Murder of Catherine Cesnik

**Catherine Anne Cesnik**  (born November 17, 1942; last seen November 7, 1969) was a Roman Catholic person. Cesnik was also a woman who is in an order. Catherine Cesnik was also a teacher. Catherine Cesnik was a teacher at some schools in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. One of those schools was Archbishop Keough High School. November 7, 1969, was the last day anyone saw Catherine Cesnik alive. Catherine Cesnik's body was found on January 3, 1970. Catherine Cesnik's body was found near a place where people threw trash in Lansdowne. Catherine Cesnik's death was not natural. Catherine Cesnik was murdered. The murder of Catherine Cesnik has not been solved yet. The murder of Catherine Cesnik is the basis for _The Keepers_. _The Keepers_ is a show about real things. _The Keepers_ was made by Netflix in 2017.

## Cesnik's life

Catherine Anne Cesnik was born on November 17, 1942. Catherine Cesnik was born in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Catherine Cesnik was the oldest child of Joseph and Anna Omulac Cesnik. Catherine Cesnik's father's parents were John (Jan) and Johanna Tomec Česnik. The Česniks were Slovenians. The Česniks came to America from Yugoslavia. Catherine Cesnik's mother's father was Joseph Omulac. Omulac came from Yugoslavia. Catherine Cesnik's mother's mother was Martha Hudok. Hudok came from Austria. Catherine Cesnik had three siblings.

Catherine Cesnik was a student of St. Mary's School on 57th Street and St. Augustine High School, both in Lawrenceville. Catherine Cesnik was the May Queen of her high school. Catherine Cesnik was the president of her senior class. Catherine Cesnik was also president of the student council. Catherine Cesnik was the best student of her high school class. Catherine Cesnik's high school class graduated in 1960.

Cesnik joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame when she was 18.

## Not seen anymore and death

In the fall of 1969, Cesnik was teaching drama and English at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. Archbishop Keough High School was a Catholic school. Archbishop Keough High School was not owned by the government. Archbishop Keough High School was a school for girls. It opened in 1965. On November 7, 1969, she left her home. Her home was an apartment. She shared this apartment with Helen Russell Phillips. Cesnik went to Edmondson, Baltimore. Cesnik went there to buy a gift for her sister. She did that because her sister would be married soon. She went to First National Bank that night. She gave a check to that bank. That bank was in Catonsville. This check was a check the school had given her. The bank gave her money. She may have bought a box of buns in Edmondson. A box was found later in her car. At 4:40  the next morning, two of Russell's friends found Cesnik's car. Those friends were Father Peter McKeon and Father Gerard J. Koob. Both were Catholic priests. The car was muddy. The car was parked in a way that is against the law. The car was parked across from the building with her apartment. Other people who lived in te same building saw Cesnik in her car that night at about 8:30 . Others saw her car parked across the street about two hours later. At that time it was parked in a way that is against the law.

## Search and finding body

Because Catherine Cesnik was not seen anymore, police searched the area for her body. They reported that they did not find Catherine Cesnik's body or anything related to Catherine Cesnik. On January 3, 1970, Catherine Cesnik's body was found by a hunter and his son. The hunter and his son found Catherine Cesnik's body in a landfill. Using this landfill was against the law. This landfill was on the 2100 block of Monumental Road. That was in a remote area of Lansdowne. An expert looked at Catherine Cesnik's body. The reason Catherine Cesnik died was a hard hit to the head.

## Background

Teresa Lancaster and Jean Wehner (born Hargadon) were Catherine Cesnik's students. They were her students at Keough. They say that Keough's priest did bad sex things to them. That priest was Joseph Maskell. Maskell was a Catholic priest. The first time anyone told the world that Maskell had something to do with the murder was in 1994. In 1995, they went to court against a few people. Those people were: Maskell, the school, medical doctor about women's health Christian Richter, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Cardinal William H. Keeler. The court said that the law which says how long you are allowed to go to court did not allow them to do that beause they were too late. They asked a higher court to disagree. The Maryland Court of Appeals agreed to listen to them. That court agreed with the lower court. Part of what they said was:

- "... that the mental process of repression of memories of past sexual abuse does not activate the discovery rule. The plaintiffs suits are thus barred by the statute of limitation."

- That means: Sometimes someone forgets something because it is difficult. Sometimes that someone remembers that something later. That remembering does not mean the law which says how long you are allowed to go to court will make an exception.

Wehner said that Cesnik once came to her and asked, "Are the priests hurting you?" Both women have said that she was the only person of the school's staff who helped them and other girls treated badly by Maskell and his friends. They said they believe Cesnik was murdered before talking with the archdiocese of Baltimore about the sex problems at Archbishop Keough High School. _The Baltimore Sun_ reported in late 2016 that since 2011 the archdiocese has paid out money to stop lawsuits. This money was paid to people who have been said to be treated badly by Maskell.

One of the women also says that Maskell drove her to a wooded site. This site is near Fort Meade. There he showed her Cesnik's body. She says this happened two months before Cesnik's body was found. That was only a day or two after Cesnik was no longer seen by anyone. That was in November 1969. She says she remembers trying several times to brush off maggots. These maggots crawling on Cesnik's face. While doing that she was upset. While doing that she said the words, "Help me, help me." What she said was doubted because science showed that it would not have been possible for maggots to be alive at that time of year. However, Spitz, who worked on the case, later said that there had been maggots in both the victim's mouth and breathing tube when found. Weather records also show that the weather during that week was warm enough for maggots to hatch. _The Huffington Post_ said that Maskell told Wehner, "You see what happens when you say bad things about people?"

Several days later, on November 13, 1969, the body of Joyce Malecki was found. Malecki was a 20 year-old woman. She looked like Wehner. Malecki's body was foud by two hunters. They found Malecki's body in the same woods where Maskell had driven Wehner.

Cesnik's body was not found until January 3, 1970. Cesnik's body was found by two hunters. Cesnik's body was not in the same area. Cesnik's body was on the open hill trash dump of a small business in Lansdowne.

In 1994, no evidence about the murder of Catherine Cesnik was found in a pit dug in a cemetery.

In 2016, the Baltimore County Police Department (BCoPD) gave the case to a different person. That meant new questions were asked. That meant looking into the case more and into the alleged sexual abuse at Keough. The BCoPD asked the state's attorney's office if they could dig up the body of Maskell. (Maskell died of a major stroke in 2001.) The state's attorney's office said yes. The BCoPD did that. The BCoPD did a science test. That test did not find a match to things from the place where Catherine Cesnik's body was. The DNA from the place where Catherine Cesnik's body was did not give police even a clue about Catherine Cesnik's death. The BCoPD said that this does not mean they are sure that Maskell did not do the crime. The Baltimore County Police Department said that that means no more forensics can be done.

In 2015 The Huffington Post, and in 2017 CBS Baltimore talked again about the things the three women had said. Those things were: while Cesnik was at Archbishop Keough High School, two priests at the school, Maskell and E. Neil Magnus, were doing bad sex things to the girls at the school; and they were  helping others to do the same.

In 2023 looking into bad things which area almost the same in the Baltimore area has shed new light on this case.

The murder of Sister Cesnik was part of the reason that the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese decided to not pay some of its debts in 2023.

The Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese says that there is no proof that the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese was part of a cover-up of the murder of Catherine Cesnik.

In 2017, the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese again told the world that the Catholic Church gave the police everything about the murder of Catherine Cesnik that the police asked for in 1969. In 2017, the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese again told the world that in 1969 the Catholic Church did not get in the way of the police who were looking into the murder of Catherine Cesnik.

## Other theories

Professors have said some things about this murder. Professors have said some things about Cesnik's death and the worries about it. That includes the book _The Horror of Police_. County detective Sam Bower­man is looking into the murder of Catherine Cesnik. County detective Sam Bower­man thinks the murder of Catherine Cesnik was done by a person who knew nothing about her. County detective Sam Bower­man said "I don’t think Father Maskell's connected to her death in any way."

## In videos

Netflix made some videos about the murder of Catherine Cesnik. Netflix made seven such videos. These videos are about the real things that happened. This is called _The Keepers_, which debuted on May 19, 2017. They talked with women who were Cesnik's students, with some who say Maskell did bad sex things to them and others.

## Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore's response

Keeping child abuse from happening and taking care of people as a shepherd does are the cornerstones of what the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore does and tries to do.

## Other things to read

- http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/departments/police/unsolved/homicides/cesnik-sister-1970

## Infobox (person)

- **birth name**: Catherine Anne Cesnik
- **birth place**: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- **disappeared place**: Baltimore County or Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S.
- **death cause**: Intracerebral hemorrhage caused by skull fracture
- **burial place**: Saint Mary's Cemetery, Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- **occupation**: Teacher, religious sister
- **employer**: Archbishop Keough High School