Cati Blauvelt: Death of a Soldier’s Wife

Summary

Podcast Summary: 48 Hours – "Cati Blauvelt: Death of a Soldier’s Wife"

Introduction

In the March 10, 2025 episode of CBS News' "48 Hours," host Peter Van Sant delves into the tragic and complex case of Katie Blauvelt, the young wife of respected military recruiter John Blauvelt. This detailed, long-form summary captures the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions from the gripping narrative, complete with notable quotes and timestamps to provide a comprehensive understanding of the case.

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1. Background: The Blauvelts and Simpsonville Community

The story unfolds in the tight-knit community of Simpsonville, South Carolina, a place characterized by southern charm and low crime rates. Patty Piver, Katie Blauvelt’s mother, introduces her daughter as a free spirit who loved animals and made friends easily (00:52). John Blauvelt, a respected recruiter at the Armed Forces Center, was seen as a dependable and principled member of the community (01:52). Their marriage appeared harmonious initially, with plans for a family and a new home (01:52).

Notable Quote:

"Katie was a teeny little thing. She was just a free spirit. She made friends so easily. She loved animals." — Patty Piver (00:55)

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2. The Downfall: Marital Struggles and Party House

Shortly after their honeymoon, the Blauvelts' marriage began to deteriorate. John Blauvelt started dating Hannah Thompson, a 17-year-old, which created tension within the household (02:35). John’s career faced setbacks when a health issue with Katie led to her medical discharge from the Army, causing John to be reassigned from active recruiting to a back-office position (08:43). This change angered John, leading to increased conflict and violence, including a domestic incident where he pointed a gun at Katie and threatened to kill her (15:23).

Notable Quote:

"He was like, I can't be out in the field, like, on the front lines. I'm not recruiting people for the Army. Now I'm sitting behind a desk. And that's what made him so mad." — Patty Piver (16:08)

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3. Katie's Disappearance and Murder

On October 24, 2016, Katie Blauvelt vanished after leaving her job at Petsmart. Her disappearance prompted a frantic search by her family (17:01). Two days later, her mangled body was discovered in an abandoned farmhouse, brutally stabbed in the neck and concealed in a concrete box (05:43). John Blauvelt became the prime suspect, especially after exhibiting a lack of shock upon learning of Katie’s death (06:14).

Notable Quote:

"She flipped my life upside down." — Patty Piver (20:06)

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4. The Fugitive Years: John Blauvelt and Hannah Thompson on the Run

Following Katie’s murder, John Blauvelt and Hannah Thompson fled, utilizing John’s military training to evade capture. For years, they remained elusive, with intermittent leads pointing towards various locations, including Texas, New Mexico, and eventually Oregon (25:38). Hannah initially resisted cooperation, fueled by fear and manipulated loyalty to John, but eventually grew disillusioned and broke contact (31:53).

Notable Quote:

"He thought we weren't ever gonna find him." — Patty Piver (25:52)

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5. Capture and Trial: Bringing Justice to the Blauvelt Case

In July 2022, after six years on the run, John Blauvelt was finally apprehended in Medford, Oregon, thanks to the persistent efforts of U.S. Marshals and a pivotal tip from Hannah Thompson (35:05). The arrest was dramatic, culminating in Blauvelt’s identification through a distinctive pirate tattoo and immediate confession through his journal entries (36:00).

The trial, commencing in September 2024, saw Hannah Thompson serve as a key prosecution witness, testifying to John’s confession and her role in hiding Katie’s body (39:44). Despite defense efforts to discredit Hannah’s testimony and highlight the absence of DNA evidence directly linking John to the murder, the jury found John Blauvelt guilty of murder (43:06).

Notable Quotes:

"You're not being charged. Okay. With the crime right now." — John Blauvelt during initial police interrogation (07:05)

"This is what she's right here. I don't want to look at her." — Patty Piver urging Hannah Thompson to identify Katie (22:24)

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6. Aftermath: Emotional and Legal Repercussions

John Blauvelt was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, providing a sense of closure for Katie’s family. However, the emotional toll on Patty Piver and Katie’s friends remains profound. Additionally, Hannah Thompson faced multiple felony charges related to obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact, highlighting the complexities of her involvement (43:27).

Patty Piver expressed deep anguish over Hannah’s initial lack of cooperation but acknowledged her bravery in ultimately testifying (43:06). The case underscores the devastating impact of domestic violence and the long pursuit of justice.

Notable Quote:

"John is the type of person that if somebody was going to get away with it, it would be John. I never really thought that they would get him." — Patty Piver (31:26)

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Conclusion

The "Cati Blauvelt: Death of a Soldier’s Wife" episode of "48 Hours" offers a harrowing exploration of betrayal, domestic violence, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Through meticulous reporting and emotional firsthand accounts, the episode sheds light on the complexities of human relationships and the resilience of those seeking closure. The case of Katie Blauvelt serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring scars left by violence and the importance of sustained investigative efforts in uncovering the truth.

Notable Quote:

"She didn’t deserve to be murdered." — Patty Piver (03:42)

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Attachments

• Timestamp Key:
  • (00:05) to (44:43)

Note: Sections interspersed with advertisements and non-content segments have been omitted to maintain focus on the core narrative.

Transcript

[Patty Piver]

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[Peter Van Sant]

You, the person who agonized four weeks.

[Patty Piver]

Over whether to paint your wall's eggshell or off white, bought and financed a car in minutes. They made it easy. Transparent terms, customizable, down and monthly. Didn't even have to do any paperwork. Wow. Mm. Hey, have you checked out that spreadsheet I sent you for our dinner? Options Finance your car with Carvana and experience total control financing subject to credit approval. Your data is like gold to hackers. They'll sell it to the highest bidder. Are you protected? McAfee helps shield you blocking suspicious texts, malicious emails and fraudulent websites. McAfee Secure VPN lets you browse safely and its AI powered tech scam detector spots threats instantly. You'll also get up to $2 million of award winning antivirus and identity theft protection, all for just $39.99 for your first year. Visit mcafee.com/incancel anytime terms apply. Simpsonville is a tight knit community. It's got that small town southern charm. This is a place where you bake a cake and take it to your neighbor next door. It was a great place to be a police officer. Murders and serious assaults were few and far between. My name is Patty Piver and Katie Blauveld is my daughter. Katie was 5 1. She was a teeny little thing. She was just a free spirit. She made friends so easily. She loved animals. That was her biggest thing. She loved animals.

[Peter Van Sant]

She touched a lot of people's lives.

[Patty Piver]

She did. John Blauvelt was working over there at the Armed Forces Center. He was a recruiter for the military. He was someone that was respected by the community, somebody who's in the military. You can rely on them. And I think she wanted that somebody stable and dependable. John was a catch for Katie. She married him, was happy, wanted to have kids and get their life started. They were moving into their new house, so everything was really cool.

[Peter Van Sant]

What did John and Katie see seem like as a couple to you?

[Patty Piver]

At first they were really great, honestly. They had a little honeymoon after they got married, and once they got back, things were no longer as good as they were. It seemed like ever since then, just everything went downhill. Their marriage had fallen apart. Hannah Thompson and John were hanging out a lot. He started dating Hannah Thompson, who I believe was 17 and was Hannah in love with him? 100%. She loved John and she wanted to be with him. And Katie was a problem for her. And if they got Katie out of the way, she could have John to herself. On October 24th of 2016, Katie Blauvelt went missing.

[Peter Van Sant]

She disappeared. She disappeared off the face of the earth? Yes.

[Patty Piver]

And now nobody can get in touch with her. Her phone's cut off. We don't know what's going on. Shortly after midnight, I got a phone call from our chief of police at the time, and he advised me that they'd found a body at an abandoned house. Very dilapidated house.

[Peter Van Sant]

How had she died?

[Patty Piver]

She'd been stabbed in the neck. John did it. I know John did it. Oh, yeah. I immediately thought John. We did our first interview with him several days after her body was located. I'm just gonna ask you point blank, did you kill Katie? No. Do you know who killed her?

[Peter Van Sant]

No.

[Patty Piver]

Shortly after that interview is when he fled the state. John disappears, and he is on the run.

[Peter Van Sant]

John Blauvel goes on the run. Where's Hannah?

[Patty Piver]

With him. I contacted the United States Marshals. This is their bread and butter, what they do best. I'm a deputy U.S. marshal. We go after fugitives, violent offenses.

[Peter Van Sant]

He's been trained on how to defend himself. He's been trained on how to kill. Does that make him a unique fugitive? It does. So we don't know where he's going to go.

[Patty Piver]

We don't know what he could be doing next.

[Peter Van Sant]

When you heard that he was on the run, what'd you think?

[Patty Piver]

I was like, oh, my God, you're never going to find him.

[Peter Van Sant]

Peter Van Sant reports. Katie Blauvelt the death of a soldier's wife. In the soft South Carolina night in the city of Simpsonville, Katie Blauvelt was missing. It had been two fearful days for her mom and Patty Piver.

[Patty Piver]

I just was terrified that something was going to happen to her.

[Peter Van Sant]

Then past midnight, October 26, 2016, investigators Cheryl Schofield and Keith Moorcraft were dispatched to the scene. Katie's mangled body had been found in an abandoned farmhouse. 22 years old. A knife blade left in her body.

[Patty Piver]

There was a rectangular concrete box kind of in the center of the basement. We found Katie's body inside of that box. Her body had basically been folded into this box. It was a picture of what you would see in a horror movie.

[Peter Van Sant]

Katie's mom was overwhelmed.

[Patty Piver]

I was totally empty inside. She did not deserve to be murdered.

[Peter Van Sant]

Katie's stepsister, Jennifer Piver.

[Patty Piver]

I just prayed and cried and just sick. Just sick.

[Peter Van Sant]

Moorcraft and another investigator went to tell John Blauvelt his wife's body had been found.

[Patty Piver]

We went to make the death Notification. I'm so sorry if we lost.

[Peter Van Sant]

At first, Blauvelt appeared distressed. But as the conversation progressed, his demeanor changed.

[Patty Piver]

Didn't ask normal questions, such as, where did you find her? How did she die?

[Peter Van Sant]

He wasn't shocked by the news.

[Patty Piver]

He didn't seem to be at all.

[Peter Van Sant]

What did that suggest to you?

[Patty Piver]

That he knew how she had died. He knew where her body was.

[Peter Van Sant]

John Blauvelt did have one question, but it wasn't about Katie.

[Patty Piver]

Am I being charged with a crime? Cause he's recording me, and I'm not comfortable with that. You're not being charged. Okay. With the crime right now.

[Peter Van Sant]

Right away, you sense this could be our guy?

[Patty Piver]

I was pretty confident at the time.

[Peter Van Sant]

But they couldn't arrest him on a feeling first. Morecraft and Scofield had evidence to gather and a case to build. But just as they got started, John Blauvelt took to the road traveling with him. Hannah Thompson, his new girlfriend, all of 17. How concerned were you about Hannah's safety?

[Patty Piver]

If he was willing to kill his own wife, there's no telling what kind of danger Hannah Thompson would have been in by fleeing with him.

[Peter Van Sant]

But John Blauvelt hadn't always been considered threatening. Back in 2014, in this quiet city of some 20,000, he was a welcome part of the community, the larger than life public face of the US Army. A person of principle, someone willing to sacrifice for his country.

[Patty Piver]

That's what I think.

[Peter Van Sant]

These are all admirable traits, right?

[Patty Piver]

Exact.

[Peter Van Sant]

It was then that John met Katie. Just yards from his recruiting office at this sub shop where she worked. Katie turned 20. John was 26.

[Patty Piver]

They started dating, and they just hit it off. She's lovable, caring, funny. He wouldn't fall in love with her.

[Peter Van Sant]

In the summer of 2015, recruiter John Blauvelt convinced Katie to enlist. But after just two months, a health issue prevented her from finishing her training.

[Patty Piver]

They found a problem with her spine. She got a medical discharge out of the Army.

[Peter Van Sant]

While Katie's military hopes were dashed, John told friends he had found his calling.

[Patty Piver]

He loved his military career. That's one thing we learned, is that his career was everything to him.

[Peter Van Sant]

With his war stories about his deployments in Iraq, his sharp uniform decorated with service ribbons, John impressed local teenagers.

[Patty Piver]

Like, to me like he had all his ducks in a row.

[Peter Van Sant]

Almost like a role model, right?

[Patty Piver]

Almost like a role model. More than like, it was definitely like a role model.

[Peter Van Sant]

Allie Somerville, a close friend of Katie, says she often ate lunch with John at his recruiting booth in her school. She adds, he also sometimes showed up at local hangouts.

[Patty Piver]

I thought he was cool.

[Peter Van Sant]

He was very interested in your life, what you were up to and things.

[Patty Piver]

Yeah, he made sure I was ok.

[Peter Van Sant]

But as he began dating Katie, her family was never half sure about John Blauvelt.

[Patty Piver]

I don't think I ever had a meaningful conversation with him.

[Peter Van Sant]

Did he seem interested in you, in family?

[Patty Piver]

No, not at all.

[Peter Van Sant]

Then after about a year and seemingly out of the blue, Katie surprised her family with an alarming announcement.

[Patty Piver]

She says, oh, by the way, she said, me and John got married today. I'm in shock. She said, oh, we got married at courthouse. They went on the honeymoon, but within two months that honeymoon was over. I'm ready for my life to change. ABC Sundays, American Idol is all new.

[Peter Van Sant]

Give it your all.

[Patty Piver]

Good luck come out of the golden ticket. Let's hear it. This is a man's world. I've never seen anything like it. And a new chapter begins. We're going to Hollywood. Carrie Underwood joins Lionel Richie, Luke Bryant and Ryan Seacrest on American IDOL NEWS.

[Peter Van Sant]

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[Patty Piver]

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[Peter Van Sant]

Staff Sergeant John Blauvelt and his new bride were putting down roots in the community. Katie had taken a job at the local petsmart.

[Patty Piver]

Yeah, she's gonna love that. And she did.

[Peter Van Sant]

And she was passionate about animals. This could be a career for her. As for John, he already owned this four bedroom home in Fountain Inn right next to Simpsonville, where investigator Cheryl Schofield worked.

[Patty Piver]

Once they got married, this is the house that they were supposed to move into and have a family. She wanted a family. She wanted to have kids.

[Peter Van Sant]

Katie moved in and soon the house was crowded with kids, but not the kind Katie imagined.

[Patty Piver]

Unfortunately, the only kids that were here were the teenagers that John Blavel invited.

[Peter Van Sant]

John had invited Katie's niece to stay with them, and later, Hannah Thompson and Ally Somerville crashed there, too. Ali says it became a party destination for kids from their high school, where John often worked as an army recruiter.

[Patty Piver]

We were just smoking weed all day, every day.

[Peter Van Sant]

And how old were you then?

[Patty Piver]

16.

[Peter Van Sant]

And Allie claimed it wasn't just weed that was the draw. She said at times there was booze and acid and cocaine. This is with the US army recruiter, right?

[Patty Piver]

Letting us party at his house, like, this is awesome.

[Peter Van Sant]

Patty says it wasn't long before Katie grew frustrated with all of the partying and told John it had to stop. Her dream house turned into a party house. Right, and that's the last thing your sister wanted, right?

[Patty Piver]

Absolutely.

[Peter Van Sant]

As Katie and Blauvel drifted, Hannah Thompson was there to fuel the fire.

[Patty Piver]

Hannah absolutely despised Katie.

[Peter Van Sant]

And what was the nature of Hannah's relationship with John?

[Patty Piver]

As time went on, Hannah became John's puppy. Anytime that John would tell her to do something she would do was all.

[Peter Van Sant]

Too much for Katie. According to police records, after being married less than three months, Katie moved out. Captain Schofield says John and Hannah wasted no time.

[Patty Piver]

She moved into John Blauvelt's bedroom in this house. When Katie moved out. Whoa, that's creepy. Like, you're in your late 20s and she's 17, dude. Like, you're not supposed to be doing stuff like this.

[Peter Van Sant]

Hannah's father went to the police and told them he hadn't seen his daughter for two weeks. That night on February 26, 2016, cops showed up at John Blauvelt's house. When they arrived, what happens?

[Patty Piver]

They try to make contact with John, and John refused to come outside.

[Peter Van Sant]

Allie Somerville was inside the house with John and some other minors when police.

[Patty Piver]

Arrived, and John was like, lock the door. Nobody go outside.

[Peter Van Sant]

What were they saying?

[Patty Piver]

Like, John Blavel, like, come out of the house with your hands up, but.

[Peter Van Sant]

You must have been a little terrified. Were you not terrified?

[Patty Piver]

These are people with weapons.

[Peter Van Sant]

Were weapons out?

[Patty Piver]

Oh, yeah, there were weapons on and everything.

[Peter Van Sant]

A veteran of the Iraq war, and they're having to pull their guns to get him out of the house?

[Patty Piver]

Yes.

[Peter Van Sant]

It's kind of extraordinary, isn't it?

[Patty Piver]

Yes, very much so.

[Peter Van Sant]

John eventually opened the door and was questioned by police. On February 27, 2016, he was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minority. His soldier's image replaced with a mugshot.

[Patty Piver]

He's the exact opposite of what everybody thought he was. Exact opposite.

[Peter Van Sant]

And soon, Blauvelt's troubles would get even worse. Police talked to Kitty the day Blauvelt was arrested. She told them about a more troubling incident she says happened a month earlier.

[Patty Piver]

There had been a domestic violence incident where John allegedly pointed a gun at.

[Peter Van Sant]

Katie, pulls out a gun, points it at her head, says what?

[Patty Piver]

That he was going to kill her. And also threatened the family.

[Peter Van Sant]

Threatened the family? What do you mean? To shoot.

[Patty Piver]

Threatened to kill the family. Fountain End Police Department investigated the matter and ended up charging him with domestic violence.

[Peter Van Sant]

A restraining order was issued preventing Blauvelt and Katie from seeing each other.

[Patty Piver]

He blamed her for ruining his life because there was obviously going to be a consequence from the military.

[Peter Van Sant]

That consequence came just a few days later when the Department of the army cut John's pay and suspended him from the recruiting duty that defined him.

[Patty Piver]

You can't do this and be a military recruiter.

[Peter Van Sant]

The army reassigned him to a small back office and began an investigation that might lead to his dismissal.

[Patty Piver]

He was like, I can't be out in the field, like, on the front lines. I'm not recruiting people for the Army. Now I'm sitting behind a desk. And that's what made him so mad.

[Peter Van Sant]

Katie quickly moved on from her short, disastrous marriage and told her mother she planned to divorce John. Your daughter moves out, does she move back with you?

[Patty Piver]

Yeah.

[Peter Van Sant]

But despite the restraining order, Katie and John still had some contact, including visits to the house she had shared with John.

[Patty Piver]

The only reason she would go back over there was because she had her dog over there, Jupiter. For some reason, I just was terrified that something was going to happen to her.

[Peter Van Sant]

As for Blauvelt, the military career he cherished was in tatters. And according to Allie Somerville, he planned to get revenge. Did he ever say anything about harming Katie?

[Patty Piver]

Yes. He did say multiple times that he was gonna kill Katie. He said that she ruined his military career. That's all he's ever wanted to do in life.

[Peter Van Sant]

You destroy my career, I'm gonna destroy you.

[Patty Piver]

Yeah.

[Peter Van Sant]

Do you think he'd really go through with it?

[Patty Piver]

No. Never. He was very vocal on the fact that he wanted Katie dead. He wanted Katie gone.

[Peter Van Sant]

Police say Katie Blauveld was last seen alive on October 24, 2016, at her job at Petsmart. But come morning in Simpsonville, no one had heard from her. Calls to her went to voicemail. Her mother reported her missing. Did she tell the officers she spoke with that she was suspicious of John Blauvelt? She did the desperate search, and the painful waiting began.

[Patty Piver]

I didn't think she was alive anymore. It's terrifying. It's the worst feeling. You feel helpless.

[Peter Van Sant]

But after midnight, two of Katie's friends followed a hunch that sent Them deep in the woods to the old abandoned farmhouse.

[Patty Piver]

Teenagers would go there and they would party, they would drink, they would smoke marijuana.

[Peter Van Sant]

Katie and John were known to have gone there, too. The friends made their way to the basement. They were horrified by what they found. One of them called 911.

[Patty Piver]

911. What's the location of your emergency?

[Peter Van Sant]

We found my friend Katie dead in.

[Patty Piver]

Are you saying she's dead in the house?

[Peter Van Sant]

Yes, ma'am.

[Patty Piver]

Is she cold?

[Peter Van Sant]

She's very pale. And there was no response. Katie Blauveld's body had been stuffed into that cold concrete box. You believe Katie was killed outside the house and brought in?

[Patty Piver]

Yes. And we believe that she was actually killed on the gravel driveway and then drug on her face through that window.

[Peter Van Sant]

And if she's screaming, there's no one to hear.

[Patty Piver]

You wouldn't hear it from that house, where that house was located.

[Peter Van Sant]

And you live with that every day?

[Patty Piver]

Every day.

[Peter Van Sant]

Doesn't get easier, does it?

[Patty Piver]

No.

[Peter Van Sant]

It was October 26, 2016. Investigators made that official death notification visit to Blauvelt. They got their first sense of the resentment he held towards Katie.

[Patty Piver]

She flipped my life upside down.

[Peter Van Sant]

Morecraft and Schofield wanted more information from Blauvelt. And so just a week later, they spoke with him.

[Patty Piver]

Anything you say can be used against you in court. Didn't seem to really care that she was gone, let alone had been murdered. I lost a friend. Maybe not the best wife, but I lost a friend.

[Peter Van Sant]

He told them he visited Katie at the funeral home.

[Patty Piver]

Did you get by herself? Yeah. Well, I took Hannah with me.

[Peter Van Sant]

Blauvelt said he hadn't seen Katie in months. Their marriage had been a non stop argument.

[Patty Piver]

What kind of stuff are y'all arguing about? Everything. Just normal. Just normal stuff.

[Peter Van Sant]

He.

[Patty Piver]

He seemed very arrogant. Cocky, narcissistic.

[Peter Van Sant]

Then the cop fired. Point blank that question.

[Patty Piver]

Did you kill Katie? No. Do you know who killed her?

[Peter Van Sant]

No. Sitting across, talking to this man, what are you sensing in John Blauvelt?

[Patty Piver]

That he very much is the one who more than likely committed this murder. Like he was put off. Like we were taking up his time. That he was smarter than we were and that he was going to get away with this.

[Peter Van Sant]

Next up, Hannah Thompson.

[Patty Piver]

I don't know anything about her murder. You do. I don't. You do.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators confront Hannah, sensing she must know something.

[Patty Piver]

Tell us exactly what happened to Katie. I really don't know.

[Peter Van Sant]

And while they suspected Hannah might know something, they did not know exactly what.

[Patty Piver]

I can tell you already, you're Lying to me. Okay? You do not want to get wrapped up in catching a murder charge. You're 17 years old. You have your entire life ahead of you. You may love John, and you may think you two are gonna get married and walk down the yellow brick road, okay? But no man and no woman is worth going to prison for. Do you agree? Yes, sir. If you know something and you're trying to cover up for it, you're going to go down with the person who did this to her for knowing anything, whether it was beforehand or after the fact. You're going to go down with them.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators showed Hannah an autopsy photo of Katie.

[Patty Piver]

Look at her, 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. Can I please leave? Can I please leave? Hannah, this is a friend of yours that we're trying to do, and I want to help, but I can't help listening.

[Peter Van Sant]

With no help from Hannah, police hands were tied.

[Patty Piver]

We had to let him go.

[Peter Van Sant]

Potential hard evidence had to be processed, including Blauvelt's cell phone records and his DNA.

[Patty Piver]

It's very aggravating because we know we're sitting across from the person who killed his wife. And shortly after that interview is when he fled the state. He had taken this red GMC Yukon.

[Peter Van Sant]

And he was gone. He was John Blauvelt, trained in survival and combat, suddenly loose on the open road.

[Patty Piver]

I didn't think they were ever going to find him. He just disappeared off the face of the map.

[Peter Van Sant]

And so did Hannah Thompson. Police believed she was with Blauvelt. Prosecutor Kinley Abey would begin building the case with the chilling evidence she says he left behind.

[Patty Piver]

First, what I want to kind of show you is the knife that was found in Katie's neck. And so what you can see here is this X ray that the actual knife blade broke off inside of Katie.

[Peter Van Sant]

What you're holding there is what I'm seeing on this exactly.

[Patty Piver]

Matches exactly right there. That's what was found and lodged in her neck. And that's how she died.

[Peter Van Sant]

Simpsonville police knew they needed help to find John Blauvelt.

[Patty Piver]

I contacted the United States Marshals. The investigation is. Is. Let's find them. Let's find them. Let's find them. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game?

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[Peter Van Sant]

On November 18, 2016, John Blauvelt, still on the run, was charged with Katie's murder. What kind of fugitive are you dealing with?

[Patty Piver]

A cocky one. John thought we weren't ever gonna find him.

[Peter Van Sant]

U.S. marshal Will Cook, based near Simpsonville, would become the point person in the hunt for Blauvelt, who had been skilled at evasion.

[Patty Piver]

He had training from the army that the government provided him to avoid you guys, avoid us. And he was good at it.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators remained uncertain about Hannah Thompson's involvement in the murder, if any, but they knew for sure she was traveling with Blauvelt. They uncovered photos of Blauvelt and Thompson shopping and Blauvelt at an atm. His red Yukon truck passing through Texas and New Mexico, heading west. Were you able to get hits on where this vehicle was from time to time?

[Patty Piver]

So there were a couple of license plate reader hits.

[Peter Van Sant]

But by the time police were able to respond, Blauvelt was gone.

[Patty Piver]

In a game like this, all the seconds count.

[Peter Van Sant]

Then, after a month, investigators caught a break. Hannah Thompson made contact with her family from Eugene, Oregon. She wanted to come home to Simpsonville. Cheryl Schofield couldn't wait to talk to her.

[Patty Piver]

We are very glad that you're back and that you're safe and that nothing bad happened to you.

[Peter Van Sant]

Hannah's story was that John had left her in Eugene, just up and walked away.

[Patty Piver]

Did you ever see John again?

[Peter Van Sant]

And Hannah added, she had no idea where John was headed. But apparently she had enough of life on the run.

[Patty Piver]

She thought it was going to be a fairy tale. You know, they were going to live on the lamb and make things happen. But after a few weeks of that.

[Peter Van Sant]

Reality set in, any romantic notion Hannah may have had was derailed when John got the Yukon stuck in the mud in the Pacific Northwest. Couldn't get out.

[Patty Piver]

Could not get out. He said that we would hike. We had to hike, like, walk off the mountain, basically. Miles and miles.

[Peter Van Sant]

The couple was reduced to panhandling for change, and they used that for food sustainment. Hannah says while on the road, Blauvelt confessed, sharing the awful details of the killing.

[Patty Piver]

I can't believe that he was. Did something like that.

[Peter Van Sant]

What.

[Patty Piver]

What else did he tell you about it? I know it's hard. He told me that the last thing she. She said was that if he let her go that she wouldn't call the police. Where were they? Him.

[Peter Van Sant]

An adult can psychologically take advantage of a child. Do you believe in a way that's what was going on between John and Hannah?

[Patty Piver]

Absolutely, yeah. And he was just crying and screaming and, like, he was, like, saying that he did all that stuff for me. Like, did all that stuff, like, kill Katie. Like, he was like, I did that for you, and like, all that kind of stuff, like, trying to make me feel like it was my fault.

[Peter Van Sant]

Hannah told conflicting stories about her involvement, eventually saying she dropped Blauvelt off by petsmart the day Katie disappeared and then left. Hannah says she did not know he planned to kill Katie, but later that day, he asked her to help hide Katie's car. She also admitted she had lied in her first interview just days after Katie's murder.

[Patty Piver]

He told me that if I lied to the police that he would keep me safe.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators did not charge Hannah right away because they needed her.

[Patty Piver]

We had a long term goal of a finding John B. Prosecuting him, and she was the key to a lot of that. We're still hunting for John. Okay.

[Peter Van Sant]

They hoped she might lead them to Blauvelt.

[Patty Piver]

Has John contacted you by Facebook at all since you separated or contacted you by any means at all? Please don't keep it a secret from us, okay?

[Peter Van Sant]

But if Hannah knew where John was, she wasn't ready to tell them.

[Patty Piver]

I still care about him even though he did something, like, really bad. Like, I feel like I should hate him, and part of me does, but part of me, it just hates sick. And about how he used to be.

[Peter Van Sant]

BLT was still out there. Months turned into years. Lives changed.

[Patty Piver]

He's beating us, and we don't like to lose.

[Peter Van Sant]

It's driving you crazy.

[Patty Piver]

It's driving us crazy.

[Peter Van Sant]

Was it frustrating that you retired with this case still out there?

[Patty Piver]

It was very frustrating. And it was the only case that I still had that was open.

[Peter Van Sant]

Those who knew Blauvelt thought justice for Katie might never come.

[Patty Piver]

John is the type of person that if somebody was going to get away with it, it would be John. I never really thought that they would get him.

[Peter Van Sant]

The cops in Simpsonville interviewed Hannah repeatedly over the years. Then, in 2022, six years after Katie's murder, Hannah finally revealed a secret. She had been in regular contact with Blauvelt for years.

[Patty Piver]

We had been talking the whole time. Like, at first, we were talking every single day, multiple times, like, for hours a day. Did anybody know you were still talking to him?

[Peter Van Sant]

Hannah told investigators how they communicated.

[Patty Piver]

At the very beginning, we were communicating on Facebook messenger, and then after that, we were talking on Snapchat.

[Peter Van Sant]

She said their conversations ended in 2019. Authorities believe Hannah had matured with time and distance away from John. She told them she realized what she had done was wrong and gradually offered more leads. John might still be in Oregon. And she added, John told her he had been living with another woman for.

[Patty Piver]

Years because, honestly, she's in danger, too. Based on some of the information that Hannah gave us, zoned us in on John's new girlfriend and. Medford, Oregon.

[Peter Van Sant]

Medford, a small city in the northwest. Investigators jumped on the lead and discovered a phone number that John had used to text a mystery woman. And this sounds tantalizing, isn't it?

[Patty Piver]

Very tantalizing.

[Peter Van Sant]

Marshal Chris Tamayo is Will Cook's colleague in the Northwest. His team got an address that corresponded with the mystery woman's house. He took us to the scene. They started to stake out the house.

[Patty Piver]

Stake out the house. And they followed a subject out, a male that appeared to match our description.

[Peter Van Sant]

But six years after John allegedly murdered Katie, how could investigators be certain they had their man?

[Patty Piver]

John has some unique tattoos.

[Peter Van Sant]

Can you show me?

[Patty Piver]

So this is a still shot from one of John's initial interviews with Simpsonville police.

[Peter Van Sant]

The tattoo of a pirate. It was a quiet morning in Medford. As I'm starting to pull through this.

[Patty Piver]

Neighborhood, my heart is racing.

[Peter Van Sant]

The marshals made their move.

[Patty Piver]

That's the house right there.

[Peter Van Sant]

Did you see any activity? We did see him come out.

[Patty Piver]

He was just coming out shirtless.

[Peter Van Sant]

But was it for sure? John Blauvelt, a pirate, told the tale.

[Patty Piver]

I could see his pirate tattoo, right?

[Peter Van Sant]

It's about to happen.

[Patty Piver]

It is. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Upgrade your business with Shopify. Home of the number one checkout on the planet. Shop pay boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning fewer carts going abandoned and more sales going cha ching. So if you're into growing your business, get a commerce platform that's ready to sell wherever your customers are. Visit shopify.com to upgrade your selling today.

[Peter Van Sant]

On July 20, 2022, some six years after Katie's death, Chris Tamayo joined marshals and other law enforcement for the takedown of the man they believed killed her.

[Patty Piver]

John's about 3/4 away down the driveway.

[Peter Van Sant]

And the guys start going right at him, giving him commands.

[Patty Piver]

Police, show us your hands.

[Peter Van Sant]

Get down on the ground. And what does he do? His eyes got wide. Pure shock. And he drops down to the ground fast. John Blauvelt under arrest. He's getting handcuffed, handcuffs. But the suspect told the marshals that they had the wrong man. He said, I'm Ben Klein.

[Patty Piver]

Said, no, you're not.

[Peter Van Sant]

And he stuck with Ben Klein. Ben Klein.

[Patty Piver]

We have a device that allows us to mobile print someone in the field.

[Peter Van Sant]

Fingerprint, fingerprints. It took less than five minutes for Ben to become John.

[Patty Piver]

Your fingerprints show that you are John Blavelle. You are wanted out of South Carolina.

[Peter Van Sant]

He knew it was over.

[Patty Piver]

He knew it was over.

[Peter Van Sant]

When the marshals went inside the house, they realized the raid could have taken a fatal turn.

[Patty Piver]

There was a firearm, a handgun, sitting right on the nightstand.

[Peter Van Sant]

And what did that tell you?

[Patty Piver]

That was an indication to us that.

[Peter Van Sant]

He probably would have given a fight. All of it was apparently news to the woman Blauvelt was living with when she returned to the house later that day.

[Patty Piver]

Pure shock.

[Peter Van Sant]

She was visibly shaking, crying, scared. Tamayo recorded audio with her at the scene.

[Patty Piver]

So he's being arrested on charges out of South Carolina. For what?

[Peter Van Sant]

For murder.

[Patty Piver]

Are you serious? Yeah. I can't believe any of this. This is like a nightmare. I'm sorry.

[Peter Van Sant]

Blauvelt's girlfriend told the marshals she had no idea who he really was.

[Patty Piver]

We've been together for, like, six years. He would do random odd jobs. He was basically here watching my cats and my. My dog all the time.

[Peter Van Sant]

She loved him. She loved him. The news hit Simpsonville like thunder.

[Patty Piver]

I was over the moon, just freaking. It's just. That was such a great day, and I was completely elated.

[Peter Van Sant]

John Blauvelt would go cross country again, this time handcuffed. Brought back to a South Carolina jail to await trial just three months later. Hannah Thompson would be charged with five felonies, including obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact. She would plead not guilty and be released on bail. Prosecutor Kinley ab, who began putting the case against Blauvelt together a few months after Katie was killed, would team with John Meadows, preparing the case for trial, starting with that blade investigators found in Katie's neck.

[Patty Piver]

Doesn't get any worse than that. And that's what she died from. And you can actually see through the collar of the shirt where that knife blade entered. And you can see it right there. Yeah. Right into her neck.

[Peter Van Sant]

They focused on that abandoned farmhouse where kids once partied, where they found Katie.

[Patty Piver]

They would throw their bottles, their empty beer cans, and that's exactly where he discarded Katie's body.

[Peter Van Sant]

So do you think John was making a statement by placing her body.

[Patty Piver]

Absolutely.

[Peter Van Sant]

In this bin that normally you put trash?

[Patty Piver]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Peter Van Sant]

Prosecutors say Blauvelt blamed Katie for the abrupt end of his military career.

[Patty Piver]

It's all Katie Salt.

[Peter Van Sant]

He's not responsible for what he did. He's blaming his wife.

[Patty Piver]

Yes.

[Peter Van Sant]

And there were John Blauveld's own words while on the run. He kept a journal that the marshals found. Like a diary, Correct?

[Patty Piver]

Correct.

[Peter Van Sant]

And it held a damning entry.

[Patty Piver]

So at the end, it says, boldly, I did it.

[Peter Van Sant]

And for you, that's what?

[Patty Piver]

That's evidence and proof that he murdered Katie.

[Peter Van Sant]

In September 2024, eight years after Katie's death, John Blauvelt went on trial for murder. Patti Piver described the child she adored.

[Patty Piver]

She was so much fun to meet them. Everybody loved her.

[Peter Van Sant]

Allie Somerville stared at the man she once called a role model.

[Patty Piver]

He looked like a stone cold killer to me.

[Peter Van Sant]

The prosecution's key witness was Hannah Thompson. She would admit to helping Blauvelt the day Katie died.

[Patty Piver]

You love John Blavelt? Yes. You helped him hide Katie's farm after he killed him? Yes. You didn't know he. No. But she did help him. Yes.

[Peter Van Sant]

And prosecutors played this grainy video. Hannah says it shows John Blauvelt getting out of Katie's car and into his. Hannah was at the wheel of his Prius?

[Patty Piver]

Yes. In those cars in the Prius?

[Peter Van Sant]

Yes. Once on the run, she says he told her the details of the murder.

[Patty Piver]

He had told me that he killed her. He told me that he stabbed her in the neck. He said that he threw her phone into water that was on the ground in the abandoned house. And he said that he had to cover up her blood with dirt.

[Peter Van Sant]

But Blauvelt's defense team, Paul Neely and Anna Walker, made Hannah admit that her story changed over the years.

[Patty Piver]

You've lied to your friends and your family. Yes. And you kept lying. Yes.

[Peter Van Sant]

Then the defense zeroed in on the lack of DNA evidence at the scene. Was there any DNA that tied John Blofeldt to this murder?

[Patty Piver]

No. There was no DNA match to John Blauveld.

[Peter Van Sant]

And what about John Blauveld's journal? In which he wrote, I did it. His lawyers told 48 Hours. Much of it was a fantasy.

[Patty Piver]

A lot of this journal is filled with these fictional stories of observations. It's filled with poems, drawings, all kinds of things.

[Peter Van Sant]

As for Hannah Thompson, you heard she.

[Patty Piver]

Has five pending charges. For the information she ultimately provided to.

[Peter Van Sant]

Law enforcement, the prosecution pointed to the importance of her testimony.

[Patty Piver]

She is facing 55 years in jail upon conviction for those crimes. And she got up here with no deal. State didn't offer her a single no agreement to dismiss her charges, no cooperation agreement, no nudge, nudge, wink, wink, none of it. She got up here and testified and she told you because she thought it was the right thing to do. She did a great job going up there and telling the truth and giving the key details of what John had told her, what he had done to Katie.

[Peter Van Sant]

The trial lasted four, four days. The jury was out for some five hours.

[Patty Piver]

As to the charge of murder, we the jury unanimously find the defendant, John Keith Blaveld, guilty. John Blaveld has been found guilty for the murder of his estranged wife, Katie Boyder Blaveld.

[Peter Van Sant]

Taylor Farmer covered the case for wspa.

[Patty Piver]

It was very emotional in the courtroom, kind of quiet. But you could tell Katie's family was very emotional. As soon as the jurors got out, I just started crying.

[Peter Van Sant]

John Blauvelt was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

[Patty Piver]

She's a monster. She was helpless.

[Peter Van Sant]

And what did the family think about Hannah Thompson, who allegedly covered for Blauvelt for so long?

[Patty Piver]

I would think she was a stupid 17 year old until at trial when I heard how long she had been in touch with him. You are not willing at that time to turn him in? I have hard feelings about that. It's unfathomable.

[Peter Van Sant]

What would you say to your sister today if you could?

[Patty Piver]

That I'm sorry. That I love her. And that I think she was brave. Hannah Thompson's trial date is still pending.

[Peter Van Sant]

John Blauvelt is appealing his conviction.

[Patty Piver]

If you or someone you know is.

[Peter Van Sant]

Experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

[Patty Piver]

You join me Tuesday for post mortem from 48 hours, where we'll dive even.

[Peter Van Sant]

Deeper into today's episode and answer your.

[Patty Piver]

Questions about the case.