The Most Underrated “Coverup” of a Century
The Mysterious Death of Sister Catherine Cesnik
Hi everyone! 👋 I am back this week with another murder mystery that left me wanting more. Sorry for the longer wait between posts; this month has been super crazy 😅 I plan on writing at least once a week from here on but bear with me between posts.
Anyway….if you are new here, WELCOME! This is the Midnight Murking Club where we dive into the world’s most bizarre and unexplainable cases 🫣
If you have 30 seconds to spare, that would be amazing!!
Sit back, relax, enjoy a cuppa, and let’s go!
WHAT THE F*&#?!
On January 3rd, 1970 the body of Sister Catherine “Cathy” Cesnik was found next to a garbage dump in southwest Baltimore County.
She was only 26 years old.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only victim around the time she disappeared.
Nor did the allegations that arose surrounding the suspicious cause of her death leave the public in any better shape.
BACK TRACK
Sister Cathy left her apartment on November 7th, 1969.
She drove in her vehicle to the store to pick up a gift.
She didn’t return that night.
Her friend (Sister Russell Phillips) with whom she shared the apartment called priests Pete McKeon and Gerry Koob.
SIDENOTE: Cathy was in a ROMANTIC relationship with Gerry. Not sure if that means much in this case so far but definitely worth noting. We’ll get more into that relationship later.
Her car was found empty near her apartment complex.
ALL SHOOK UP
The missing woman took the whole city by storm.
Her students were worried and so were her friends and family.
Cathy’s case was getting hazier by the minute as more details came to light that simply couldn’t be explained.
- Her car was found by her friends at 4:40 am unlocked. (However, the neighbors had seen the car parked there since 10:30pm the night she left).
- The car was covered in twigs and completely caked in mud
- No signs of a struggle
This case may seem bizarre with unanswered questions.
Unfortunately, it only gets even more bizarre with even more unanswered questions.
BODY FOUND
A father and son came upon Cesnik’s body at a garbage dump with snow covering her body and secluded away.
The area was pretty secluded to the point where she most likely had to walk to reach the area.
There were visible signs of marks around her neck (most likely strangulation) and upon autopsy noticed a quarter-sized hole in the back of her head.
The cause of death being blunt forced trauma
The craziest thing is….a weapon could never be identified.
WELCOME TO THE LINE UP
As far as the list of suspects go there were only TWO that seemed to have something to offer.
This is the part where parts of the story should clear up.
But it only made things even more complicated and confusing.
Gerry Koob
Gerry was a former love interest of Cathy’s and was even wanting to marry her.
He would leave his profession if only Cathy had agreed.
Cathy had turned Gerry down but still spent time with him after his proposal.
He seemed like he would be a good suspect with the rejection and his strong love for her.
However, he had an alibi that night.
This lead didn’t lead to anything so they went back to the drawing board.
Father A. Joseph Maskell
Law Enforcement believed her disappearance and death had some ties to the church.
His name had popped up in multiple interviews and had worked with Cathy for some time.
Yet again, this lead didn’t go anywhere at the time.
Notice I mentioned: “at the time”.
BLESS ME FOR I HAVE SINNED
Father A. Joseph Maskell isn’t out of the woods.
It took 32 years for allegations to come forth against the priest.
They submitted it anonymously and later came out as Jean Wehner and Teresa Lancaster.
Their allegations were about abuse at Archbishop Keough High School.
What you had there was a whole lot of sex going on among priests and students. Can you imagine the scandal, in 1970, if that stuff had ever come out in a trial? Hell, it could have blown the lid right off the Church! -Retired Det. Roemer
By 1994, well over a dozen cases were filed against the priest for abuse.
All by different women.
There was an angel, however, who tried to save those from the abuse.
HAIL MARY
Sister Cathy Cesnik was the angel who would try to save the abused from the priest in the best ways she could.
While she worked at the high school she would try to come up with stories and excuses to have the girls get out of “therapy” with the priest.
Jean Wehner did report that Cesnik was the one who stepped her aside to ask if the priests were hurting her.
Cesnik was their haven in the darkest of times.
TIES THAT BIND US
As far as her murder goes there have been numerous theories to depict what happened that fateful night.
The most reasonable theory would be that Cesnik wanted to go to the police, however, she was murdered before she could divulge what was happening at the school with the wicked priest.
Weirdly enough other murders happened around the same time as Cesnik’s that leave a weird feeling in your stomach.
Six different murders occurred that had a link in some way, shape, and/or form to Joseph Maskell.
All six murders also remain UNSOLVED.
NEVER ENDS
Cathy Cesnik’s murder remains unsolved and the hope remains among her family, friends, and students that seek justice.
Every homicide cop has one case that haunts him to the end of his career, and Sister Cathy is mine,” Roemer said. “I sure do wish we could close this one out, before I kick the bucket.”
Side note: this case made it to a Netflix show called “The Keepers” and since its release (2017) numerous cases of sexual abuse are finally getting progress.
Once again thank you for stopping by! If you have read this far I am grateful and hope you enjoyed the story. A HUGE shoutout to all of my followers, thank you so much! ☺️
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