At this point, Im so disenchanted with my church its really disappointing. Maskell was a police chaplain and he knew people in high places that's how they got away with it. 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. Peter McKeonMcKeon was also a priest, and accompanied Koob to Sister Cathy's apartment when Sister Russell called to say she was missing. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Beverly WallaceThe attorney for "Jane Doe" and "Jane Roe" in the 1994 lawsuit against Maskell and the archdiocese. 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. 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?'. We shared a room until she went into the convent. 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.. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. RELATED:16 TV Shows Too Disturbing To Binge-Watch, Most dont believe Gerry Koob when he talks, but a member of the police force, Detective Roemer, claimed that Koob confessed to having a sexual relationship with Sister Cathy before her disappearance. The Maryland Attorney Generals office has been investigating sexual abuse in the catholic church for nearly four years. ', Asked how they could get away with such a crime, Lancaster told the TV news interviewer, 'Power and fear. Sister Joanita (Cathy) requested permission to take a sabbatical from the Order. Joyce Maleckis murder is explored as much as it can be as being potentially connected to the murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, but theres still so much that Abbie, Gemma, and audiences dont know. ', One former student, Teresa Lancaster, told WJZ-TV in Baltimore, that Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it. I thought they would have been more participatory. Her former students believe that Sister Cathy was murdered as part of a cover-up to protect a priest at the school, A. Joseph Maskell, who Cesnik suspected was guilty of sexual abuse of students. TheWrap: What was the process ofgetting this documentary together? Nearly 20 years ago, Nugent had been calling many former students from the now-closed Archbishop Keough High School, for a story on Sister Cesnik, who was murdered in 1969. But hes only willing to share a slice of it. Information in The Keepers suggests Sister Cathy might have been killed because she found out that priests at Keough were sexually abusing students. [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. She wanted to be more. 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. Read aloud by Cesnik's younger sister Marilyn Cesnik Radakovic, the poem is a glimpse at the inner life of the young woman whose tragic death was the focus of the series. 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. 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. There are six survivors showcased in the documentarybut we had many conversationswith other survivors who werent featured in the documentary. On occasion, they will attempt to combine all three, as there really isnt too much to life overall than fear, love, and laughter. Because no criminal charges were leveled against Maskell, Wehner and Lancaster became plaintiffs in the 1994 lawsuit against Maskell and the archdiocese. Unless some brave sleuths or particularly inspired detectives go digging, Keough High School is now, for better or worse, closed to a continuing story. 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. [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. I mean, its a survivor story at its core. Not every story that Ryan White heard gets told in The Keepers. She chose not to charge Maskell, saying the case lacked evidence. It started with a freelance journalist, Tom Nugent. ', He claimed that the detectives were told to either charge the priest 'or let him go. 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!' Here's our quick guide to all the people in "The Keepers" you need to know. And I looked at my husband and I said, Oh my God, Radakovic remembers now. The church has denied the charges, but it has settled dozens of sexual abuse cases in the matter of Father Maskell. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. Often, survivors would choose to remain anonymous, and the crew of The Keepers respected that choice and removed their stories, names, and/or faces from the series. Its possible Flaherty and Maskell had some deeper connection at the time that has simply been completely overlooked. 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.' Some are calling it The Next Making a Murderer' what is your response to that? Father Maskell was also, for a time, an assistant pastor at St. Clements Church in Landsdowne. The series also renewed the investigations into the murders of two women, Sister Cathy Cesnik and Joyce Malecki. 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? 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. I dont know how they do it I dont think she knows. 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.". He was never charged. ', Sister Cathy was reportedly counseling an abuse victim earlier on the day she went missing and many believe she was murdered before she could report the crimes, People close to the nun believethat Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it'. 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. Were you impressed with Gemmas investigative skills given that she has no police or journalism experience? And this update involves Father Joseph Maskell. Refresh. 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. . They have internal records on everyone including A. Joseph Maskell. Her body was partially naked and her head had been bashed in, but there was little physical evidence at the scene. We did it slowly it took three years. Tweet. There was only the two of us for a long time, so we were really close, Radakovic says. 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. 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.. Search from Sister Cathy Cesnik stock photos, pictures and royalty-free images from iStock. 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. Joyce MaleckiThe 20-year-old Baltimore woman went missing on Nov. 11, 1969. There is no word on whether the Attorney General's investigators will gain access to those records. They made the right decision in participating it wasntalways easy to persuade someone to take part. He said that when he told his mother of the abuse, she told the Baltimore Archdiocese in 1967 -- two years before Sister Cathy's murder. 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. Regardless of why the school is closing, the walls will never be able to talk now. On November 7, 1969, Cesnik disappeared. 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. We still remain optimistic that its possible for us to clear this case, Armacost says. But he never found the killer of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik; he died of complications from diabetes on June 10, at age 79. Koob was a Jesuit priest at the time of Sister Cathys murder. 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 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. ', 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.'. I don't understand what happens on the other side, she said. White describes Radakovic as very brave, very outspoken, very direct and now, I would say, very, very driven to get answers.. Six years Cesniks junior, Radakovic grew up as her tag-along and daily charge, as Cesnik babysat while their parents worked. 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. Also Read: 'The Keepers' Filmmaker: Father Maskell Abused 40 Victims, Not Just the 6 in Netflix's Doc. Marilyn had the blinders ripped off in a very scary way, I think, that what she thought happened to her sister might not be at all what actually happened to her sister, White explains. "Our best hope for solving this case at this point lies with the people who are still alive. This is huge news regarding Sister Cathy's case. Police dropped him as a target before he died. In one scene, Jean told her friends, we are the keepers of the secrets, and I knew that had to be the title. Among the other errands she ran that night, Cesnik was also looking to buy a present for her sister. Wehner alleged that there was frequent sexual abuse at Sister Cathy's school. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Both had . 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. [13][14] Police spokeswoman Elise Armacost announced that this discovery does not exclude Maskell from being a suspect 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. Father Joseph Maskell, who died in 2001, was widely accused of sexually abusing girls at the school where Sister Cathy worked and is believed to be involved in her murder. According to CNN, Bode Cellmark Forensics laboratory in Lorton, Virginia was responsible for comparing the DNA to the sample from the murder scene. What we do know is that the FBIs continuing failure to contribute meaningfully to this case has negatively impacted any chance at an ending to the story. 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. [4] Cesnik had three siblings. After the series premiered, messages started to arrive from around the world with new information. And after almost 50 years, Sister Cathy's murder has remained unsolved. Or does White know more than hes telling his audience? More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. [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. She moved into an apartment with another nun and was weighing her options. One of them told Nugent, I saw her on the ground. She still spends at least part of every day trying to find those people. I always felt like there was some reason for me to be here and I didn't know what it was.