 'Before I knew it, there was a big man on top of me and then I thought that would be it and another policeman came in and I could hear Maskell in the distance talking and laughing. But investigators found only a few inconsistencies in some statements, and detectives were unable to find any damning evidence against the priest. 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. Not every story that Ryan White heard gets told in The Keepers. 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. This seven-episode docuseries explores the still-unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Friends which, reportedly, also included uniformed police officers. The Baltimore police has since reopened its investigation. A search of the park turned up nothing, and there was no lead on her whereabouts for almost two months. [15] The series features interviews with women who were Cesnik's students, with some who say they were sexually abused by Maskell and others.[16]. Several days later, on November 13, 1969, the body of Joyce Malecki, a 20-year-old woman who looked like Wehner, was discovered by two hunters in the same wooded location where Maskell had driven Wehner. After a week of teaching, Sister Cathy, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame, and the daughter of a Pennsylvania postal worker, decided on Friday night that she was going to go shopping. [6] At 4:40am the next morning, Russell's friends, Peter McKeon and Gerard J. Koob, both Catholic priests, found Cesnik's car, in muddy condition, and illegally parked across from her apartment complex. 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. Without getting into a bunch of complicated legal jargon, victims of abuse would've had three years to come forward. , updated Sister Catherine Cesnik is pictured with her father, Joseph Cesnik. I'm not going to name names right now but they know stuff. 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. Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik was last seen alive on November 7, 1969. She may have made a purchase at Muhly's Bakery in Edmondson Village, since a box of buns from that bakery was found in the front seat of her car. [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. RELATED: 10 Exciting New Netflix Originals Still Coming In 2019. The details go on, and none of them are pretty. Wehner alleged that there was frequent sexual abuse at Sister Cathy's school. 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. No matter how wrong it seems, it's happened too many times, and the case of Sister Catherine Cesnik is one of those examples. However, the Catholic Church is completely unwilling to share these documents, even though White says he would love for them to be transparent and show the world what they have.. Determining whether Maskells DNA matches the evidence remaining from the crime scene is a box that must be checked, said Armacost. 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. 1 of 40. But beyond that, all of them had ties of some kind to Maskell, either working with him or attending churches where he was a priest. [1] Her body was discovered on January 3, 1970, near a garbage dump in the Baltimore suburb of Lansdowne. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. Jerry Oppenheimer For Dailymail.com, Pupils take to TikTok as they stage protest at Shenfield High School, Huge urgent police search for missing baby of Constance Marten, King Charles hosts von der Leyen at Windsor Castle, Gabor Mat: No Jewish state without oppressing local population, Putin spy plane before being 'destroyed by pro-Ukraine Belarus group', Amplified jet stream could lead to 'disruptive snow in places', Shocking video shows machete fight playing out in broad daylight, Dashcam captures moment two cars collide on a roundabout, Putin orders intelligence service to find 'scum' who oppose him, Moment supermarket cashier is attacked at work in New York, Police search allotment sheds for Constance Marten's missing baby, Dramatic moment police cars chase driver moments before smash. Ryan White's aunt attended Archbishop Keough High School, and had stayed in touch with Jean Hargadon-Wehner. "The Keepers" premieres on Netflix May 19. Those who knew her at the time said that she wouldn't allow any conversation about Cesnik's death, saying that was her life before, and that she now had a new life. When she didnt come home, her roommate reported her missing the next day. (just outside Baltimore), covered in snow and partially hidden by a nearby embankment. In general, he exploited 1960s counterculture, offering a relaxed environment and a willing ear regarding sex, drugs, alcohol, and the like all things that the students' strictly religious parents detested. 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 . They have internal records on everyone including A. Joseph Maskell. She still spends at least part of every day trying to find those people. Feb 7, 2019 - Justice for Sister Cathy . Except for that day, she said. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. They encourage everyone reading this to question everything, stay hydrated, and treat others with kindness. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. Its possible Flaherty and Maskell had some deeper connection at the time that has simply been completely overlooked. According to CNN, Bode Cellmark Forensics laboratory in Lorton, Virginia was responsible for comparing the DNA to the sample from the murder scene. However, they say theres nothing, even though Jean Wehner found many victims willing to come forward simply by sending out letters in the mail. ', He claimed that the detectives were told to either charge the priest 'or let him go. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. This photo was not uploaded . Though the documentary includes much of the story, director Ryan White doesnt include every piece of evidence, and some of the most crucial information gets left out. They filed a $40 million civil lawsuit against him, the Baltimore Archdiocese, the sisters who ran the school, and a local gynecologist. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Grace Elizabeth Montanye, 16, met a stranger at a shopping mall on Sept 29, 1971, northwest of Baltimore, according to police. Another detective was looking into the case, only for a superior to tell him to stop. Joseph Maskell knew that the victims of his abuse would want to talk (and that they were talking to Catherine Cesnik, at least), so he had to shut that down with violent threats. So we didn't want to set that as our bar, Hargrave said. On February 28, police opened the grave of Rev. In Keeping On, Gemma takes readers on a journey of her life, from her childhood and her time as Sister Cathy's student at Archbishop Keough High . Unfortunately, Russell is . memorial page for Sr Catherine Anne "Cathy" Cesnik (17 Nov 1942-7 Nov 1969), Find a Grave Memorial ID 61142401, citing . The trial court dismissed the action as time-barred by the statute of limitations. By 1994, Maskell no longer worked at the high school and was the pastor of Holy Cross Church in Baltimore. Gerard Koob was an initial person of interest. All six murders are still unsolved, so technically, the similarities could just be coincidence, but despite the lack of evidence, experience tells investigators that there's some connection. RELATED:16 TV Shows Too Disturbing To Binge-Watch, Most dont believe Gerry Koob when he talks, but a member of the police force, Detective Roemer, claimed that Koob confessed to having a sexual relationship with Sister Cathy before her disappearance. 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. NEXT:10 Creepy Documentaries To Watch If You Loved The Keepers. The Keepers centres on the death of 26-year-old nun, Sister Cathy Cesnik, who went missing from Baltimore, Maryland on November 7th, 1969.Her body was found decomposed two months later, but the . Police dropped him as a target before he died. The most terrifying though? And when those kids got older, Maskell would give them rides home or to appointments. 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. The same happened in 1994. Maybe that was why a homicide detective was told to drop the case in the 1970s, blocked from investigating because higher-ups were "protecting someone." ', 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.'. There is even more to this than meets the eye; White said there are about thirty-five other survivors just like her, and more reaching out all the time. While police were never able to bring charges against the priest, Caine said that 16 people who said Maskell abused them have since received money from the archdiocese as part of financial agreements. Source:https://www.spreaker.com/user/americancrimecast/sistercathy-1Join Gemma Hoskins and Shane Waters in this new podcast series about the unsolved murder . November 1969: Sister Cathy Cesnik disappears. Maskell was a police chaplain and he knew people in high places that's how they got away with it. The unsolved slaying of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik in Baltimore in 1969 hit another dead end Wednesday when police learned that DNA from a long-deceased priest did not match crime scene evidence . But that charming faade was shattered in 1992. Students, parents and the local media buzzed about the 26-year-old's disappearance. The autopsy concluded her cause of death . They got in touch with the local police, reporting that Cesnik had gone missing. > Licensing inquiries: Email tim.thomas@baltsun.com. However, with each day that passes, internet sleuths and hard-boiled detectives alike unveil a new connection or a potential piece of evidence that had been overlooked before in the case. 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. There are a lot of different stories about how Maskell threatened the girls into silence, and Huffpost has the details. ', He theorized that because there had been no signs of a struggle, 'it looked too clean. 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. 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. 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. Youtube. She believes they might contain the names of people who were complicit in his crimes, or in covering them up. . Her body was left out in the open on a slight rise. The youngest I've talked to myself was three, Hoskins said. 102, September Term 1995, "Baltimore Archdiocese Pays Settlements to a Dozen People Alleging Abuse by Late Priest", "Netflix's 'The Keepers' generates interest in other Md. 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. Rather conveniently, they also couldn't find any other corroborating statements regarding Joseph Maskell's abuse (Jean Wehner's lawyers had no trouble). 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. 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. 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. The idea that he terrorized many, and that the Catholic Church chose not to stop him. Ghosts of the past might've followed her, though, punishing her for what she knew and the good she did. However, this is a small step towards justice. Pamela Lynn Conyers, 16, was last seen at the shopping mall in Glen Burnie on October 16, 1970, police said. Crime Museumadds that the car itself was newly caked in mud. She was found dead two months later. She'd said no, but they still kept writing love letters and spending time together. Moreover, she said that along with the priest, she was abused by police officers. Catherine Anne Cesnik was born on November 17, 1942, in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Just a few days before she vanished, the priest reportedly called her and, once again expressing his love, had asked her to marry him. Father Maskell was a counselor and chaplain at Archbishop Keough from 1967 to 1975. (Handout photo courtesy of Netflix), Catherine Cesnik, a 26-year-old nun, disappeared after leaving her Southwest Baltimore apartment to go shopping in November 1969.
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