Who killed sister Cathy?
Drawn on riveting, real-life horror to a long series of buried truths and naked lies, The Keepers is a 7-part Netflix documentary series based on the Murder of Catherine Cesnik.
Catherine Cesnik was an American Catholic religious sister who taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough all-girls High School. As religious and simple her life was, she was mysteriously murdered and sexually abused by a priest, A. Joseph Maskell (suspect), who taught at the same school.
Her former students reported that priest Maskell was guilty of sexually abusing her and other students. But after the authorities got to know about it, they covered up the story – and so now nobody knows the real truth behind the mystery that killed sister Cathy!
Netflix’s new crime docuseries “The Keepers” takes us on an adventurous journey into the dark abyss of a Baltimore catholic school in the 1960s, attempting to illuminate us with what exactly happened with the decades-old Catherine Cesnik’s murder. The series investigates how the 26-year-old beautiful woman was murdered in cold blood. And let us tell you, the truth was so disturbing that it had even the creators in shock!
While the first season presents a lot of evidence, there’s still more work left to be done. Investigating and researching takes up a lot of time but we are affirmative that the second season of The Keepers will premiere sooner than later.
We ought to know who the killer is and whether or not Father Joseph Maskell has got anything to do with Sister Cathy’s death. While investigating, just last week, the police announced that Father Joseph Maskell’s (a suspect) DNA doesn’t match a sample taken near the body. But then, who is the real killer?
Additionally, the series was met with critical acclaim and reviews upon its release. In Time magazine, Daniel D’Addario compared The Keepers with another Netflix true-crime series, Making a Murderer, stating that The Keepers does not lead its viewers to a definite conclusion about what happened.
“While Sister Cathy Cesnik’s death remains a mystery, its aftereffects include both crushing heartbreak and, for the amateur sleuths who seek to crack her case, a sense of making a difference… This isn’t just more respectful to the victim than other true-crime stories, with their breathless delight at new clues. It’s also more effective.”
According to Jack Seale in The Guardian, “Where other true crime hits have followed a linear chronology, The Keepers hops between 1969, the 1990s and today, striking a fine balance between narrative structure – a wow moment at the end of every episode – and respect for a subject that doesn’t need or deserve sensationalism.”
Pilot Viruet of Vice wrote of the series, “It’s harrowing and upsetting, and it will haunt you for a long time, which is part of what makes it necessary viewing.”
What was the Church’s response to Sister Cathy’s murder?
When asked by Netflix producers to comment on the sexual misconduct allegations within the church, the Archdiocese of Baltimore stated that all the allegations were absolutely false. Later, the Archdiocese responded to the series by adding a FAQ page to their website, which stated that, “the archdiocese knew of Maskell’s sexual abuse prior to 1992 were false speculation.”
The Keepers Season 2 Renewal Update
Despite the renewed interest in the investigation, director Ryan White has no current plans to make a second season, he said in an interview.
“I have no plans to continue documenting it,” he told E! News. “This was a painful process for a lot of the people involved . . . and it’s draining for them to have to retell the most horrific parts of their lives . . . but that’s not to say that I’m not excited to see what answers come out of it.”
He further elaborated, “Ahead of The Keepers’ debut, the body of Father Joseph Maskell, who died in 2001 and was at the center of the abuse allegations made in the series, was exhumed, with police finally testing his DNA to see if it matched a sample from the crime scene where Sister Cathy’s body was found, almost 50 years ago. And just five days ago, the police announced that his DNA did not match.”
If the show ever comes back, it will be in order to continue the story of Sister Cathy. “There could be incredible movement that comes out of this truth being unburied, and perhaps I would continue to cover that,” he says. “But I’m very happy with the seven episodes that we did create and the impact that I know they can have. So if it ends with that, I feel fulfilled.”
The Murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik is the Biggest Unsolved Murder Mysteries…
The director of the series Ryan White says,
“I see that as a positive sign, I see that as progress,” White said of the Baltimore police outwardly acknowledging Father Maskell as a suspect.
But in some key moments of The Keepers, it seems as though it is some of the information presented to the police by White and his team that may have led them to the decision to exhume the body.
“I had no idea Father Maskell’s body was going to be unburied,” White said. “I knew we interviewed the Baltimore County police in December and the exhumation happened in February, so a lot of people ask me if the documentary had something to do with it, and if it did then I am proud of that. It’s a movement.”
Watch all the episodes of The Keepers on Netflix!
