Sister Cesnik had been reported as a missing person on November 7, 1969, from her residence at the Carriage House Apartments in Baltimore City, 21229. Unfortunately, Russell is . . At the time of her disappearance, Sister Cesnik was on a sabbatical from the Roman Catholic Church and was teaching at Western High School in Baltimore City. They already knew the murderer, but looking further would unearth information he wasn't supposed to know. [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. Crime Museumadds that the car itself was newly caked in mud. 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. What we do know is that the FBIs continuing failure to contribute meaningfully to this case has negatively impacted any chance at an ending to the story. Granted, there was the argument that this was, technically, still within three years Jean Wehner and Teresa Lancaster had just recovered those memories. 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. 'There were a lot of layers that if you peeled them back went a lot deeper. In his late 20s at the time and described as pretty charismatic, he was easy to like, working as a counselor with a psychology degree from Johns Hopkins. The words scared Wehner into silence for decades. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. The investigation into her disappearance and death revealed rampant abuse at her place of employment, Keough High School, a prominent Catholic school in Baltimore, Maryland. [13], Netflix produced a seven-part documentary series about the case called The Keepers, which debuted on May 19, 2017. We know this speculation about the circumstances is not false, because Jean Hargadon Wehner tells us in the show that she has evidence proving otherwise. And I can hear Cathy saying 'I told you I'd take care of this' and I said, I didn't think you meant 20 years later. Her body was found January 3, 1970. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. [7] She cashed a paycheck at First National Bank in Catonsville that night. ', They were told to 'stop harassing him,' he said. Sandra Onorati Rzucek, Shan'ann's mother, described Shan'ann as a "fireball". Shortly before her disappearance, he'd called her again, telling her that he was still in love with her. 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. Were not going to let this go, Hoskins said. According to Hollywoodlife.com, Joseph Maskell's body was exhumed in Feb. 2017 and his DNA was tested by a forensics lab against DNA evidence found near the crime scene of Sister Cathy. Maskell denied involvement in any form of abuse. 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. Koob had an alibi for the night he'd been out at a movie with another priest and claimed not to know anything. But, again, that didn't go anywhere, with Maskell always conveniently too busy to talk. People from all over Baltimore County helped the police comb local parks and wooded areas for any sign of her. However, the material was never entered into evidence. 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 . After Maskell died in 2001, the two women decided to go public, using their real names. Either she or Phillips would always make to stop on every second Friday to cash their paychecks. 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. Except for that day, she said. It's one of those terrible truths of the world that bad things happen to good people. Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik was 26 when she disappeared in 1969; her body was found weeks later. I agree. 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 . "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. But I can whole-heartedly say, Cathy has been very much a part of all this.. Jane Doe (Jean Wehner) is quoted as recalling a man she knew only as Brother Bob, who she can hardly remember from being traumatized so badly by him, whispering to her that he was the one who had killed Sister Cathy. One of the most famous pieces of evidence from the show is the cigarette butt shown in episode six, found near Sister Cathys body. 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. Another detective was looking into the case, only for a superior to tell him to stop. Another article put out by the Baltimore Sun tried to paint a clearer image of the evening. Each of their bodies was found in different law enforcement jurisdictions, delaying any connections from being made for many years, according to Armacost. In the decades since the nuns killing and as DNA testing has become a vital investigative tool, Baltimore County police have compared the DNA of several other people as part of their investigation into the never-closed case, according to Armacost, but those tests did not match the DNA profile from 1970. It was apparently a fixation for Maskell, who would then perform his own mock "exams" on the girls, flaunting his authority and power. It was actual, hard evidence that would at least be enough to arrest Maskell for possessing child pornography. ', 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.'. Joyce Helen Malecki (born June 12, 1949; disappeared November 11, 1969) was a 20-year-old American office worker from Baltimore, Maryland, who was employed at a liquor distributor.She disappeared on November 11, 1969, and was found dead two days later at the Soldier Park training area of Fort Meade.Malecki's murder remains unsolved; the Netflix documentary series The Keepers, released in May . Catherine Cesnik was born in 1942, she was a devoted catholic nun who taught drama and English at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Joyce Helen Malecki, 20, disappeared from Harundale Mall a few days after Cesnik; her . RELATED:10 Best True Crime Shows On Netflix. We had no idea that people would still be talking about it five years later, and that people would still be watching it five years later.. She taught English and ran the drama club. 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. 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. Cesnik was 26 and on a sabbatical from the Roman Catholic Church. Both women have said that she was the only member of the school's staff who helped them and other girls abused by Maskell, et al., and have said that she was murdered prior to discussing the matter with the archdiocese of Baltimore. Investigating detectives found no leads on Cesnik's death, and the investigation was later abandoned. For us, our bar was more about bringing these womens experiences to light and starting this conversation.. It was thrown out on a technicality, according to Huffpost. Despite the time, speculation, and later surge of interest in the case, Catherine Cesnik's murder has still gone unsolved. Source:https://www.spreaker.com/user/americancrimecast/sister-cathy-cesnik-part-5-if-i-told-i-wThis episode may not be appropriate for all listeners. It seems that either the Archdiocese is lying about having investigated the accusations, or the Archdiocese is lying about having internal records on A. Joseph Maskell. 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 Boston Archdiocese had been regularly making private settlements, paying for silence when it came to reports of abuse by priests. Because of the condition of Cesnik's corpse, police were unable to tell if she had been sexually assaulted. Her body was found a few months later, discarded unceremoniously in a garbage dump. by Caralynn Lippo. Then there was a Baltimore gravedigger who told the police Maskell had ordered him to dig a hole in 1991 to bury files. Grace Elizabeth Montanye, 16, met a stranger at a shopping mall on Sept 29, 1971, northwest of Baltimore, according to police. Like a scene out of a horror movie, the high school junior was driven to a garbage dump by the school's 30-year-old spiritual counselor, Father Joseph Maskell - who died in 2001 - and reportedly told the 16-year-old student: 'You see what happens when you say bad things about people?'. 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. A lot of power. Peter McKeon (possibly with Sister Helen Phillips and Rev. Following her disappearance, investigators plotted her movements and determined she had cashed her $255 paycheck at a bank before heading to a small shopping center where she bought some baked goods. Stuff being crimes, and they're walking around.. 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). Potential suspects seem like they should shed some light on a case, but that wasn't the case here, as Huffpost documents. However, they say theres nothing, even though Jean Wehner found many victims willing to come forward simply by sending out letters in the mail. 2023 Cable News Network. Investigators dug up Maskell's grav to compare the DNA of Maskell, to evidence from the crime scene. It was a name he kept hearing in interviews with other priests, and the man had worked with Cesnik while she taught at Keough. Something was clearly wrong, and so, according to the Baltimore Sun, Helen Russell Phillips called on the help of a few friends revs. ', One former student, Teresa Lancaster, told WJZ-TV in Baltimore, that Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it.'. The next time the young nun was seen, it was by a female student from Cesnik's school, Archbishop Keough High School. Beyond just being a generically good teacher, she even let her students drop by her apartment on weekends for a chat or a bit of music. ', The comments below have not been moderated, By "For now, we've pretty well reached the end of the road when it comes to forensic evidence," Elise Armacost, a spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police Department said. And to end. With that came the ominous warning "You see what happens when you say bad things about people?" Hargadon-Wehner's new book "Walking With Aletheia" details her healing process, and what she's learned from - she says - communicating with several different aspects of her personality. They were last known to have been at shopping centers in the area, the same as Cesnik. Inside Baltimore sheds some light on the idea that Cesnik's murder wasn't a lone incident. I always felt like there was some reason for me to be here and I didn't know what it was. "[9], Wehner said that Cesnik once came to her and said gently, "Are the priests hurting you?" 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. [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. Hoskins and Schaub looked into each of those tips, and the tips have kept coming in for the past five years. A Warner Bros. 15:36 EST 18 May 2017 So-called Grandma Nancy Drew Gemma Hoskins has spent years asking for the federal case files on Joyce Maleckis murder. The youngest I've talked to myself was three, Hoskins said. ", court of Appeals of Maryland, No. She was found dead two months later. Now, WJZ has learned Baltimore County Police may be closer than ever to solving the murder of 26-year-old Sister Cathy Cesnik. White can only say this about it: Her story is chilling.. She left for Baltimore at 18 to join the School Sisters of Notre Dame, eventually going on to teach at Archbishop Keough High School. There is no word on whether the Attorney General's investigators will gain access to those records. As police proceeded with their investigation, Father Maskell who was said to have taken a female student to the site where she claimed she saw Sister Cathy's lifeless body came under suspicion. 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). 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). Cesnik's murder is still unsolved in 2021, although Maskell was suspected to be involved in Cesnik's murder at the time f his death in 2001, his DNA didn't match the evidence from the . Advocates, filmmakers say they have not given up. So it probably wasn't the result of some random act of violence. 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. 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. 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 . The plaintiffs suits are thus barred by the statute of limitation. 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 . [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]. And the oldest was in her 20's.. But some thirty women soon came forward with accounts of sexual abuse at the school. 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. Least be enough to arrest Maskell for possessing child pornography five years some random act violence! And claimed not to know anything to tell him to dig a in... 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