Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. 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. Were not going to let this go, Hoskins said. The Irish Tenors have been singing together for 25 years and have just embarked on a U.S. tour to mark this standout number. It had to be somebody who knew her.'. Radakovic was Cesnik's younger sister. We met Gemma in a Home Depot parking lot, a few blocks from where Sister Cathys car was found. ', He claimed that the detectives were told to either charge the priest 'or let him go. Sister Cathy Cesnik's Sister on Her Murder, The Keepers - Peoplemag And this was how she had explained it to me. Were you impressed with Gemmas investigative skills given that she has no police or journalism experience? 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. 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.. She believes they might contain the names of people who were complicit in his crimes, or in covering them up. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . In one scene, Jean told her friends, we are the keepers of the secrets, and I knew that had to be the title. Amateur sleuths have continued tracking the famous cold case in a new podcast series. This is huge news regarding Sister Cathy's case. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. She also thinks Sister Cathy was murdered because she knew about Maskells abuse and was going to come forward. In addition to the six abuse victims featured in the documentary, director Ryan White told TheWrap there are at least 40 victims in total, some from after Maskell's stint at Keough. 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'. So-called Grandma Nancy Drew Gemma Hoskins has spent years asking for the federal case files on Joyce Maleckis murder. As one of the Baltimore detectives who initially worked on the case, Nick Giangrasso, told a reporter for Huffington Post: 'The Catholic Church had a lot of input into the police department. On May 17, the Baltimore Sun reported that his DNA did not match a sample that was taken. A lot of power. In the process of cleaning out her belongings, Radakovic discovered her mom had collected years of articles about the death of her eldest daughter, Radakovics sister, 26-year-old nun Sister Catherine Cathy Cesnik. The grisly case has inspired the Netflix docu-series The Keepers, The beloved nun who was an English and drama teacher at Archbishop Keough High School is believed to have been killed by someone in the church in an attempt to keep her quiet, 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?'. More: Every Original Series Cancelled By Netflix. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, 'The Keepers' Filmmaker: Father Maskell Abused 40 Victims, Not Just the 6 in Netflix's Doc. 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.. 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. . On November 7, 1969, 26-year-old Sister Catherine Cesnik vanished. We went through Christmas with Cathy being missing, and that whole time because I had gotten that letter I was sure she was alive, Radakovic says. Were you scared of taking on the Catholic Church? The Keough priest who allegedly masterminded the sex abuse, Father A. Joseph Maskell, died in 2001 and denied the abuse accusations before his death. In spite of the Freedom of Information Act, the federal government has continuously neglected to provide Gemma Hoskins with this information. Unless some brave sleuths or particularly inspired detectives go digging, Keough High School is now, for better or worse, closed to a continuing story. I think the really special part of The Keepers is that people arespeaking up for a lot of people who didnt survive it. But some thirty women soon came forward with accounts of sexual abuse at the school. [6] Residents at the apartment complex noticed Cesnik in her car at approximately 8:30 that night, and others spotted her car illegally parked across the street about two hours later. 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. Mine isdifferent than Gemmas theory, but we were all looking at the various versions of the truth and deciding what we believed was true. The Murder Of Sister Cathy Cesnik - Altered Dimensions Paranormal 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. Netflix documentary series explores the 1970 murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik. Tweet. 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. This seven-episode docuseries explores the still-unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. By William Cannon 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. Gerald KoobA close friend of Sister Cathys, who says his relationship with her was almost romantic. She still spends at least part of every day trying to find those people. Season 2 of the podcast " Out of the Shadows ". She had brown hair and brown eyes. Netflix's latest true-crime documentary The Keepers is a hit and everyone who has watched the series has only one question: who killed Sister Cathy Cesnik? They scared the living hell out of us.'. He later returned to the U.S. and died in 2001. Im also not a journalist or a detective but I borrowed a lot of skills from Gemmas skillset over the years. - May 30, 2017 05:42 pm EDT. Our focus was definitely on the survivors of Keough, but many Maskell victims cameafter Keough, and its horrifying. I have deep gratitude for the detectiveswho sat down with me and had complete transparency in opening their crime scene photos and investigation. 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. She joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame when she was 18. All rights reserved. Cathy Cesnik's "Death" Poem In 'The Keepers' Is Poignant - Romper Is Sister Cathy Cesnik's Death Connected to Sex Scandal? - PEOPLE.com Sister Cathy Cesnik's disappearance and murder remain an unsolved mystery. Radakovic, now in her 60s, remains determined. 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. Despite the fact that Father Maskell's DNA does not match the DNA found at the crime scene, Armacost notes that the results don't necessarily clear him as a suspect. "[9], Wehner said that Cesnik once came to her and said gently, "Are the priests hurting you?" Sister Cathy's Sister Plays An Important Role In 'The Keepers' - Romper I have very little doubt at the finish line. ", court of Appeals of Maryland, No. But hes only willing to share a slice of it. Moreover, she said that along with the priest, she was abused by police officers. Shes so driven to find out what happened to her teacher. [13], Netflix produced a seven-part documentary series about the case called The Keepers, which debuted on May 19, 2017. Their work is featured prominently, in "The Keepers.. A writ of certiorari was granted by the Maryland Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court decision, ruling in part, "that the mental process of repression of memories of past sexual abuse does not activate the discovery rule. It would be two months later, on January 3, 1970, that a couple of hunters came upon Sister Cathy's decomposed, frozen and mutilated body, and notified police. Much like everyone else who . Updated by Nicole Mello on June 14, 2020: Justice still has not been found for Sister Cathy. As in, a three-year-old who remembers it. ', After Maskell's death, Jean Wehner came forward and revealed she was the student who the priest had taken to view Cesnik's body at the dump before her remains were officially found, Wehner claims the only nun at the school who sought to help the abused girls was Sister Cathy, The crime haunted the local community for decades. 'The Keepers' Update: New DNA Evidence Found In Sister Cathy Cesniks Murder Case, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Should Remain On-Air Couple After ABC Exit, According to TV Host, Ryan Seacrest Addresses 'American Idol' Future After Exiting 'Live With Kelly and Ryan', 'Yellowstone': Paramount Boss Addresses Matthew McConaughey Spinoff Rumors, 'Yellowstone' Franchise Plans to Debut 2 Shows Every Year, 'Star Trek: Discovery' Fate Revealed at Paramount+ Ahead of Fifth Season, 'The Bachelor' Fans Slam New Season as Boring, Brie & Nikki Bella to Host Reality Competition Series, 'The Office' Alum's Sister-In-Law Found Dead Over 10 Days After Being Reported Missing. She was found dead two months later. The plaintiffs suits are thus barred by the statute of limitation. Hoskins and Schaub looked into each of those tips, and the tips have kept coming in for the past five years. She said, You need to come home right away. The Keepers centres on the death of 26-year-old nun, Sister Cathy Cesnik, who went missing from Baltimore, Maryland on November 7th, 1969. 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. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? She chose not to charge Maskell, saying the case lacked evidence. Who killed Sister Cathy Cesnik? The real story behind Netflix's new Everyone has a different theory. She wanted to be more. Published on May 18, 2017 10:03 AM. "The Keepers" explores the murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik, who disappeared in November 1969 and whose body was discovered in January of 1970. He was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and has written investigative reports for Mother Jones, the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post. Sister Cathy's body was undressed to the waist. As documentary-maker Ryan White asserted: 'What we discovered during the filmmaking process is that everything wasn't as it appeared to be. 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. 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. Spitz did the official autopsy back in 1970. Who killed the nun still remains a mystery today, but . Her hope clung to a strange letter she had received in the mail, apparently sent by Cesnik and postmarked the day after she went missing. 'The Keepers' Filmmaker: Father Maskell Abused 40 Victims - TheWrap [8], In 1995, Teresa Lancaster and Jean Wehner (ne Hargadon), former students at Keough who say they were sexually abused by Maskell, filed a lawsuit against him, the school, gynecologist Christian Richter, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and William H. Keeler. I hope this documentary can be a tool of healing, but its about to be very triggering for the survivors, saidWhite. Sister Helen Russell PhillipsSister Cathy's roommate in 1969 when she disappeared. In The Keepers another Keough graduate - Jean Hargadon-Wehner - talked on camera about her abuse by two priests, Neil Magnus and Joseph Maskell, and other men at the school. But in interviews conducted before his death, he found these. How did the women keep their faith and how were they able to move on and have kids after what they went through? Cesnik felt called by God to be a nun, her sister says, and she had a gift for teaching. Still wondering what happened to Sister Cathy? Podcast continues In "The Keepers," Davidson said he called a radio show years later and said he had information about the case. One of those calls went to a retired Baltimore County teacher, Gemma Hoskins. We werent actively looking at what he was doing after Keough but obviously, Charles [another abuse victim] played a narrative in the abuse. We did it slowly it took three years. The Keepers will premiere on Netflix on May 19. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. ", Up Next: Netflix Hidden Gems For Sci-Fi And Fantasy Lovers. The fall before she died, Cesnik transferred from Keough to a local public school in Baltimore and had asked for a leave of absence from her order. She was described as a tall, thin girl -- standing about 5 feet, 7 inches and weighing 112 pounds. 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. And after almost 50 years, Sister Cathy's murder has remained unsolved. What do you think happened to Sister Cathy? The Murder Of Catherine Cesnik, The Nun Who Knew Too Much - Grunge.com RELATED:Netflixs Tiger King: 15 Best Joe Exotic Quotes. The trial court dismissed the action as time-barred by the statute of limitations. 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.. 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. 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. According to published sources, at least two students at Keough were shown the body of Sister Cathy by Father Maskell himself. She was the eldest child of Joseph and Anna Omulac Cesnik. I think it's pretty undeniable by the end of The Keepers that they are, and Jean is the nexus of that, White said. The call led Hoskins and Keough graduate, Abbie Schaub, to start their own research into Sister Cathy's murder. In the show, the audience briefly hears about the fact that Ireland has claims on A. Joseph Maskell, as well, that the Catholic Church continues to cover up. 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. 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. In 1969, at 26 years old, Cesnik faced an impasse in her life and career, Radakovic says. . 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. Nasal spray reduces risk of infection 86% - nearly DOUBLE protection given by shot in arm, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!'