Nugents insights on the matter will be featured in the Netflix series. Supposedly, according to White and Jean Wehner, the Archdiocese opened an investigation into A. Joseph Maskell, and so, those records should exist. Bob ErlandsonBob Erlandson was a journalist working for the Baltimore Sun in 1993. I have very little doubt at the finish line. Much like everyone else who . And why should they? 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. She chose not to charge Maskell, saying the case lacked evidence. 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. This seven-episode docuseries explores the still-unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. 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. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Father Neil MagnusAnother of the administrators at Keough, Magnus was accused of participating in sexually abusing students along with Maskell. According to the Baltimore Sun, as evening fell on Nov. 7, 1969, Sister Catherine Cesnik left her unassuming apartment, heading to the Edmondson Village Shopping Center around 7:30 p.m. As far as her roommate, Sister Helen Russell Phillips, could tell, she was headed out to buy an engagement gift for her sister, as well as run a few errands. It seems that either the Archdiocese is lying about having investigated the accusations, or the Archdiocese is lying about having internal records on A. Joseph Maskell. Stuff being crimes, and they're walking around.. 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. He wrote that the evidence, all circumstantial, shows that Sister Cathy was probably killed because she was ready to blow the whistle on widespread sex abuse at Keough by Father Maskell and others, in the late 1960s. Sister Cathy Cesnik's disappearance and murder remain an unsolved mystery. She also thinks Sister Cathy was murdered because she knew about Maskells abuse and was going to come forward. I had fond memoriesof the church, but for this, they were so non-participatory with it. [15] The series features interviews with women who were Cesnik's students, with some who say they were sexually abused by Maskell and others.[16]. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. Schaub was previously a nurse. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. She suffered blunt force trauma to her head and the case remains open to this day. Everything Ive done, Ive really tried since that time which is just a little over a year ago for me Ive tried to give them all the information that Ive learned, she says of working with authorities. He had been a chaplain and counselor at Archbishop Keough while she taught there. Throughout the series,the devastation experienced bysurvivors is laid bare,as is theirstrength in confronting unthinkable childhood horrors. He first reported on Sister Cathy's story because of Wehner's accusation that Maskell was involved in her murder. 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. Maskell left Baltimore for Ireland where he obtained amployment as a psychologist. A headline in a Baltimore newspaper blared: 'City Police Fail To Find Missing Nun.'. Meteorological records also reveal that temperatures during the week in question were warm enough for maggots to hatch. Whats worse than considering the fact that A. Joseph Maskell terrorized one community? She was found dead two months later. Wehner, who reported her allegations about Maskell to the Baltimore Archdiocese in 1992, claimed that the only nun at the school who sought to help the abused girls was Sister Cathy. [4] Cesnik had three siblings. RELATED:10 Best True Crime Shows On Netflix. Radakovic still tears up when she talks about Cesnik, who died more than 46 years ago. 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.". I think that the impact of The Keepers has far exceeded our expectations, Hargrave said. Published: 15:36 EST, 18 May 2017 | Updated: 16:14 EST, 18 May 2017, A New York Times bestselling author Jerry Oppenheimer latest book, 'The Kardashians: An American Drama,' will be published in September. RELATED: 10 Exciting New Netflix Originals Still Coming In 2019. Before that, Gemma spent 37 years as an elementary school teacher. Fans of The Keepers may be surprised to hear that Keough High School, where Sister Cathy and A. Joseph Maskell both taught, closed in July of 2017, following confirmation from the Archdiocese of Baltimore that they paid settlements out to students who had been sexually abused by Maskell. Cesniks body was found on Jan. 3, 1970. Because no criminal charges were leveled against Maskell, Wehner and Lancaster became plaintiffs in the 1994 lawsuit against Maskell and the archdiocese. The girl left but the next day, she later claimed, Maskell waved a gun at her, warning he'd kill her and her family if she revealed the abuse. There was only the two of us for a long time, so we were really close, Radakovic says. "[9], Wehner said that Cesnik once came to her and said gently, "Are the priests hurting you?" ', One former student, Teresa Lancaster, told WJZ-TV in Baltimore, that Sister Cathy had 'confronted' Maskell 'and she lost her life for it. 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. 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. And every time she came back home oh my gosh, it was like Christmas, Radakovic says. On occasion, they will attempt to combine all three, as there really isnt too much to life overall than fear, love, and laughter. The amount of people that have seen The Keepers now is mind-blowing around the world, White said. She said, You need to come home right away. ', He theorized that because there had been no signs of a struggle, 'it looked too clean. 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. For us, our bar was more about bringing these womens experiences to light and starting this conversation.. 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. Frightened and feeling threatened by the strapping, dominating clergyman who was popular with churchgoers for his Sunday masses the girl decided to keep secret her gruesome discovery. The comments below have not been moderated. Father Maskell was also, for a time, an assistant pastor at St. Clements Church in Landsdowne. The documentary was produced by Ryan White. So we didn't want to set that as our bar, Hargrave said. 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." She wanted to do more than she was able to do within the confines of the order, Radakovic says. 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." Though she spent years in the dark, Radakovic is now regularly in touch with cold-case detectives after first meeting with them in the spring of 2016. The Irish Tenors have been singing together for 25 years and have just embarked on a U.S. tour to mark this standout number. There, on the ground, still clad, her face covered with maggots, was the body of Sister Cathy. There are six survivors showcased in the documentarybut we had many conversationswith other survivors who werent featured in the documentary. Except for that day, she said. 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. She didnt know Jeanhad gone through that abuse. 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. 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. 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. But some thirty women soon came forward with accounts of sexual abuse at the school. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? I think it's pretty undeniable by the end of The Keepers that they are, and Jean is the nexus of that, White said. After Maskell died in 2001, the two women decided to go public, using their real names. Information in The Keepers suggests Sister Cathy might have been killed because she found out that priests at Keough were sexually abusing students. Jean is the most incredible survivor that Ive ever witnessed. While the case remains open, allegations of sexual abuse by Father Maskell, and Sister's Cathy's plan to blow the whistle along with a possible cover up by the Catholic Church with close ties to law enforcement are at the heart of the horrendous case. However, they say theres nothing, even though Jean Wehner found many victims willing to come forward simply by sending out letters in the mail. I think he's dead, but I may be wrong. Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Gemma Hoskins has helped dozens of victims get in touch with their investigators. 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. I can still feel her touch my cheek, said Hargadon-Wehner, in a recent interview. Netflix documentary series explores the 1970 murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik. They revealed themselves in "The Keepers" thanks to documentary filmmakers Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave. 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. She was the eldest child of Joseph and Anna Omulac Cesnik. Another woman, Teresa Lancaster, also came forward. As in, a three-year-old who remembers it. Radakovic was Cesnik's younger sister. More than 40 years after her death, the case of Sister Cathy Cesnik's murder is still unsolved. During his interview in "The Keepers," however, he denied any involvement. We did it slowly it took three years. Bill Hughes is a Baltimore-based author, actor and photojournalist. 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. And after almost 50 years, Sister Cathy's murder has remained unsolved. This begs the question, though, that if White says he included everything he knew, and we know he had to remove names for legal reasons where in the documentary does he reveal these hidden suspects? Maskell was a police chaplain and he knew people in high places that's how they got away with it. [7] She cashed a paycheck at First National Bank in Catonsville that night. We met Gemma in a Home Depot parking lot, a few blocks from where Sister Cathys car was found. On January 3, 1970, her body was found by a hunter and his son in an informal landfill located on the 2100 block of Monumental Road, in a remote area of Lansdowne. 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. 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. 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. They say they were trying to find enough evidence for viewers to conclude that the nun's murder, and the sexual abuse must be related. One of the major theories that The Keepers hypothesizes is that Maskell either killed Sister Cathy or had her killed. Friday, Nov. 7, 1969 - Sister Cesnik, 26, left her Baltimore apartment for Edmondson Village Shopping Center in the early evening, according to her roommate, Sister Helen Russell Phillips. We werent actively looking at what he was doing after Keough but obviously, Charles [another abuse victim] played a narrative in the abuse. 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. 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.