Brighton cops tackle unsolved ax homicide

The Brighton police, the FBI and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office are jump-starting an investigation into one of the region’s most notorious unsolved homicides: the 1982 slaying of Brighton housewife Cathleen Krauseneck, killed by an ax blow to her head.

In recent months, the police have conducted a new round of interviews, including a meeting with Krauseneck’s husband, James, who now lives in Tacoma, Washington. The police and the DA’s Office are also looking at physical evidence for possible DNA testing, including the ax that was driven into Krauseneck's skull.

“The murder weapon … has never been tested” for the presence of DNA, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said in an interview in late April.

The homicide was so violent and its locale so unusual — Brighton’s Evans Farm neighborhood of Colonial homes and backyard barbecues — that the story of the slaying circulated nationally. Cathleen Krauseneck was 29, and, adding to the horrific nature of the killing was the fact that the couple's 3-year-old daughter was alone with her mother's corpse for hours, until her father returned home from his job..

James Krauseneck, who worked for Eastman Kodak Co. in 1982, told the police then that he found his wife dead around 5 p.m. His wife had been asleep when he left for work around 6:30 a.m. on the morning she was slain, he said.  

An autopsy determined Cathleen had been killed in the early morning hours.

James Krauseneck now lives in Mercer Island, Washington and did not respond to email and telephone requests left at his workplace. The couple's daughter, Sara, could not be reached.

FBI assisting investigation

Brighton Police Investigator Mark Liberatore spoke with Krauseneck in Washington state in late April, according to Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson. Liberatore was accompanied by an FBI agent; the FBI has been assisting with the investigation.

"It was a very young mother whose life was taken then," Henderson said. She and her family —  her parents still live on their Michigan family farm — deserve justice, he said.

Cathleen Krauseneck's sister, Annett Schlosser, said she and her parents "are more hopeful than we've been in the 34 years since her death."

Her father, Robert Schlosser, is 90, and still works the family farm in Michigan. He and his 88-year-old wife, Theresa, often ask if there are any new updates with the investigation, said Schlosser, who lives in Michigan and has stayed in contact with the Brighton police.

"I really want this case to be solved for my parents, who have been living this nightmare now for 34 years," she said. "Justice needs to be done."

"She was like my best friend," said Schlosser, who is 10 years younger than her sister. "She was the most genuine, intelligent loving person. There isn’t a bad word that you can think about when describing my sister and to have her die like that is so unfair."

Liberatore first contacted Cathleen Krauseneck's family about a year ago, alerting them that investigators planned to take a fresh look at the case, Schlosser said. The FBI has since digitized the ample criminal files on the case, and investigators are readying evidence for forensics testing. 

"We are hoping that the forensics testing will definitely be a significant factor in solving this case," Schlosser said.

Burglary theory

In 1982, police said Cathleen Krauseneck may have been killed during a burglary. The ax and a maul, used for splitting wood, were found in the home. They'd earlier been in the family's garage, which had been left unlocked.

A window was shattered from the outside; the maul was apparently used to break the glass, police say. Police also found a sock that the killer may have used when holding the maul. That, along with the ax and maul and other evidence in the home, can be tested for DNA, Doorley said.

"I went through every single piece of evidence with Mark (Liberatore)," said Doorley. 

In the weeks after the homicide, the Krausenecks were described as a loving couple, and James a doting and caring husband and father. The day after his wife was found dead, James went to Michigan, surprising police who hoped to continue an interview they had started with him. He later hired a Rochester-based attorney,  Michael Wolford.

Wolford no longer represents Krauseneck, who has retained an attorney in Washington, Henderson said.

Question over qualifications

Shortly before the killing, issues arose with Krauseneck's employment at Kodak, according to police and Schlosser. He had previously taught at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Va., where he was an assistant professor of economics.

He had indicated to the college that he had a doctorate, and told Kodak the same thing when interviewing in Rochester for a job that paid significantly more than his collegiate teaching. However, apparently early in 1982, Kodak learned that Krauseneck had not completed his doctoral work. Whether he was at risk of losing his job is unclear, but Cathleen did become aware of her husband's workplace issue, said Annett Schlosser, who said she learned this from investigators well after the killing.

Several times in the past 34 years, police have taken a hard look at the homicide, hoping for clues or leads that were not found in 1982. Annett Schlosser said she sees a seriousness on the part of investigators that, coupled with forensics advancements, could finally answer who killed her sister.

"My mom prays every night for this case to be solved and justice to be served," she said.

GCRAIG@Gannett.com