Major Development in Case of Sister Cathy, The Nun Who 'Knew Too Much'

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Major Development in Case of Sister Cathy, The Nun Who 'Knew Too Much'

The story of Sister Cathy's murder is one that we are all still left wondering about.

Sister Cathy Cesnik was a beloved nun who taught English at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore Maryland in the late '60s.

On November 7, 1969, Sister Cathy went missing. On January 3, 1970, Sister Cathy was found dead. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

People

During Sister Cathy's teaching tenure at the school, two of the priests who taught there, including Father Joseph Maskell, were molesting, abusing, and raping students as well as trafficking them.

It is believed that Sister Cathy was aware of the scandal and was going to blow the whistle on Father Maskell, and this is why she was killed. But to this day there has been no conclusive explanation as to why Sister Cathy was killed or who killed her.

In 1992, Father Maskell was relieved of his duties at the school after the accusations of his sexual abuse were first made public. Teresa Lancaster, one of his alleged victims, says Sister Cathy stood up for those being abused.

"Sister Cathy went to Father Maskell on behalf of the girls who were being abused," Lancaster said. "She confronted him and she lost her life for it."

In Touch Weekly

Go to the next page to see what the latest development in this case is.

Father Maskell passed away in 2001 during the ongoing murder investigation of Sister Cathy. Now, 16 years later, his body is being exhumed to gather more evidence.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Father Maskell's DNA will be compared to DNA found at the scene of Sister Cathy's death.

"I think if the various law enforcement agencies had done a proper job in the '70s, that could have avoided the necessity to do [an exhumation] in 2017," Joanne Suder, the attorney for Maskell's alleged victims, said.

Police spokeswoman Elise Armacost says police "have never established that [Cesnik] was killed because of information that she had about abuse in the Catholic Church." And while there is not a lot of physical evidence remaining from the crime scene, police "felt very strongly that in the interest of leaving no stone unturned, it was necessary to exhume Maskell's body and compare his DNA to the evidence that is remaining."

The Washington Post

Sister Cathy's murder has prompted Netflix to produce a 7 part series that will look at how the case was handled and speak with some of the students who were abused by Father Joseph Maskell.

Despite the series, called The Keepers being released next week, police say the documentary played no role in exhuming Father Maskell's body.

Meagan has an intense love for Netflix, napping, and carbs.