After the series premiered, messages started to arrive from around the world with new information. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. The documentary investigates whether Maskell had. One of the students who was abused told Nugent that Sister Cathy was a very brave women who tried her best to help those who were abused and she paid for it with her life., The victim continued: I honor her spirit and I still feel very close to her, even today. Nicole currently resides in Massachusetts with their husband and two best friends. 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. 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. - May 30, 2017 05:42 pm EDT. 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. White, the Keepers director, said nearly the same thing in a separate interview. Im also not a journalist or a detective but I borrowed a lot of skills from Gemmas skillset over the years. 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. He worked on the story for the next year and a half, but said in "The Keepers" the archdiocese in Baltimore stonewalled him at every turn. Much like the government, the Catholic Church has their own internal system for keeping track of the people who make up their organization. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. But I can whole-heartedly say, Cathy has been very much a part of all this.. 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. One former student, Teresa Lancaster claims she was sexually abused by Father Maskell as well as members of Baltimore police who took her to a wooded area and raped her in a car, Lancaster (right) said Maskell got away with his crimes by'power and fear.' On the evening she disappeared, Sister Cathy was reportedly counseling one of the abused girls when Maskell unexpectedly showed up. She was "Jane Roe" in that ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit. The Keepers, a 7-part documentary, is currently available to stream on Netflix. And everything ends with, I want you to do your job. . Just a few days before she vanished, the priest reportedly called her and, once again expressing his love, had asked her to marry him. 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. But through Gemma and Abbie, we talked to about 25 for the documentary. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Hoskins says at a minimum she wants to see records on Father Maskell. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . Everyone has a different theory. In 2016, the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) reassigned the case due to retiring officers, prompting new interviews and further investigation into the alleged sexual abuse at Keough. [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. Her mutilated remains were found on January 1970 and her murder is still unsolved. After Maskell died in 2001, the two women decided to go public, using their real names. I would hang on to her, and she was like, Youre gonna get me thrown out! , And shed tell Cesnik, Thats what Im trying to do, Cathy, Im trying to do. Id say to my dad, Get the car, well steal her. . Theyd ring a bell and [the girls] were required to get up and just walk away., But Radakovic couldnt let go. In her first interview about Cesnik, Radakovic speaks to PEOPLE about who her sister really was, what the decades after her death have been like and her renewed quest for answers. Police dropped him as a target before he died. Stuff being crimes, and they're walking around.. 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. I hope this documentary can be a tool of healing, but its about to be very triggering for the survivors, saidWhite. 2021 Updates on The 50-Year-Old Unsolved Murder Case of Sister Cathy Cesnik | by Rameen Zeeshan | Lessons from History | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. Koob was a Jesuit priest at the time of Sister Cathys murder. Lil Hughes KnippAnother of the women who were abused at Keough, Lil Hughes Knipp did not come forward until years after the 1994 lawsuit. Nugents insights on the matter will be featured in the Netflix series. Bill Hughes is a Baltimore-based author, actor and photojournalist. The Irish Tenors have been singing together for 25 years and have just embarked on a U.S. tour to mark this standout number. In spite of the Freedom of Information Act, the federal government has continuously neglected to provide Gemma Hoskins with this information. In 2013, Facebook page was started by an alum of the school, and more women told of their abuse at the hands of Maskell and others. There is one living suspect in Cesniks homicide, according to police spokeswoman Elise Armacost. Donna VonDenBoschDonna VonDenBosch also has come forward as one of Maskell's abuse victims as a member of the Keough class of 1974. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse. But in interviews conducted before his death, he found these. Father Maskell was a counselor and chaplain at Archbishop Keough from 1967 to 1975. Advocates, filmmakers say they have not given up. As she would discover, there are many people in Baltimore who believe Cesnik was killed because of what she may have known: that the all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore where she had taught English, Archbishop Keough, had a history of sexual abuse. 'After that we had to break away from him. Another woman, Teresa Lancaster, also came forward. Some suspect the same person killed both women, but authorities have never been able to find a link in their cases. 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. That was the first time I had learned of any of this.. Father A. Joseph MaskellAn administrator, psychologist and counselor at Keough when Sister Cathy was a teacher there, Maskell has been accused by dozens of students and other children of sexual abuse. ', He theorized that because there had been no signs of a struggle, 'it looked too clean. This family evidence of anger problems, assaults on others, using a position of power over others to avoid punishment, and the assault on a young woman much like Sister Cathy all point towards a potential pre-existing rage in A. Joseph Maskell that nobody has ever explored. Play it now! On November 7, 1969, Cesnik disappeared. She didn't come forward or join the lawsuit against Maskell in 1994. They revealed themselves in "The Keepers" thanks to documentary filmmakers Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave. The only way to do that was to find people who were involved. This is huge news regarding Sister Cathy's case. 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. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Every bit of it, vividly. Radakovic still tears up when she talks about Cesnik, who died more than 46 years ago. The only evidence that she had been out, were the buns she had bought at the bakery. The series delves deeply into sexual abuse allegations and a lawsuit against Father Maskell brought by Jane Doe, now identified as Wehner, and Jane Roe, since identified as Teresa Lancaster. Among the other errands she ran that night, Cesnik was also looking to buy a present for her sister. Radakovic was Cesnik's younger sister. 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. [1] There, on the ground, still clad, her face covered with maggots, was the body of Sister Cathy. 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. She was just 26 at the time of her death. [10], Wehner says that, two months before Cesnik's body was discovered, and only a day or two after Cesnik disappeared on November 1969, Maskell drove her to a wooded site near Fort Meade and showed her the body. She was valedictorian at the graduation of her high school class in 1960, after being the May Queen and the president of the senior class and the student council. BALTIMORE "The Keepers" premiered on Netflix, on May 19th, 2017, bringing worldwide attention to the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. [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]. She wanted to be more. And after almost 50 years, Sister Cathy's murder has remained unsolved. Possibly Missing: 1)An engagement gift 2) $255 cash (minus the rolls and gift?) Her body was found January 3, 1970. The suit was thrown out and Richter was never convicted of any wrongdoing. On January 3, 1970, nearly two months after her vanishment, the brutally beaten and mutilated body of Sister Cesnik was located in a field in Lansdowne, Maryland, by a man and his son who were. It is still in the process of dealing with the legal fallout, and atoning for the deeds of those who preyed on the most vulnerable. "Our best hope for solving this case at this point lies with the people who are still alive. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. And as long as youre alive, Cathy will be alive and dont ever forget that.. Maskell was never tried or convicted of any crimes, and he died in 2001. Whats worse than considering the fact that A. Joseph Maskell terrorized one community? I don't understand what happens on the other side, she said. The Keepers centres on the death of 26-year-old nun, Sister Cathy Cesnik, who went missing from Baltimore, Maryland on November 7th, 1969. Since then, he's been tracking and investigating the story over the years and is one of the investigators of her death in "The Keepers.". Mom Found Next to Her Car with Toddler Son Inside, Wife Wrote 'Letter from the Grave' Before 2008 Death Now Husband Is Guilty of Poisoning Her with Antifreeze, Body of Missing Md. 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. "The Keepers" explores the murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik, who disappeared in November 1969 and whose body was discovered in January of 1970. Published on May 18, 2017 10:03 AM. . I had fond memoriesof the church, but for this, they were so non-participatory with it. According to CNN, Bode Cellmark Forensics laboratory in Lorton, Virginia was responsible for comparing the DNA to the sample from the murder scene. 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. Did you face any hurdles? The identity of Brother Bob remains a mystery, although some in The Keepers believe he might be the missing link in the case of who killed Sister Cathy. 'There were a lot of layers that if you peeled them back went a lot deeper. 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. 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. When her daughter was born five years after that, Radakovic named her Catherine. I think Cathy was planning to go to the police about what was happening to us girls at Keough, says Jean Wehner, one of her former students, and [she] was killed to keep that from happening.. Detectives traveled to the Seattle area to interview the man, but without any solid evidence they were unable to elicit a confession. I wont tell you my theory, but I will say: I believe Jean, and I have corroboratedJean, that this is a woman who was telling the truth from the beginning. 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. 'The Keepers': Sister Cathy's Medical Examiner Also Worked on JFK, JonBenet Ramsey Cases, director Ryan White told TheWrap there are at least 40 victims in total, The Baltimore Archdiocese reached a $35,000 settlement with VonDenBosch in 2016. Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. The tour features the Pic of Day: There was more disruption at Dublin Airport Thursday due to a drone sighting, one of half a dozen such incidents in recent weeks. Refresh. He was well connected to the local community and to the police departments, at both the county and state levels. I can still feel her touch my cheek, said Hargadon-Wehner, in a recent interview. Unfortunately, Russell is . With new evidence cropping up recently, this article has been updated to reflect evenmorefacts and clues that the docuseries overlooked. [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. Do not sell or share my personal information. The Baltimore police has since reopened its investigation. The Baltimore archdiocese has had its own extensive, and very expensive, pedophile priest sexual abuse scandal to deal with in recent years. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. She chose not to charge Maskell, saying the case lacked evidence. 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. But when he was questioned by the police, he had an ironclad alibi for the night of Sister Cathy's disappearance. 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 spot was not easily accessible to a casual passerby. (Radakovic was, in many ways, her sisters first student.) 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. 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. Jean is the reason I made The Keepers I had a five-hour conversation with Jean and I left saying, I need to do something with this womans story. She, to me, was one of the most compellingpeople Ive ever met. I think he's dead, but I may be wrong. Both had . She had a very soft spot in her heart for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Radakovic says, but I think she felt she was called to do something other than live in the convent.. Also Read: 'The Keepers': What's Behind the Name of the Netflix Documentary Series? Butpeople from the outside that intercept withher realize the power of the survivor story in her. Schaub was previously a nurse. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Fans of The Keepers may be surprised to hear that Keough High School, where Sister Cathy and A. Joseph Maskell both taught, closed in July of 2017, following confirmation from the Archdiocese of Baltimore that they paid settlements out to students who had been sexually abused by Maskell. 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. In the nearly two months between that discovery and her disappearance, Radakovic, then 20 years old, remained certain her sister was alive somewhere. Joyce MaleckiThe 20-year-old Baltimore woman went missing on Nov. 11, 1969. Here's our quick guide to all the people in "The Keepers" you need to know. However, theres even more to the story to be considered: Sharon Mays husband used to be a state cop. v. A. Joseph Maskell et al. Sharon A.H. MayThe Baltimore State's attorney working on the Maskell case in 1994. The Keepers filmmaker Ryan White made the new Netflix docuseries that has everyone on the edge of their seats. ', The cop, who died in 2009, said it was a shame because he was certain the priest 'knew more than he was telling. Tom NugentFreelance journalist Tom Nugent covered Sister Cathy's death starting in 1994. Much like everyone else who . What the show doesnt touch on, however, is Koobs supposed relationship with Sister Cathy. Tom Nugent, author of the acclaimed Death at Buffalo Creek, and an investigative journalist, has been writing about Sister Cathys case since 1994, and recently in his online publication, Inside Baltimore.. Not every story that Ryan White heard gets told in The Keepers. [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. On November 7, 1969, Cathy Cesnik left her apartment in Catonsville to buy an engagement gift for her sister. And this was how she had explained it to me. Obviously, it has other meanings one other meaning was the idea of gatekeepers. Sister Catherine CesnikA nun and teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in 1968, Sister Cathy was murdered in Nov. 1969, although her body wasnt discovered until Jan. 3, 1970. ', '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. An image of Sister Cathy Cesnik's car found near her apartment the night she went missing Nov. 7, 1969 in Baltimore County. That documentary series, The Keepers, premiered on Netflix on Friday with Radakovic as a key participant. She was just 26 at the time of her death. Still wondering what happened to Baltimore's Sister Cathy? The youngest I've talked to myself was three, Hoskins said. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. She said Maskell knew people in high places and would allegedly 'allow girls at the school to talk about sex and drugs in his office'. Updated by Nicole Mello on June 14, 2020: Justice still has not been found for Sister Cathy. Days later, after an engagement party with her then-fiancs family, Radakovic got a call from her mother. 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. '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. Everything Ive done, Ive really tried since that time which is just a little over a year ago for me Ive tried to give them all the information that Ive learned, she says of working with authorities. Director Ryan White tells PEOPLE Radakovic was little more than an urban legend for his team as they worked on the documentary, as no one had been able to confirm Cesnik had any siblings. 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. Whoever dumped Sister Catherine's body on a snowy piece of isolated waste ground (now completely overgrown) in Lansdowne had to know the area well. 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. accessed ), memorial page for Sr Catherine Anne "Cathy" Cesnik (17 Nov . Nearly 10 years ago the filmmakers started to meet with her; this was long before Netflix got involved. TheWrap: What was the process ofgetting this documentary together? Were not going to let this go, Hoskins said. 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. ', One former student, Teresa Lancaster, told WJZ-TV in Baltimore, that Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it. However, she didnt want to go on the record. ', 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.'. Baltimore nun Cathy Cesnik, 26, vanished while out on a shopping trip in November 7, 1969. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. Later in 1994, authorities exhumed boxes Maskell had buried in a Baltimore cemetery and found one to contain child pornography. She was a member of the Keough class of 1971. The grisly case has. The letters contents and its link to the case, if any, have never been confirmed by police, though the family turned it over as evidence soon after Radakovic got it. Detectives revealed on Wednesday that after weeks of testing, Maskell's DNA did not match evidence found from the murder scene nearly 50 years ago. It had to be somebody who knew her.'. Sign up today to get daily, up-to-date news and views from Irish America. I mean, its a survivor story at its core. He refuses to be identified, allegedly because he fears reprisals from people responsible for the cover-up of Sister Cathy's death and Maskell's abuse. Well, for all the fans with remaining questions, there has been an update in the murder case. On January 3, 1970, her body was found by a hunter and his son in an informal landfill located on the 2100 block of Monumental Road, in a remote area of Lansdowne. (Handout photo courtesy of Netflix) Catherine Cesnik, a 26-year-old. It deals with, among other subjects, the unsolved brutal murder on November 7, 1969, of a popular nun, Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik, known to many as simply Sister Cathy.. The Keepers/Netflix On its website, the department offers a timeline of Cesnik's death and the case involving allegations against Maskell, who died in 2001. The church has denied the charges, but it has settled dozens of sexual abuse cases in the matter of Father Maskell. He and his friend and fellow priest, Peter McKeon, discovered Sister Cathys car parked at a strange angle across the street from her apartment. White: My access point was personal connection: My aunt went to Archbishop Keough High School and was Sister Cathys student, so she always had a personal connection. Well, its funny how you asked that because I never saw it as taking on the Catholic Church. But some thirty women soon came forward with accounts of sexual abuse at the school. But he never found the killer of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik; he died of complications from diabetes on June 10, at age 79. Marilyn Cesnik Radakovics journey to find out what happened to her older sister, who died nearly 50 years ago, began last year when she read a news article with the headline Buried in Baltimore.. Nine months later, when Radakovic got married, she didnt throw her bouquet, instead leading everyone to the cemetery to put the bouquet on Cesniks grave.