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. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. 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. 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.. It was early 2016 and the couple was at the California apartment of Radakovics mother, who had recently died. Sharon May states firmly and rudely in her interview that she had absolutely no involvement in any sort of cover-up. 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'. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. "The Keepers" premieres on Netflix May 19. On November 7, 1969, Cesnik disappeared. NEXT:10 Creepy Documentaries To Watch If You Loved The Keepers. ', He theorized that because there had been no signs of a struggle, 'it looked too clean. Nugents insights on the matter will be featured in the Netflix series. I don't understand what happens on the other side, she said. Advocates, filmmakers say they have not given up. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. Beverly WallaceThe attorney for "Jane Doe" and "Jane Roe" in the 1994 lawsuit against Maskell and the archdiocese. They revealed themselves in "The Keepers" thanks to documentary filmmakers Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave. I was shocked, I was so shocked, Radakovic tells PEOPLE. 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. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Nicole Mello is an author of horrors, romances, and comedies. The documentary was produced by Ryan White. Obviously, it has other meanings one other meaning was the idea of gatekeepers. He was well connected to the local community and to the police departments, at both the county and state levels. One of those calls went to a retired Baltimore County teacher, Gemma Hoskins. Shes so driven to find out what happened to her teacher. I was so drawn to Gemma right when I met her, she had such a unique way. The trial court dismissed the action as time-barred by the statute of limitations. Audiences reacted poorly to how cold, smarmy, and arrogant Sharon May appeared to be, and with good reason: they have every reason to believe she was very much involved in a cover-up for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, evident enough from her complete inaction throughout the case. I think the really special part of The Keepers is that people arespeaking up for a lot of people who didnt survive it. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may be the source of a cover up and the murder. However, this is a small step towards justice. 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. It. She was found dead two months later. Catherine (Cathy) Cesnik was a Catholic sister and taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough (later renamed Seton Keough), an all-girls Catholic high school in Baltimore. They talked about Radakovics impending college graduation and that she might move to Baltimore and stay in Cesniks apartment. Were not going to let this go, Hoskins said. 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.. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Either way, theyre lying and withholding information that would be helpful to the case. There, on the ground, still clad, her face covered with maggots, was the body of Sister Cathy. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. This is huge news regarding Sister Cathy's case. Meanwhile, Baltimore city homicide detectives are continuing. There was another twist to come: After Radakovic buried her mother, she dug deeper into her sisters case and found that a documentary team was already doing the same thing, and had been for more than a year. She was a member of the Keough class of 1970. I was raised Catholic and I had a very positive experience. And we hope that someone will be able to come forward with conclusive information about the murder. Sister Cathy was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School and went missing in Baltimore in 1969. On November 7, 1969, 26-year-old Sister Catherine Cesnik vanished. Wehner alleged that there was frequent sexual abuse at Sister Cathy's school. And the oldest was in her 20's.. Around the same time as Cesnik's disappearance, a 29-year-old woman named Joyce Malecki also went missing and was found dead two days later. I hope this documentary can be a tool of healing, but its about to be very triggering for the survivors, saidWhite. Were you scared of taking on the Catholic Church? Radakovic was Cesnik's younger sister. Kathy HobeckIn addition to Wehner and Lancaster, Kathy Hobeck is one of six abuse victims who appears in "The Keepers." What do you think happened to Sister Cathy? 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. 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.". She suffered blunt force trauma to her head and the case remains open to this day. Father Joseph Maskell's body was exhumed from a Baltimore cemetery earlier this year as part of the investigation into the unsolved slaying. 'After that we had to break away from him. She was described as a tall, thin girl -- standing about 5 feet, 7 inches and weighing 112 pounds. Koob was a Jesuit priest at the time of Sister Cathys murder. 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. Or does White know more than hes telling his audience? So-called Grandma Nancy Drew Gemma Hoskins has spent years asking for the federal case files on Joyce Maleckis murder. He died in 2006. They filed a $40 million civil lawsuit against him, the Baltimore Archdiocese, the sisters who ran the school, and a local gynecologist. 'The Keepers' Update: New DNA Evidence Found In Sister Cathy Cesniks Murder Case, Amy Robach and T.J. 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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. 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. The documentary investigates whether Maskell had. The Maryland Attorney Generals office has been investigating sexual abuse in the catholic church for nearly four years. As The Keepers details, Radakovics engagement may have been one of the last things on Cesniks mind before she vanished while shopping on Nov. 7, 1969. Detectives investigating her death believe she may have encountered her murderer outside her apartment since her car was found parked in the complex the day after her disappearance. She was a member of the Keough class of 1971. 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. Not every story that Ryan White heard gets told in The Keepers. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. She was just 26 at the time of her death. If the Archdiocese is willing to blatantly lie about this, what else are they lying about? Investigators dug up Maskell's grav to compare the DNA of Maskell, to evidence from the crime scene. [7], In 2017, CBS Baltimore reported allegations from three women that during Cesnik's tenure at Archbishop Keough High School, two of the priests, Joseph Maskell and E. Neil Magnus, were sexually abusing the girls at the school in addition to trafficking them to others. The discovery of Cesniks dead body rocked the family. Sister Cathy's body was undressed to the waist. She was "Jane Roe" in that ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit. 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. Six years Cesniks junior, Radakovic grew up as her tag-along and daily charge, as Cesnik babysat while their parents worked. What we tried to do in the editing was present all various narratives. And I looked at my husband and I said, Oh my God, Radakovic remembers now. . ', 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.'. Sister Joanita (Cathy) requested permission to take a sabbatical from the Order. The Baltimore archdiocese has had its own extensive, and very expensive, pedophile priest sexual abuse scandal to deal with in recent years. 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. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . 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. 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. Marilyn Cesnik Radakovic's 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. Jean claims that Father Maskell took her to Sister Cathy's body and said to her, "See what happens when you say bad things about people.". Beginning tonight, Netflix viewers will be able to view all seven episodes of a series entitled, The Keepers., The documentary was produced by Ryan White. 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. 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. Also Read: 'The Keepers': Sister Cathy's Medical Examiner Also Worked on JFK, JonBenet Ramsey Cases. Find out what it is in TheWraps Q&A with White below. On January 3, 1970, the decomposed body of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik was discovered at a dumping area on Monumental Avenue in Halethorpe, 21227. 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But reading through her mothers things the 2015 Huffington Post story was the first clipping she found Radakovic learned about the swirl of rumors and theories that still surrounds Cesniks death. Nearly 10 years ago the filmmakers started to meet with her; this was long before Netflix got involved. Her body was found January 3, 1970. 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. Jean is the most incredible survivor that Ive ever witnessed. The Huffington Post reported that Maskell told Wehner, "You see what happens when you say bad things about people?"[1]. He and his friend and fellow priest, Peter McKeon, discovered Sister Cathys car parked at a strange angle across the street from her apartment. "The Keepers" explores the murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik, who disappeared in November 1969 and whose body was discovered in January of 1970. 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. 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. 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.". 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. Netflix's documentary series "The Keepers" dives into the case and uncovers a web of abuse that may . Search from Sister Cathy Cesnik stock photos, pictures and royalty-free images from iStock. Joseph Cesnik in 1930 Census; Census Place: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; 1930 United States Federal Census; National Archives and Records Administration. 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. 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. 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. I'm determined that if there is something I can do in my lifetime to change things, I think the keepers has already changed society quite a bit, Hoskins said. If you were part of the Facebookgroup, people got to know us very well. In the ensuing years, the sisters stayed in touch via letters and phone calls. His account directly contradicts the church's story about what it knew about Maskell. We know this speculation about the circumstances is not false, because Jean Hargadon Wehner tells us in the show that she has evidence proving otherwise. ', The cop, who died in 2009, said it was a shame because he was certain the priest 'knew more than he was telling. The Keepers was an intense docu-series on Netflix about an unsolved murder, and here are some bits of evidence the show has left out. Viewers of The Keepers do not fondly reflect on Sharon May, the prosecutor in charge of the Maryland State Attorneys Office Sex Abuse Unit. [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. 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. James Maskell, A. Joseph Maskells uncle, is a similarly powerful and threatening figure that deserves to be prodded harder. She was a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and had been an English teacher at the Catholic, all-girls, Archbishop Keough High School in Landsdowne. It started with a freelance journalist, Tom Nugent. According to the autopsy, she had been struck on the back of her head by either a hammer or a brick, there was a hole the size of a quarter in her skull , and there were strangulation marks on her neck. "Our best hope for solving this case at this point lies with the people who are still alive. Soon they were linking that abuse to Sister Cathy's murder, and speculation that she was going to blow the whistle and tell all. Her case is similar to Sister Cathys both women disappeared from the same area in the city, both were found in isolated areas not far from one another, both died around the same time in November, and both had marks on their necks that indicated choking. And I can hear Cathy saying 'I told you I'd take care of this' and I said, I didn't think you meant 20 years later. 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