This is 28-year-old John Blauvelt, sitting across from detectives. He has just learned that his estranged wife, 22-year-old Caddy Blauvelt, has been found dead inside an abandoned house. At this moment, John is being treated as someone who may be able to help investigators understand what happened. But detectives don't yet realize how complicated this case is about to become. Because as they begin retracing Caddy's final hours, they will uncover relationships, movements, and conversations that raise increasingly difficult questions about the man sitting in front of them. And before investigators can put all of those pieces together, someone at the center of the case will disappear for years. On October 25th, 2016, police in Simpsonville, South Carolina, received a chilling 911 call from someone reporting a disturbing discovery inside an abandoned house. But what the caller had just discovered inside had nothing to do with why they normally came there. >> Simpsonville 911, what's the location of your emergency? >> Um, I'm in that Discover Church across from the in the woods. >> You're in Discover You're at Discover Church across from where? >> Um, in the woods across from it. >> You're in >> I'm in I was worried about my friend. Uh, Caddy, and she was She went missing. She's been missing for a while now. And uh, we came in this house that we used to hang all hang out at in. And uh, um, she's She didn't answer. She She's not here. >> After receiving the 911 call, officers quickly rushed to the abandoned house. As they approached the property, one of the first things they noticed were the disturbing drawings covering the walls. Pentagrams and other strange markings had been spray-painted throughout the aging structure, giving the already abandoned house an unsettling appearance. But, those drawings weren't what police had been called there to investigate. The person who made that chilling call was Wayne Roper, a close friend of Caddy's. Wayne had gone to the abandoned house while searching for her, a place Caddy and her friends had previously used as a hangout spot. Wayne then led officers down into the basement to the exact area where he had made the horrifying discovery. There, police found the body of 22-year-old Caddy Blauvelt. As officers began securing the scene, another important piece of evidence was discovered nearby, Caddy's cell phone, submerged in water. Now, detectives had two immediate questions to answer. What happened to Caddy inside that house, and who had tried to make sure her phone couldn't provide the answer? With Caddy's body discovered and investigators beginning to reconstruct her final movements, attention quickly turned to the people who had been with her in the hours before her death. And that included the same man who had called 911, Wayne Roper. Wayne had initially appeared to be the concerned friend who went looking for Caddy and ultimately led police to her body. But, detectives weren't prepared to simply take his story at face value. Wayne was detained and brought to the police station for questioning, where investigators wanted him to account for his relationship with Caddy, his movements that night, and exactly how he came to find her inside the abandoned house. Wayne believed he was there to explain what he knew, but the questions detectives were about to ask would go far beyond the discovery of Caddy's body. >> I guess you know why you're here, right? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Um, tell me uh tell me how how did you meet Caddy? >> Uh I went to school with her at uh Hillcrest. >> Okay. Y'all was in classes Y'all the same age? >> Uh she's 22 and I'm 21. She's a few months older than me. >> But y'all were in the same grade, >> Uh, she was a year above me. >> Okay. Um, so what grade was it when you met her? >> Uh, I was in ninth and she was in 10th. I first met her, we were friends at first and then we dated for like a month or so and then that's whenever I uh I moved to live with my dad and we stayed in contact for a little bit and then once I was with my dad and went to North Carolina, lost contact. >> Detectives began the interview by trying to understand Wayne's relationship with Katie. But as Wayne walked them through their history, he revealed an unexpected detail that suddenly made his connection to Katie far more complicated than it first appeared. >> I found out like Katie got married [snorts] to John Lovell and then one night uh she came and uh hung out with us with John. It was the first time I seen her since >> [snorts] >> I I moved. And since then uh I was living in Pickens at the time. John offered me to move in with them as a roommate and pay $200 a month. And I took it up cuz it was a good deal. >> So you lived with her and her husband? >> Yeah, it was weird. >> [snorts] >> It was. >> When was this? Do you remember when this was? >> When I lived with them? Um, it was before June this year. >> The more Wayne revealed about his history with Katie, the more complicated his position became. He wasn't only her former boyfriend. At one point, he had even lived in the same home with Katie and her husband. For detectives, that raised an obvious question. Could jealousy have played a role in what happened to Katie? For the moment, the circumstances seemed to be pointing them directly toward Wayne, but then he revealed something investigators weren't expecting. A detail that would force them to look beyond the man sitting in front of them. >> We were living there everything like going okay, you know, we were drinking and stuff like that and then they started having arguments cuz of me because uh she used to talk about me before. She told me that he was jealous of me cuz she used to talk about me. And their arguments started getting worse and he got drunk one night and kicked her out and he had her in the bathroom. >> When did you and Katie start screaming at each other? When you were living with John and Katie, how often were y'all being intimate with each other? >> Um it was only once. >> And John was there or not there? >> He was there. It was >> Did he know it? How did he know it? I hate that. >> Yeah, we were like drunk or something. >> That admission gave detectives a possible source of tension between the men, but Wayne wasn't finished. As investigators pushed him to explain what happened afterward, he began describing a side of Katie and John's relationship that would give them an entirely new direction to investigate. >> See where that might cause some friction, but you continued to live there. >> Yeah. I mean, he didn't say anything verbally to me, you know, and like I I just thought everything was going to be okay and >> How many times have you been involved in threesomes? >> That was the first time. >> I mean, since then. I know you're scared and you should be scared. Anybody has made a mistake, Wayne, but I can't help you if you don't tell me the truth. >> I'm telling you the truth. >> You You're telling me part of the truth. >> I'm telling you the full truth. >> I know it's hard and I know you're afraid. >> I don't know what I'm missing. >> Why don't you kill? Did you kill her? >> Yes, sir. >> Did you kill this poor girl? >> Yes, sir. >> Are you kidding me? You're trying to convince the two of us at 10:00 at night that about 12 hours ago the best decision you could make was to go up here and look not everywhere she could possibly be. >> Wayne continued to deny any involvement, and detectives still didn't have enough evidence to prove otherwise. Before releasing him, investigators collected his DNA, which could later be compared against evidence recovered from Katie. But only hours after Wayne's interview, the investigation took another turn. Police searching the surrounding area located Katie's abandoned car in a parking lot just a few miles from the house where her body had been found. Now detectives had another scene to examine. Katie was found in one location. Her car was found somewhere else. And whoever had left it there may have just given investigators another way to reconstruct what happened during Katie's final hours. With Katie's body discovered and her abandoned car now located, detectives decided it was time to break the devastating news to her estranged husband, 28-year-old John Blowvelt. They tracked John down at his workplace and pulled him aside to speak privately. But what detectives were about to witness was more than just a husband learning his wife was dead. It would become their first opportunity to hear John's story. >> First session, you understand, okay? Um What's your wife's full name? >> Uh Katherine Ann Blowvelt. >> Okay. When's the last time you spoke to Miss Katherine? >> Uh I think we spoke on Thursday or Friday. >> Okay. >> Over the phone. >> And are you you familiar with that she's missing? >> Yeah, yeah. >> Um >> I've been following the story. Just want to know what happened. >> All right. Well, there out off of Southeast Main Street, there was a body that was found in a house, okay? An abandoned house. Um and at this point we're we're able to say that it is Katie, okay? >> I'm so [snorts] sorry if you're lost there. >> John had just been told that his estranged wife was dead. Detectives gave him a moment to process the news, but they hadn't come there simply to deliver a death notification. Katie had been murdered, her body discovered inside an abandoned house, and her car had been left miles away. Now, sitting face-to-face with the person who had once been closest to her, detectives needed answers. And the first thing they wanted to know was simple, when was the last time John saw Katie alive? >> Um when was the last time you actually saw her? >> I'd say probably July. Because she moved out in April, I think. She like stopped 100% coming over like in April. And then we talked on and off. Um mostly she just wanted to see the dog and [ __ ] >> Do you do you know if she had any issues with anybody? Anybody that would hurt her or anything like that? >> No. And I just I know that she's been dating around and you know, it's whatever, cuz I've been too, but I know I just know she's been dating around. I talked to Cheyenne and then she said she was fine. She had like a like I guess this guy that she's I don't know if they're in a relationship or not with this this one guy that she's with who's pretty cool with her. >> Do you know who who that guy is? >> I just know his first name is Zach. I don't know. He's a I think he's a good like family friend. I don't know. I [snorts] don't really delve into her personal >> John told detectives he wasn't aware of anyone who wanted to hurt Katie, but he did point them toward another part of her life, telling investigators that since their separation, Katie had been seeing other people. For detectives, every name mattered, because at this stage, they still had to determine who had access to Katie, who had seen her recently, and who might have had a reason to want her dead. >> You know there's a guy that used to live with you redhead fellow? >> Redhead? >> Yeah. >> Wayne? >> Yeah. >> Mhm. >> What's his story? >> Just regular dude, good guy. >> Friends with him? >> Mhm. I mean, we had a falling out, too, but that's cuz he's an [ __ ] and he kind of he got in a car accident like 4 months ago, jacked his arm all up, and then he was staying with me rent free um cuz he was down on his luck. He didn't have nowhere to go, so I told him, you know, sure, you know, I have I got a bedroom, you know. And then, um he just kind of left one day with some girl, and we kind of had a falling out. I probably seen him like four or five times after that. But, Wayne's always been a good dude. He's got a good heart. >> Okay. >> So, yeah. >> What are your normal hours here at work? >> Supposed to be 9:00 to 5:00, but most days I get out around 2:00 or 3:00. >> Always 9:00? >> But, >> Okay. >> it really depends on when they leave, and then >> What car do you drive? The Prius. >> Prius? >> And gold. >> Okay. Did you stop anywhere on the way home? >> No. >> Why were you looking for Katie? >> For Cheyenne. Cheyenne's [ __ ] destroyed right now, and I'm just trying to help her out. >> [snorts] >> What do you do for the army? >> Well, right now I just sit in this small office. Small office right now. Um because of the civil investigation, all of my recruiting duties have been suspended. >> Okay. >> So, I've literally been sitting here since about March. >> Are you familiar with this abandoned house? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> That's the spot. That's like What's the spot? Hangout spot. >> How come? >> Am I being charged with a crime cuz he's recording me, and I'm not comfortable with that? >> No. >> And if I am, I'd like your contact information. Cuz this is uncomfortable. >> Okay. You're not You're You're not being charged, okay? With a crime right now. >> I know I I I just want to cooperate, with that, you know. This >> This well is a death notification and that's the big reason I'm here. >> I'm not [ __ ] I'm dude I'm >> For now, John's interview hadn't given detectives enough to connect him directly to Katie's murder. And rather than focusing on one theory too early, investigators began widening the circle. They turned to the people who knew John and Katie personally, the friends who had seen the relationship up close and knew what had been happening behind closed doors. As detectives begin speaking with the people surrounding Katie and John, they encountered friends who appeared reluctant to say everything they knew. But there was one interview detectives hadn't conducted yet. Unlike Crystal and Katherine, who appeared to be protecting John, Katie's niece Cheyenne wasn't about to do the same because Cheyenne knew something about John, something she believed detectives needed to hear. And once she started talking, investigators were left with a disturbing question. Had they been looking in the wrong direction this entire time? >> [snorts] >> All righty, your name is Cheyenne Paxton, is that correct? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. When was the last time you actually saw Katie? >> We were with her Sunday. >> Sunday? Where was that at? >> Uh we watched a movie with her at Kimo's apartment. >> Okay. How was she acting? >> It was really good. >> What? She seemed happy? Okay. Was she acting like she was nervous or scared of anything? So if he says he hasn't seen her since July >> Since July, yeah, no. He's seen her. >> How do you know that? She told you or you actually saw him together? >> She told me. They both told me. >> Was she trying to get back together with John? >> I don't know. I know that John was really angry at Katie for a lot of it? >> Tell me what he's mad at her for. >> [sighs and gasps] >> He feels like that it's her fault. That all like you know, that their relationship went bad. And then everything kind of went bad for a little while. He feels like it's her fault that he's losing his job. And that he got in any trouble. He just He just blames it all on her, you know? And [clears throat] uh I don't know if this matters or not, but I know he has a $150,000 life insurance policy on her, too. >> That was enough to give detectives an entirely new direction. Cheyenne had described John as angry with Katie, blaming her for the problems in his life, and then revealed the existence of a $150,000 life insurance policy. But detectives still had a problem. Suspicion wasn't evidence. If John had anything to do with Katie's murder, investigators would need something that could actually connect him to what happened. And that meant going back to the evidence. With their options running out, investigators began considering something completely different, something they wouldn't need John's permission for. As the day of Katie's funeral approached, detectives entered the funeral home early, working quietly before the guests began to arrive. They positioned hidden cameras near the room where Katie lay in her casket and secretly wired the area. On October 30th, John walked into the funeral home completely unaware of what detectives had set up around him. But almost immediately, the hidden cameras captured something investigators hadn't planned for. John wasn't alone. >> John walked out. >> She's all [ __ ] up. Did anyone find a wipe or anything? Does anyone know I think she still has a tiny blood on her neck. She's nasty. I got my down. I want to walk out of here like a beautiful man. I want to be wiped down. Now he's wiped out. I don't know if she's going to count on that. No. Three holes. She don't understand the body. This [ __ ] is clean. I washed it. This [ __ ] is clean. Oh my [ __ ] god, Sean. But then She's all small. Do me a solid, help me. This one is Let's go. >> As the hidden cameras continued recording, detectives watched the pair approach Katie's casket. John began taking pictures of Katie's body, making crude comments about her appearance, while the young woman beside him could be heard giggling. It was a painful contrast to the reason everyone else had gathered there, to say goodbye to Katie. But for detectives, it raised another question. Who exactly was this young woman, and what was her connection to John? They decided to find out. Her name was Hannah Thompson. She was only 17. And soon, detectives had Hannah sitting across from them. >> Um, are you under the influence of any drugs or alcohol right now? So, you feel like you're alert and conscious and can make a decision for yourself, right? >> Yes. >> Okay. Like uh Scott said, we read these to anybody, especially in a case of this nature. Um And it's just to advise you of your rights and and to protect ourselves and make sure everything's on the up and up, okay? >> When was the last time you uh you saw Katie? >> Like a few months ago. >> What were your feelings towards her? >> I mean, I always like I've always seen her as like a friend cuz like I lived with her for a little bit. >> Right. >> Um you know, she always told me that she was like here for me if I ever needed anything. Um when she went to the Carolina Center, I actually like convinced her to go get help with somebody cuz I've had like experience with that kind of stuff before and I know she was in a really bad place within her mind. So, I told her to call up there and see if they can help her and stuff like that. Like we had a good relationship. Like we were a little kind of close, but not like we were only close because we lived with each other. >> So, is it fair to say you were you were on good good terms with her once she was killed? >> Mhm. >> Okay. Um did you end up going to her visitation Saturday? >> No, I didn't. >> Okay. So, you didn't get to say goodbye to her. Um I know John I think went there Sunday, right? Um he said he got to say goodbye to her Sunday. >> Mhm. >> Oh, okay. You didn't get to get get to go with him? >> I went with him, yeah. >> How long did you stay in the room with her casket? >> Like 10 minutes 10 to 15 minutes. >> What did y'all talk about while you were in there? >> We didn't talk at all. >> Nothing? >> Mhm. We just each other like moments, I guess. >> Did John ever take his cell phone out and take a picture of her? >> No, he didn't. >> You sure? >> Mhm. >> Are you telling me I just Some people do that. >> Yeah, I know. He never took a picture of her. >> What did he say about her? >> He just We got in the car and he was like, "I don't understand why she was so dirty." >> Mhm. >> Cuz she was She had like dirt on her body still. >> So, while you were in that room, you two never talked at all? >> Mhm. >> [clears throat] >> I kind of rubbed his back a little bit, you know. I told him that it was okay, but other than that, we didn't really talk. >> Was he crying? >> Mhm. >> Were you crying? >> Mhm. >> Um just so you understand, we we've already talked to John. We talked to him for over an hour. >> Mhm. >> And we've been working this case steady since she disappeared. >> Right. >> So, there's a lot of these things that we know the answers to. >> Mhm. >> I can tell you already you're lying to me. Okay. So, let's stop lying to me, Jordyn. Okay? I'm going to tell you a little something. At the funeral home, we were there. >> Mhm. >> Okay? There was a camera in the room. There was a recorder in the room. We heard everything you guys said. So, do you want to go back and rehash that? >> I don't. It was not easy to see her like that. It was really not easy. It was really hard for me. >> Is that why there was some giggling and stuff? >> There was not any giggling. >> Stop taking pictures. >> He didn't take any pictures. I swear. >> Yes, he did. He's on video, Hannah. >> I swear he didn't take any pictures. >> Did he hold his phone up? >> I can't even remember. >> We can. We were watching. >> Okay. >> And you you, Hannah Thompson, had told him to stop. You told him to stop taking pictures. So, obviously, you were at least showing some respect for this dead lady. >> Yeah, she was my friend. >> You didn't like her one bit. >> Well, [snorts] after me and John started like getting together, Katie started not liking me. And I'm going to say it right now that like she was not nice sometimes, but she did not deserve that. >> What she deserves right now is for us to figure out who did this to her. >> I know. I know. >> Let me ask you this. If you want to keep going down the road of lying, who's that? >> That's Katie. >> Do you want me to keep scrolling through the hundreds of pictures we have? What do you think about somebody that would stab a girl in the neck to the point where the knife went all the way through to the other side? And then stick her body like a piece of trash in the basement of an abandoned house to sit there for a day and a half before somebody finds her. Look at that, Hannah. She's right here. >> I don't want to look at her. >> That's your friend. >> I don't want to do this anymore. >> Don't want to do what? Don't want to help us find out who killed her? >> All you got to do is tell the truth. It would be so easy. >> look at her. >> Can I >> I can't look at her. >> Can I Can I tell you something? To tell the truth, you don't have to try. It just flows. It just comes out. You know what I mean? >> I >> don't want to look at her? >> Okay, she's going. >> Can I please leave? Can I please leave? I don't know anything about her murder. >> You do. >> I don't. >> You do. >> I really don't. >> Well, you really do. You do. >> I I don't want to talk anymore right now. >> Good luck to you. >> [snorts] >> I don't want to talk anymore. I'm sorry. I can't talk. >> By the end of Hannah's interview, detectives had more than a few contradictions and even more questions, but there was only one person they wanted answers from now. John. So, they brought him in for a second interview. Only this time, detectives knew far more than John realized. >> We hadn't really had a chance to sit down and I know I talked to you that day at the when we notified you about her death. Yeah. And things were kind of emotional and everything, so we're still working the case, obviously, and trying to figure out who killed her. >> Mhm. >> We talked to a bunch of people. We wanted to give you some time to grieve and, you know, do do what you need to do mentally before we brought you in here. Um but we would like to ask you some questions that maybe you can give us an answer, you know, what we're looking for. >> Okay. >> So, with that in mind, are you willing to talk to us today? >> Yeah. >> I'm just going to ask you point-blank, did you kill Katie? >> No. >> Do you know who killed her? >> No. >> This polygraph will really help us you know, it's not admissible in court. Like I said, it's nothing that you take to be used against you. They're not going to ask you about other off-the-wall stuff. They're going to ask you direct correct questions related to her being killed. When was the last time you saw Katie face-to-face? And and and I'm not worried about this returning order thing. Trust me, that's the least of our worries. >> The last time I saw her was Shyanne had a doctor's appointment and then I did and Katie was there with her at the doctor. >> Okay. >> And I just coincidentally had a doctor's appointment in the same exact office. I just switched over to a new doctor, and she they were leaving as I was checking out. >> What so when was that roughly? >> Uh two or three months ago? I don't know. We could we could get an exact date. >> Okay. >> Um but yeah, that's the last time I saw her. >> Here's the thing. The viewing was Saturday, right? >> Right. 2:00 to 4:00 on Saturday. >> And when did you get When did you get >> Sunday, 2:30 on Sunday. >> Okay. They So they just had a private thing for you? You get by yourself? >> Yeah. Well, I took Hannah with me. >> Did you? >> Yeah. >> How was that hard? >> Yeah, cuz I mean first of all, there's nobody there but me and her. So we're just kind of standing there staring at like Katie's nasty like dirty disgusting body, cuz they didn't even wipe her ass down. And then we're just standing there. Like I don't know what the [ __ ] [clears throat] to say. I've seen so I I've been to a couple I went to my own dad's viewing when I was like 15. I've seen people dead. I've [ __ ] dealt with this [ __ ] before. And now there's nobody else there. You know what I mean? >> Yeah, it's kind of >> There's nobody else there, because her family wants to be crazy about this [ __ ] So I'm there by myself. I'm dealing with it by myself. I'm dragging her around because she's willing to be dragged around. To be there, you know? So I don't know. It's just been really stressful. >> Yeah, I I I can imagine that. That night, somebody says you and Hannah were putting some trash from a bag like trash bag in the back of the Prius. Do you know remember doing that? >> Oh, yeah. >> What was that about? >> Uh Marley had like the most explosive [ __ ] on the floor and stunk up the whole house. I [ __ ] had to throw like four towels. It was disgusting. It was And then Crystal left it for me to clean up. So cuz it was like watery nasty. I had to get like three or four towels to clean it up, plus the Swiffer, plus like dumped bleach on the floor. So, yeah, it was pretty nasty. >> Okay. So, why did you put it in the car? >> To take it. >> Oh, okay. Okay. >> Yeah, our trash is always filled up. I We used to have this entertainment center. I just chopped it up. So, it was like the trash can was full. >> So, you took that when you went to get it at Saxby's or >> Yeah, we were just going to throw it out on the way. Okay. Just at a dumpster. >> All right. Um, did you have your phone with you that night? >> Um, probably, yeah. >> That's what I want to know. >> Yeah, normally I do. >> Yeah, normally I do. I normally have my phone. Unless I'm going out with Martha, I don't I have my phone. >> All right. >> When I'm going hiking or something like that, I take my phone. Or leave in the car, at least. >> Do you ever turn your phone off during the day or at night time? >> Only when it dies. >> You never asked us, you know, what had happened to Katie, or how she died. Is there any reason why you >> Yeah, I have explained this to a few people, because like 20 people asked me that day, what happened. >> [clears throat] >> I feel like there's nothing that that could bring me. >> So, you don't want to know what happened? >> Yeah, there's nothing that that information would bring me in the moment. Um, like I said, I've I've experienced death. And >> In the military, maybe? >> Yeah, and that's never really done [ __ ] for me to know. Um, a good friend of mine, a lieutenant, was stabbed after he got out in the military. He was He was um, overseas in the Middle East for school. He was stabbed to death, and then his wife was stabbed to death. Um, that brought me no comfort finding that out. Knowing he was dead, I just had a friend recently kill himself. And [clears throat] I still don't know, and I still don't want to know. It doesn't matter. Cuz that's the end state. >> what it is. It is what it is. >> It is what it is. They're already dead. How they died means nothing to me. >> Okay. >> So, and that's how I I just I've been >> I've probably seen people, you know, being in the military, seen people die. Kind of gives you that outlook. >> So, yeah. >> Um, >> Throughout the interview, John continued to deny having anything to do with Katie's murder. And when detectives asked for permission to search his phone, John refused. But when they asked him for something else, his answer changed. John agreed to provide a DNA swab, finally giving investigators a sample they could compare against the evidence recovered during the investigation. But even with John's DNA finally collected, detectives had to move carefully. They were deliberate with their questions, careful not to reveal just how closely they were looking at him until the evidence came back. The last thing they wanted was to spook John and risk him disappearing. But while investigators were waiting, they received a call from John and Katie's friend Crystal. And suddenly, the very thing detectives had been trying to prevent had already happened. John was gone. With John now gone, investigators began trying to track his movements across the country. In the months that followed, license plate readers reportedly picked up John's vehicle traveling through several states, including Texas, Alabama, California, and New Mexico. John wasn't staying in one place. He was moving, and detectives were struggling to keep up. Eventually, that trail would lead investigators toward the Pacific Northwest. Then, on December 12th, 2016, investigators finally caught a break. Hannah resurfaced in Eugene, Oregon. She contacted her family and told them that John had abandoned her, but John was nowhere to be found. Hannah had resurfaced. John had vanished. And while John remained on the run, Hannah was about to give investigators their clearest account yet of what she claimed really happened to Katie. When Hannah returned to South Carolina, her story changed dramatically. She admitted that she had lied during her first interview, claiming John had promised to keep her safe if she protected him. But this time, Hannah went much further. According to Hannah, while they were on the run, John confessed to killing Katie. She claimed John told her he stabbed Katie inside the abandoned house, and that during the attack, the knife broke. Hannah said Katie begged John to let her go, promising she wouldn't call the police. Hannah also claimed John became emotional while describing what happened, and told her that he had done it for her. Something Hannah believed was an attempt to make her feel responsible. But Hannah wasn't only revealing what John allegedly told her, she was finally admitting what she had done. Hannah told detectives that on the day Katie disappeared, she dropped John off near Katie's PetSmart workplace. Later, she said John contacted her again and asked for help moving Katie's car. Hannah said she drove John's Prius while John drove Katie's vehicle, following him until the car was abandoned along Whitehorse Road. Still, Hannah maintained one crucial distinction. She claimed she had no idea John was planning to kill Katie. For detectives, Hannah had just filled in some of the biggest missing pieces of Katie's final hours, and placed herself much closer to what happened than she had ever admitted before. For nearly 6 years, John Balch remained one step ahead. But in 2022, investigators finally caught the break they had been waiting for. Information provided by Hannah helped lead US Marshals back to Oregon, where investigators narrowed their search to a home in Medford. They began watching the property, and eventually a man stepped outside who matched the fugitive they had been searching for. Even after all those years, one distinctive feature remained. The pirate tattoo investigators knew belonged to John. On July 20th, 2022, US Marshals moved in. But when confronted, John claimed they had the wrong man. He told them his name was Ben Klein. Investigators weren't taking his word for it. They scanned his fingerprints, and within moments, the identity of Ben Klein was confirmed. It was John Blauvelt. After nearly 6 years on the run, John was finally in custody. He was eventually returned to South Carolina to face the charge he had spent years running from. The murder of Katie Blauvelt. In September 2024, a jury found John guilty of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For Katie's family, no verdict could undo what happened to the 22-year-old woman they loved. But after years of unanswered questions, a nationwide manhunt, and a fugitive living under another name thousands of miles away, the man convicted of taking Katie's life could no longer run. John Blauvelt had finally been brought to justice.