But some thirty women soon came forward with accounts of sexual abuse at the school. Her mutilated remains were found on January 1970 and her murder is still unsolved. There is no word on whether the Attorney General's investigators will gain access to those records. She was found dead two months later. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. Father Neil MagnusAnother of the administrators at Keough, Magnus was accused of participating in sexually abusing students along with Maskell. [6], Immediately after Cesnik's disappearance, police searched the area for her body without success. White, the Keepers director, said nearly the same thing in a separate interview. Police dropped him as a target before he died. According to CNN, Bode Cellmark Forensics laboratory in Lorton, Virginia was responsible for comparing the DNA to the sample from the murder scene. Sharon A.H. MayThe Baltimore State's attorney working on the Maskell case in 1994. The last time Radakovic saw Cesnik alive, her older sister had returned home to Pittsburgh to explain to her family what she was thinking and her potential plans. 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. She was not part of the 1994 lawsuit but came forward later. As I stared at my hands in shock, Father Maskell leaned over and whispered in my ear, you see what happens when you say bad things about people.. Part 1 - Victim Featured in The Keepers Tells Story of Survival in New Book, Part 2 - Attorney Believes Criminal Charges A Possibility in Sex Abuse Investigation. What the show doesnt touch on, however, is Koobs supposed relationship with Sister Cathy. She was found dead two months later. Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. ', The cop, who died in 2009, said it was a shame because he was certain the priest 'knew more than he was telling. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She was just 26 at the time of her death. Radakovic, now in her 60s, remains determined. Baltimore nun Cathy Cesnik, 26, vanished while out on a shopping trip in November 7, 1969. Refresh. In the immediate aftermath, as they made preparations for her funeral, Radakovic was given a piece of advice by the head of Cesniks convent: It is your job, Marilyn, to always keep Cathy alive. Oddly, her Ford Maverick, which she had recently purchased, was found just a block from her apartment parked illegally in a no parking area and unlocked. There is one living suspect in Cesniks homicide, according to police spokeswoman Elise Armacost. Im also not a journalist or a detective but I borrowed a lot of skills from Gemmas skillset over the years. And you know it really just began as us with our camera, taking these trips to Baltimore not knowing that it would ever even become anything.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In one scene, Jean told her friends, we are the keepers of the secrets, and I knew that had to be the title. However, White did still get to talk to them he even got to talk to the anonymous student he mentions in the series. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. Charles FranzIn "The Keepers," Charles Franz came forward as one of Maskell's abuse victims in the 1960s. Jean Hargadon Wehner (Jane Doe)The first former student to accuse Father Maskell of sex abuse, she appeared in the 1994 lawsuit as Jane Doe. Wehner said she waited to come forward because she had repressed her memories of the abuse and only recalled them later. Radakovic still tears up when she talks about Cesnik, who died more than 46 years ago. When she first went in [to the convent], they had visitation days and my parents and I always went down for the visitation days, we never missed them, Radakovic says. I have deep gratitude for the detectiveswho sat down with me and had complete transparency in opening their crime scene photos and investigation. Hoskins and Schaub looked into each of those tips, and the tips have kept coming in for the past five years. White can only say this about it: Her story is chilling.. She said that Maskell showed her Sister Cathys body. Detective Gary ChildsBaltimore County Police Detective Childs is assigned to the cold case file for Sister Cathy's murder at the time of "The Keepers. So much of the investigationof the murder disappeared and we ran into that time and time again. Bob ErlandsonBob Erlandson was a journalist working for the Baltimore Sun in 1993. For the next 47 years, the case went unsolved until now. Its important to take this confession from Koob with a grain of salt, as he is proven in the show to be less than the most reliable of witnesses, but, as White says, I dont know where the truth lies.. Sister Cathy's battered body - she had been beaten over the head - was discovered . 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. It had to be somebody who knew her.'. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. Unfortunately, Russell is . They talked about Radakovics impending college graduation and that she might move to Baltimore and stay in Cesniks apartment. Koob says that he and McKeon went to the movie "Easy Rider" the night of Sister Cathy's disappearance. She wanted to be more. "[9], Wehner said that Cesnik once came to her and said gently, "Are the priests hurting you?" Billy SchmidtSister Cathy's neighbor in the Carriage Hill Apartments building. 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. There are a lot of people that are living that should be behind bars, she said. One of the most famous pieces of evidence from the show is the cigarette butt shown in episode six, found near Sister Cathys body. Updated by Nicole Mello on June 14, 2020: Justice still has not been found for Sister Cathy. The theory that people in position of authority and power are ableto decide what we as the populous know or dont know or whether survivors of abuse are validated or not I also liked the institutional meaning of The Keepers.. When she decided that this would be a healthy step, we went ahead with it. I would say there were at least 40 survivors Thats just 40 from who Gemma and Abbie found, and most of them are no longer alive. But I do think that there are individuals who are still living who know exactly what happened, she said. Nearly 10 years ago the filmmakers started to meet with her; this was long before Netflix got involved. In 1994, two victims, known then as Jane Doe and Jane Roe, attempted to sue the Catholic Church and Maskell for alleged abuse, but the case was thrown out because of Marylands statute of limitations. Unless some brave sleuths or particularly inspired detectives go digging, Keough High School is now, for better or worse, closed to a continuing story. 1 of 40 Sister Catherine Cesnik is pictured with her father, Joseph Cesnik. Later in 1994, authorities exhumed boxes Maskell had buried in a Baltimore cemetery and found one to contain child pornography. He spearheaded the project because of his personal connection to Sister Catherine Cesnik, a nun who was found murdered in January of 1970 and who serves as the centerpiece of the true crime series. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. 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. His aunt was also friends with Jean Wehner, one of multiple people in the documentarywho say they were sexually abused by Father Joseph Maskell in the Baltimore, Maryland area. There, on the ground, still clad, her face covered with maggots, was the body of Sister Cathy. Hoskins did write about her theory on the killer in her book "Keeping On: How I came To Know Why I Was Born.. 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.. In spite of the Freedom of Information Act, the federal government has continuously neglected to provide Gemma Hoskins with this information. She thought she had more potential than they were allowing.. Also Read: 'The Keepers' Filmmaker: Father Maskell Abused 40 Victims, Not Just the 6 in Netflix's Doc. The youngest I've talked to myself was three, Hoskins said. The case remains open and unsolved. Just a few days before she vanished, the priest reportedly called her and, once again expressing his love, had asked her to marry him. He first reported on Sister Cathy's story because of Wehner's accusation that Maskell was involved in her murder. And now the streaming, seven-part Netflix documentary, The Keepers, has investigated the case and will feature interviews with victims of the school abuse, and new revelations. After Maskell died in 2001, the two women decided to go public, using their real names. Cesnik was found on a freezing January day in 1970 in Baltimore County, nearly two months after she vanished near her apartment. What the show doesnt get into is that the FBI has pushed back the date even further now. Every bit of it, vividly. It was early 2016 and the couple was at the California apartment of Radakovics mother, who had recently died. The Oldest Irish American Newspaper in USA, Established in 1928, Bonds Between Irish America And Ireland Remain Strong: Survey. The Keepers will premiere on Netflix on May 19. Throughout the series,the devastation experienced bysurvivors is laid bare,as is theirstrength in confronting unthinkable childhood horrors. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. Maskell left Baltimore for Ireland where he obtained amployment as a psychologist. She suffered blunt force trauma to her head and the case remains open to this day. His family believes he may have had something to do with Cathy's death, along with his brother, Ronnie, and an unknown man called "Skippy." Savvy internet sleuths have found evidence that James Maskell, a former patrolman, got a woman named Sarah Nell sentenced to a year in prison for biting him while he attempted to assault her. And I no longer need to have validation from others about what I witnessed during the crimes that were committed against me and others., The victim added that the archdiocese of Baltimore has been hiding behind the statute of limitations.. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. [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. They revealed themselves in "The Keepers" thanks to documentary filmmakers Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave. 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. And why should they? County police, meanwhile, say they have never proven that Cesniks homicide was due to any knowledge she had of the Keough sex abuse though it is one of multiple theories they are pursuing, including possible links between her death and three other unsolved homicides in the area around the same time. We were trying to reconstruct the truth when it had been deliberately hidden or kept secret. ', 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.'. Gemma HoskinsA former Keough student who had Sister Cathy as a teacher before her death, Hoskins teamed with Abbie Schaub nearly 45 years later, in 2013, to try to solve the nuns murder. I ran over, bent down and began wiping maggots off her face. . 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.' She believes they might contain the names of people who were complicit in his crimes, or in covering them up. TheWrap: What was the process ofgetting this documentary together? The spot was not easily accessible to a casual passerby. 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. She doesnt recognize that of course she lives small. Were not going to let this go, Hoskins said. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. 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. Nugents insights on the matter will be featured in the Netflix series. One of the most frustrating aspects of being a true crime fan is dealing with endless cover-ups from authorities and government entities, like police and the FBI. 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. Beverly WallaceThe attorney for "Jane Doe" and "Jane Roe" in the 1994 lawsuit against Maskell and the archdiocese. 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.. The only way to do that was to find people who were involved. Were you scared of taking on the Catholic Church? Sister Cathys battered body - she had been beaten over the head - was discovered off Monumental Avenue, in a Landsdowne, Baltimore County, Maryland, garbage dump by hunters, on January 3, 1970. His remains were exhumed in February of this year and reports in recent days have stated that a DNA sample from Maskell was not a match from a DNA sample retrieved from evidence from the murder scene in 1969. We would go to Baltimore every two months for the last three years, so people started to feel comfortable around us Survivors would reach out to us on Facebook. ", Up Next: Netflix Hidden Gems For Sci-Fi And Fantasy Lovers. I'm not going to name names right now but they know stuff. 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. She moved into an apartment with another nun and was weighing her options. 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. She was described as a tall, thin girl -- standing about 5 feet, 7 inches and weighing 112 pounds. In the ensuing years, the sisters stayed in touch via letters and phone calls. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. They made the right decision in participating it wasntalways easy to persuade someone to take part. Together, she and Hoskins started the Justice for Catherine Cesnik and Joyce Malecki Facebook page in 2013 to try to solve the case, which has become a network of Keough alumni and abuse survivors. Tricky geometry baffles the internet - but can YOU train your brain to solve how many triangles are in this image? The idea that he terrorized many, and that the Catholic Church chose not to stop him. 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. The Keepers, a 7-part documentary, is currently available to stream on Netflix. 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. "The Christmas after Sister Cesnik disappeared, Ed gave me this necklace as part of a Christmas gift. Sister Cathy went missing on Nov. 7, 1969, but her body was only discovered on Jan. 3, 1970. Joseph Cesnik in 1930 Census; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; 1930 United States Federal Census; National Archives and Records Administration. 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. She was just 26 at the time of her death. 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. (Handout photo courtesy of Netflix) Catherine Cesnik, a 26-year-old. Peter McKeonMcKeon was also a priest, and accompanied Koob to Sister Cathy's apartment when Sister Russell called to say she was missing. Or does White know more than hes telling his audience? The mysterious Brother Bob is, in many ways, even more chilling a figure than A. Joseph Maskell. He then left to work as pastor of a church in Baltimore, but later returned to his duties after an archdiocese investigation failed to support the abuse allegations. 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. I was so drawn to Gemma right when I met her, she had such a unique way. accessed ), memorial page for Sr Catherine Anne "Cathy" Cesnik (17 Nov . Days later, after an engagement party with her then-fiancs family, Radakovic got a call from her mother. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. A lot of power. Koob was a Jesuit priest at the time of Sister Cathys murder. 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Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? 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 grisly case has. Source: Justice for Catherine Cesnik and Joyce Malecki Facebook Group, Mysterious 'Lady in the Fridge' Murder Victim Identified After 27 Years, Woman Adopted as Infant Learns that Biological Mom Was Allegedly Murdered by Serial Killers, Ohio Mom Facing Eviction Kills Husband, Son, and Her Father Before Turning Gun on Herself, MMA Fighter Allegedly Stabbed Ex-Girlfriend 17 Times, Stuffed Body in Storage Bin, Hid Her in Closet, Inside the Mysterious Death of a Pregnant Fla. ', He claimed that the detectives were told to either charge the priest 'or let him go. Cesnik felt called by God to be a nun, her sister says, and she had a gift for teaching. In 1994, two women identified only as 'Jane Doe' and 'Jane Roe' alleged that Maskell had raped them when they were students at Sister Cathy's school. Meanwhile, Baltimore city homicide detectives are continuing. I always felt like there was some reason for me to be here and I didn't know what it was. 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. I told her, everyone is going to recognize you and youregoing to be the worst PIin the world! Look, my mom and my aunt are women in Baltimore, so Gemma in a way is my mom and my aunt shes so much like them, and I hope The Keepers doesnt get relegated to another crime story in Baltimore. The amount of people that have seen The Keepers now is mind-blowing around the world, White said. 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. However, they say theres nothing, even though Jean Wehner found many victims willing to come forward simply by sending out letters in the mail. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. 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. On occasion, they will attempt to combine all three, as there really isnt too much to life overall than fear, love, and laughter. 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Jean is the most incredible survivor that Ive ever witnessed. No one, not even fellow Keough graduates, knew that Jean Hargadon-Wehner was the so-called "Jane Doe" who came forward in the early 1990's and accused the Archdiocese of Baltimore of allowing the abuse to continue. This is presumed to be the source of the DNA sample found at the murder scene, but Ryan White knows theres even more that Baltimore County Police arent saying. 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.. It remained shrouded in mystery until those close to Sister Cathy started sharing their experiences and theories last year, They were told to 'stop harassing him,' he said. Their work is featured prominently, in "The Keepers.. 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. We did it slowly it took three years. Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik was last seen alive on November 7, 1969. Much like the government, the Catholic Church has their own internal system for keeping track of the people who make up their organization. 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. James Maskell, A. Joseph Maskells uncle, is a similarly powerful and threatening figure that deserves to be prodded harder. I've talked to the hunter that found Cathy, and he said that since the day he found her the police have never talked to him. 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. Exposs on the Catholic Church have been steadily being released, with more and more people coming forward over time, but the Church refuses to make a clear statement in the case of A. Joseph Maskell. Moreover, she said that along with the priest, she was abused by police officers. 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. 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.. Gerald KoobA close friend of Sister Cathys, who says his relationship with her was almost romantic. Wehner says she remembers trying repeatedly to brush off the maggots crawling on Cesnik's face while frantically repeating the words, "Help me, help me." She chose not to charge Maskell, saying the case lacked evidence. Caine says the church believes Maskell who overlapped with Cesnik while at Keough, where he worked as the school chaplain and counselor from 1967 to 1975. was sexually abusive. Kathy HobeckIn addition to Wehner and Lancaster, Kathy Hobeck is one of six abuse victims who appears in "The Keepers." Whats really funny about Gemma, shes taking criminologyclasses right now which I find hilarious. However, the material was never entered into evidence. That documentary series, The Keepers, premiered on Netflix on Friday with Radakovic as a key participant. Cathy's Ford Maverick, which she had recently purchased, was found just a block from her apartment parked illegally in a no parking area and unlocked. "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. Her body was found in a wooded area two days later. Authorities said results will take up to six more weeks. Season 2 of the podcast " Out of the Shadows ". He later returned to the U.S. and died in 2001. Edgar DavidsonAccording to his first wife, who speaks in the documentary under condition of anonymity, Davidson talked about being involved in Sister Cathy's murder in 1969. But a Facebook message ultimately connected them, and Radakovic features prominently in the later episodes. '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. And the oldest was in her 20's.. But in interviews conducted before his death, he found these. This is huge news regarding Sister Cathy's case. 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. If the Archdiocese is willing to blatantly lie about this, what else are they lying about? However, she didnt want to go on the record. 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. By William Cannon The church has denied the charges, but it has settled dozens of sexual abuse cases in the matter of Father Maskell. Cesnik attended St. Mary's School on 57th Street and St. Augustine High School, both in Lawrenceville. 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.. Advocates, filmmakers say they have not given up. Either way, theyre lying and withholding information that would be helpful to the case. Nicole currently resides in Massachusetts with their husband and two best friends. When she was reported missing later that night, several dozen cops and half-a-dozen dog teams unsuccessfully searched a wide swath of Baltimore's southwest neighborhood searching for clues to her whereabouts. Much like everyone else who . I mean, my mother loved eating chocolate, and I remember distinctly my mother said, Im gonna give up chocolate until Cathy comes home and then Im gonna eat chocolate until I get sick. . Catherine Anne Cesnik was born on November 17, 1942, in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the series premiered, messages started to arrive from around the world with new information. Well, for all the fans with remaining questions, there has been an update in the murder case.