Who was Cathy Krauseneck and what happened to her?

DATELINE investigates the grisly details behind a murder that happened more than four decades ago.

Cathy Krauseneck’s chilling case is one that true crime buffs shouldn’t miss.

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Who was Cathy Krauseneck?

Cathy Krauseneck was a young wife and mother.

The then 29-year-old lived with her husband James Krauseneck in Brighton, a suburb of Rochester in the US state of New York.

She and James have one daughter together, Sara, who is now in her mid-40s.

Sara was only three years old at the time of Cathy’s tragic death.

What happened to Cathy Krauseneck?

On February 19, 1982, Cathy was found dead in bed with an ax to her head.

Luckily her little daughter was also found unharmed at the scene of the crime.

Her husband James claimed he went to work early that morning and returned to find his wife murdered at their home upstate.

A close friend, Gloria Winkowski, was supposed to be driving Cathy to a doctor’s appointment that day, but after numerous attempts to reach her by phone, Gloria assumed James had already given her a ride.

According to the Dateline episode preview, James had reportedly run across the street to a neighbor, speechless, and asked her to call the police to report the crime.

The case – which became known as the “Brighton Ax Murder” – went cold for almost 40 years due to a lack of evidence and leads.

However, in 2015 the case was reopened and the FBI and famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who allegedly found evidence that Cathy’s husband was home at the time of her murder.

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James was arrested for second-degree murder in November 2019 and found guilty of the crime in September 2022 at the age of 70.

Sara, her daughter, has been supporting her father for years – and claimed at his hearing in November it was “absolutely inconceivable” that he could have dreamed up such an act, according to the NY Post.

James’ lawyers are said to be planning to appeal his sentence while he fights to maintain his innocence.

“I didn’t murder Cathy,” he said in court, pursuant to 13 WHAM.

“I loved Cathy with all my heart and soul. I’m still haunted by why someone would murder such a beautiful person.”

When will the Dateline episode air?

The Dateline episode The Bad Man will air on January 20, 2023.

The two-hour special begins Friday at 9 p.m.

Journalist Andrea Canning will investigate the gruesome details of Cathy Krauseneck’s murder.