Will the Mystery of Who Killed Sister Cathy Become the Next ‘making a Murderer’?

news.com.au
April 21, 2017

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/will-the-mystery-of-who-killed-sister-cathy-become-the-next-making-a-murderer/news-story/ab6a0273e2a5738926f0a534fc80d156

ONE evening in November, 1969, Sister Catherine “Cathy” Cesnik, left the home she shared with a fellow nun to buy some dinner rolls, shop for an engagement gift and cash a cheque.

When the 26-year-old hadn’t returned by 11pm, her concerned flatmate called two friends who were priests. They eventually contacted local Baltimore police and reported their friend missing.

Her car was discovered unlocked, parked illegally, and away from her usual spot. There was no sign of Cathy.

In early 1970 Sister Cathy’s badly decomposed body was discovered at a rubbish dump. A forensic examination revealed that the popular schoolteacher had been choked, then killed by a blow from a blunt object — possibly a hammer or a brick.

The young nun was adored by the students she taught. Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied

Investigating detectives found no leads on the death, and the investigation was later abandoned. No one was ever charged with her murder.

But almost 50 years later, this cold case is being given a new lease of life. Next month Netflix will delve into the mystery of the murdered nun when they launch their new true crime documentary series The Keepers.

They are hoping that this seven-part series (which will drop all at once on May 19), will be a ratings winner and echo the success of 2015’s Making a Murderer, which became a water-cooler topic when it aired.

There’s no doubt there’s an appetite for binge-worthy true crime series at the moment — HBO also had a runaway hit with The Jinx and the Serial podcast became a global phenomenon.

A photo of Sister Cathy Cesnik, shown in the trailer for The Keepers.Source:Supplied

Investigators believe they have uncovered new evidence in the case of the murdered nun, so the series may actually end with an answer to the question “who killed Sister Cathy”.

Two women recently came forward with information linking Cathy to a spate of sexual abuse by a priest. At the time of Cathy’s death, sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was hardly ever spoken about — especially in Baltimore.

“Baltimore has always been a quintessentially Catholic city. The priests were the authority,” explains an individual in The Keepers trailer.

One particular suspect was initially linked to the murder: Father Joseph Maskell.

The now-dead priest used to work at the same school as teacher Cathy, and had previously been accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls.

Father Joseph Maskell in a 1969 yearbook, as shown in the trailer for ‘The Keepers’.Source:Supplied

Some people speculated at the time that Sister Cathy knew too much about dark dealings in the priesthood, and was killed to prevent word getting out about what she knew.

The Huffington Post reports that Father Maskell took a student to see Cathy’s body, which was covered with maggots at the rubbish dump.

It’s alleged the priest lured the girl there to warn her about what happens to women who “say bad things about people”.

“He terrified me to the point that I would never open my mouth,” the ex-student recalls.

The memorial booklet for Sister Cathy.Source:Supplied

The Baltimore News website reports that one of the anonymous women who recently came forward to police claims to know who committed the crime.

She said: “I instinctively felt that when Sister Cathy was murdered, that my husband at the time had committed the murder.

“The night that she was murdered sticks out in my mind so clearly because when my husband came in, I remember looking up at him in shock because he had blood all over his white shirt.

“Something evil was going on.”