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FOR FOUR DECADES, THE MURDER OF A NEW YORK WOMAN WAS ONE OF THE OLDEST AND COLDEST CASES IN AMERICA – BUT THEY SAY SOME UNUSUAL CLUES POINTED TO A SUSPECT
“48 Hours” and Erin Moriarty Investigate in “The Brighton Ax Murder”
(L-R) Sharon and Jim Krauseneck; Cathy and Jim Krauseneck.
For four decades, the murder of Cathy Krauseneck remained unsolved. On Feb. 19, 1982, her husband, Jim Krauseneck, said he found her dead in their bed with an ax in her head.The case was dubbed the Brighton Ax Murder and was one of the oldest, coldest murder cases in America – until now. 48 HOURS correspondent Erin Moriarty reports on the murder, the case against Jim Krauseneck, and has an exclusive network television interview with his current wife, in “The Brighton Ax Murder,” to be broadcast Saturday, Feb. 25 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.
Something about the crime scene didn’t sit right with investigators. Police believe it was staged to look like a burglary to cover up the real crime – the intentional murder of Cathy by her husband. There was a shoe print at the scene that police believe was made by boat shoes Krauseneck was known to wear, though they were never tested.
The case sat for decades until 2019, when authorities in Monroe County, N.Y., hired forensic pathologist Michael Baden to investigate. Baden believed Cathy was killed around 3:30 am. To prosecutors that meant Jim Krauseneck would have been home at the time and he was charged with Cathy’s murder. Krauseneck, his current wife Sharon, and his attorneys insist he didn’t kill Cathy.
“Jim … is a decent, loving human being,” Sharon Krauseneck exclusively tells Moriarty. “There is no way, absolutely no way Jim would ever, ever have done anything like that.”
She tells Moriarty she’s never asked her husband point blank about the murder of his first wife. She says she didn’t have to.
“No … When you’re married to a man, you know his heart, and you know his soul,” Sharon Krauseneck says. “Jim could never, Erin, never in this world do something so horrific.”
48 HOURS: “The Brighton Ax Murder” is produced by Josh Yager and James Stolz. Marc Goldbaum and Charlotte Fuller are the development producers. Michael Loftus and Liz Caholo are the associate producers. Richard Barber is the producer-editor. Atticus Brady is also an editor. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
48 HOURS, now in its 35th year, is one of the most successful true-crime docuseries in television history and has been the #1 non-sports broadcast on Saturday nights for 16 consecutive years. 48 HOURS is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM ET/PT on CBS and streams anytime on Paramount+. You can also watch 48 HOURS on the CBS News Streaming Network Wednesdays at 8:00 PM ET. Download the CBS News app on your phone or connected TV. Follow 48 HOURS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Listen to podcasts at CBS Audio.
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