*warning to Cathy’s loved ones, a brief description of the crime to follow*

It was Christmas of 1993, and the very small town of Monticello, Iowa, was embracing the holiday season.

Cathy Jo Bohlken was a young mother who divided her time between college classes, caring for her son, and working at the family owned convenience store. Christmas weekend was no different. But when Cathy didn’t show up to work one morning, her family was in for devastating news.

Cathy was alone in her home, lying face down in her bedroom, with a bag over her head and 54 stab wounds to her back and head. Duct tape bound her hands and other parts of her body.

Who could have done this?

Time marched on and eventually an aquaintance was charged after his DNA matched the sample investigators had taken from the scene. But that was all. There was no other physical evidence. That teenage boy was acquitted and nothing has come of the case since.

This murder seemed to divide a town. DNA evidence is solid, and can be a smoking gun. But there were questions as to how it was handled, and if it was a match after all…there were whispers of local corruption, a passing through stranger, and even the lead officer on the case submitted blood for testing. Wait, what??

Join Andréa Up Late and Brian Sanders on Nightshift while they discuss in detail this case that is…well, solved or not? Tell us what you think.

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