HORRIFIC details have emerged of the ax murder of Kathy Krauseneck, whose three-year-old daughter was found around her body for hours before her mutilated body was found.
The chilling events came to light after the CBS investigative journalism program 48 Hours revisited the gruesome murder case in Upstate New York.
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The new report will detail how 29-year-old Cathleen “Cathy” Krauseneck was found in bed with an ax to her head in her home in Brighton, New York, on February 19, 1982.
However, it can now be revealed that her three-year-old daughter Sarah had been at home for hours with the body before the gruesome scene was discovered.
James Krauseneck, Cathy’s husband, said he came home from work and witnessed the horrific incident.
He has since maintained that when he left home Cathy was alive and well.
According to Dateline, James reportedly ran across the street to a neighbor, speechless, and asked her to call the police to report the crime.
The case – which became known as the ‘Brighton ax murder’ – was frozen for nearly 40 years due to a lack of evidence and leads.
However, in 2015, the FBI reopened the case with the help of renowned medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden, who found evidence that Cathy’s husband was in the house at the time of her murder.
James was arrested for second-degree murder in November 2019 and pleaded guilty to the crime in September 2022 at the age of 70.
The man’s family has supported him since the investigation began.
And now, in her first public comments, now-wife Sharon Krauseneck told 48 Hours host Erin Moriarty that she still believed he was innocent.
In a teaser for the episode, he said: “I know he didn’t kill his wife.
“When you are married to a man, you know his heart and his soul.”
The murder also inspired the 2021 Netflix film Things Heard and Seen, which starred Oscar-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried.
The new episode of 48 Hours: The Brighton Ax Murder airs Saturday, February 25 at 10pm on CBS.
The episode will also be available to stream on Paramount+.
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