BALTIMORE (AP) 鈥� FBI investigators are planning to exhume the body of a young woman whose unsolved 1969 killing has been a source of widespread speculation, especially since Netflix鈥檚 documentary series 鈥淭he Keepers鈥� examined the slaying of a Baltimore nun that unfolded days earlier under eerily similar circumstances.
Joyce Malecki went Christmas shopping in November 1969 at a suburban mall outside Baltimore and never came home. Her body was found on a nearby military base days later and an autopsy determined she had been strangled.
An advocate for the Malecki family confirmed Tuesday that the exhumation was tentatively planned for Thursday.
The case received renewed attention after 鈥淭he Keepers鈥� was released in 2017, raising questions about whether Malecki鈥檚 disappearance was linked to that of Sister Cathy Cesnik, who was found dead from blunt force trauma after she went shopping and never returned.
Also in 2017, investigators exhumed the body of a Catholic priest, Father Joseph Maskell, to see if his DNA matched evidence from the scene of Cesnik鈥檚 death. The documentary questioned whether Cesnik was killed because she knew Maskell was sexually abusing students at the Catholic high school where they both worked. But the DNA testing and the case remains unsolved.
The latest source of speculation came earlier this year, when federal and local authorities announced they had of yet another young woman鈥檚 homicide: 16-year-old Pamela Conyers, who went missing in 1970 from the same shopping mall as Malecki and similarly died from strangulation.
Investigators used relatively new DNA technology and genealogy research to identify a suspect in Conyers鈥� death: Forrest Clyde Williams III, who died in 2018 of natural causes after spending most of his adult life in Virginia. He incurred nothing more than a couple minor criminal charges over the subsequent decades.
When they pinned Conyers鈥� killing on Williams, officials said they didn鈥檛 have evidence connecting him to either of the other unsolved homicides. They also said they didn鈥檛 believe Conyers knew Williams.
Kurt Wolfgang, executive director of the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, said it appears investigators are now looking to extract DNA from Malecki鈥檚 body, although it鈥檚 unclear what they鈥檙e seeking to determine. He said the FBI has shared little information with the family about recent developments in the case, but the timing could suggest a link to Williams.
Wolfgang said relatives will be allowed to attend the exhumation, which will otherwise be closed to the public.
鈥淭hey want justice out of this thing,鈥� said Wolfgang, whose nonprofit has been working with the Malecki family. 鈥淓ven though it was 54 years ago, it would certainly help them to know what happened.鈥�
A spokesperson for the FBI鈥檚 Baltimore Field Office declined to comment, citing 鈥渞espect for the ongoing investigation.鈥� Federal investigators are in charge of the case because Malecki鈥檚 body was found on military property.
When Malecki was growing up, her family attended a Catholic church outside Baltimore where Maskell served as priest. They lived down the road while Maskell was living in the St. Clement Catholic Church rectory. He was later assigned to Archbishop Keough High School, where he was accused of abusing numerous girls.
Wolfgang said Malecki told her relatives 鈥渟he did not like him one bit and told people to stay away from him.鈥� But Wolfgang said the family doesn鈥檛 have any direct evidence suggesting she was one of Maskell鈥檚 abuse victims and they鈥檙e hesitant to jump to conclusions about linking the various cases.
A woman interviewed in 鈥淭he Keepers鈥� claimed Maskell showed her Cesnik鈥檚 body in the days after the nun disappeared. Cesnik was a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School when she was killed.
Earlier this year, the Maryland Attorney General鈥檚 Office detailing decades of child sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore that identified Maskell as one of its most prolific abusers, saying he targeted at least 39 victims. According to the report, Maskell was transferred to St. Clement after being accused of abuse at his prior assignment 鈥� one of several times the archdiocese turned a blind eye to his misconduct.
He denied the allegations before his death in 2001 and was never criminally charged.
Lea Skene, The Associated Press
