After 35 years, investigators arrested 53-year-old Robert Odell Waters of Beaufort, South Carolina in relation to the brutal 1988 murder of young mother Cathy Swartz. Waters was charged with Open Murder, and taken into custody. Waters was identified as a suspect through the use of familial DNA, cutting-edge DNA technology and the expertise of scientists at Othram Labs. The Three Rivers Police Department, Michigan State Police and Western Michigan State University’s Cold Case Program all worked hard to ID Cathy’s alleged murderer and bring him to justice.

This breaking update episode is a follow-up to our original episode on Cathy's (then-unsolved) case, which aired in February of 2022.

Additional update: suspect Robert Odell Waters was found deceased in his jail cell at Beaufort County Detention Center on May 6th, 2023, one week after his arrest.

See photos from this episode and check out the sources we used to research it here: https://lastseenalivepodcast.com/2023/05/04/breaking-update-arrest-made-in-the-1988-murder-of-cathy-swartz/

You can help solve a cold case like Cathy's! Check out DNAsolves.com, where you can contribute to fund testing for a cold case of your choosing.