Episode 350

Summary

Sword and Scale – Episode 350 Summary

Episode Theme and Overview:
This episode of Sword and Scale explores the 2016 murder of 22-year-old Katie Blauvelt in Simpsonville, South Carolina. It meticulously tracks the investigation, focusing on Katie’s tumultuous marriage to Army recruiter John Blauvelt, her subsequent disappearance and murder, and the years-long manhunt that followed after John fled with his teenage girlfriend, Hannah Thompson. Through raw interviews, 911 calls, and direct testimony, the episode uncovers how appearance and trust can be weaponized by the most manipulative individuals, culminating in a rare and sobering look at the criminal psyche and the failures and perseverance of the justice system.

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1. Introduction to the Case and Victims

• Setting: Simpsonville, SC – a small town where the murder shattered community calm ([03:34])
• Victim: Katie Blauvelt, 22, animal lover, working at Petsmart.
• Disappearance: October 23, 2016; failed to meet up with sister Cheyenne ([05:10])
• Initial Response: Cheyenne is immediately concerned (“Katie never leaves her phone off. Katie never blows me off.” – Cheyenne, [05:55])

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2. Early Police Interviews & Suspicions

2.1. Estranged Husband: John Blauvelt

• Background: 28, Army recruiter, recently separated from Katie ([06:42])
• Relationship: Met outside recruiting office, married Dec 2015, quickly fell apart ([07:41]-[08:12])
• Police Focus: Openly admits marriage was tumultuous but denies violence ("I'd say probably July because she moved out in April, I think." – John, [09:00])
• Alibi: Roommates support his whereabouts day of disappearance, though “he went out for a jog” unaccounted for ([09:53])

2.2. Katie’s Recent Relationships

• Katie had started dating again, notably reconnecting with ex-boyfriend Wayne Roper, and hanging out with a group who frequented a local abandoned farmhouse.

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3. The Discovery of Katie’s Body

• Wayne Roper and Ricky Hargrove: On Oct 24, Wayne asks Ricky for a ride after work, wanting to search the “haunted” abandoned farmhouse ([12:18])
  • Wayne (911 call): “We found her in the bottom part in the basement, covered up with pieces of wood... she was pale, so she was pale and unresponsive.” ([14:23])
• Autopsy: Katie stabbed multiple times, knife fragment left in neck. Police determine body likely dragged to basement post-mortem ([19:40])

Notable Moment:
"It was Wayne, who happened to be Katie's ex boyfriend, who reached for his phone and dialed 911.” – Mike Boudet ([17:41])

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4. The Circle of Suspects Unravelled

4.1. Wayne Roper Under Scrutiny

• Lived with John and Katie as roommate; admits bizarre triangle and sexual history
  • “It was like a threesome thing. And after that, like, he just... changed.” – Wayne ([21:56])
• His and Ricky’s quick discovery of the body at the first search spot raises suspicions (“You and other guy in there, the first place they look, they find her. What are the odds of that?” – Investigator, [27:42])

4.2. The Abandoned Farmhouse – A Party Spot

• Investigators learn the farmhouse was a secret hangout for local teens—including John, despite being 30 and an Army recruiter ([32:06])
• John is found to have plied underage students with drugs/alcohol and invited them to his home ([33:58])

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5. The Darker Side of John Blauvelt and Motive

• Domestic violence history: Katie had filed a police report in Jan 2016 for threats with a gun ([35:23])
  • “Where he threatened her several times at home with a revolver, threatening to kill her if she would not open or unlock her phone.” ([35:30])
• John’s Money Motive: He held a $150,000 life insurance policy on Katie and several witnesses recall him "joking" or plotting her death ([38:10])
  • “He plotted out ways to like, kill her. But it was jokingly.” ([38:25])
  • He offered a teenager $50,000 to create a false alibi for the night of the murder ([38:38])

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6. Key Witness – Hannah Thompson

• John’s teenage girlfriend, moved in after Katie left ([41:35])
• Investigators believe Hannah is protecting John, initially lies about the nature of their relationship ([43:51])
  • “If you know something and you're trying to cover up for it, you're gonna go down with the rest of them.” – Investigator ([44:37])
• Hannah breaks down and requests to leave after being shown crime scene photos ([45:48])
• Both John and Hannah disappear, sparking a national manhunt ([48:23])

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7. On the Run: Manhunt and Hannah’s Return

• November 2016: John and Hannah vanish, last spotted in New Mexico ([52:04])

• Hannah eventually reappears, turns herself in after weeks; details their fugitive journey (sleeping in the car, driving through multiple states, John's paranoia escalating) ([53:43])

  • Notable Quote: “He, like, packed everything up, like, really fast, and he was like, we gotta go, like, right now... I can't talk right now. I'm trying to focus.” – Hannah ([56:05])

• Hannah describes John’s unraveling state (“He was gonna get Ally to take his credit card and his phone to Charleston... he was going to kill Katie and he would give her $50,000” – [38:38]) and her own growing fear for her life:

  • “I feel like when he crashed the car he was trying to kill me or both of us...” ([58:22])
  • John expresses suicidal ideation, compares living on the run to a nightmare ([76:51])

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8. Hannah’s Confession and Case Breakthrough

• Hannah details her unwitting role as John’s accomplice—driving him as he ditched evidence, disposing of bloody clothes, helping him abandon Katie’s car ([67:04])
• She maintains she did not know Katie was dead until news broke ([67:43])
• John had manipulated her deeply; later claimed he killed Katie "for you" as psychological leverage ([59:42])
• After returning home, Hannah continues communicating with John for years—only disclosing this to police in 2021 ([72:45])

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9. Arrest, Trial, and Aftermath

• In 2022, John is arrested in Oregon after six years on the run, living under a false name ([74:35])

  • “That night, I got the best sleep that I've had in six years. So I guess there's a positive to it.” – John ([75:09])

• Jailhouse calls reveal his narcissism and lack of remorse:

  • “Not once did he mention Katie, her family, or show a single hint of remorse. Like a textbook narcissist, every word was about himself and the supposed peace he'd finally found.” – Mike Boudet ([77:26])

• Hannah Thompson is charged as an accessory but receives probation in exchange for testimony; John receives life without parole ([81:24])

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10. Memorable Quotes and Moments

• “Unfortunately, you're right in the middle of all of this, and for to sit here and lie to us to begin with is not helping you at all.” – Investigator to Hannah ([46:53])
• “He made her a victim as well.” – Mike Boudet, on John’s post-murder relationship ([79:26])
• “We bought a house together... all in her name. And then I got arrested. The US Marshals tracked me down... I had a fake name. I was going by Ben. We had a good time. We had a good life.” – John ([78:21])
• "And her name is Katie, but her name is Catherine. And it meant innocent and pure. And that's what she was. And we lost that." – Katie’s family ([82:43])
• "In the end, John's greatest deception wasn't how he escaped justice. It was how long he convinced everyone that he was one of the good guys." – Mike Boudet ([83:02])

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11. Timeline of Key Segments

• Katie’s disappearance recounted: [05:10]–[05:55]
• John's and Katie's separation, John's background: [06:42]–[09:00]
• Wayne and Ricky discover body, 911 call: [14:23]–[15:18]
• Investigators confront Wayne and Ricky: [24:28]–[29:19]
• Details of domestic violence and John’s life insurance motive: [35:23]–[38:59]
• Hannah’s interviews and breakdown: [41:35]–[46:53]
• Manhunt and Hannah’s return: [48:23]–[62:47]
• Hannah’s testimony about the crime: [65:31]–[69:45]
• John’s post-arrest calls: [75:09]–[77:26]
• Sentencing and aftermath: [81:24]–[82:43]

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12. Episode Tone and Language

• The narrative is direct, raw, and uncompromising in exploring not only the facts, but the emotional devastation and psychological abuse at play. Mike Boudet maintains a tone of incredulity toward the manipulative power of John Blauvelt and critical reflection on the justice system’s delays and failures.

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Conclusion

Episode 350 of Sword and Scale is a harrowing, in-depth examination of a murder case where trust, outward appearances, and systemic lapses allowed a manipulative perpetrator to evade justice for years. Through a blend of audio evidence and matter-of-fact storytelling, listeners confront the brutal reality of psychological control, the limits of “innocence,” and the heavy cost borne by the victims’ families and the wider community. The lingering message: monsters wear disguises, and sometimes the biggest danger lies closest to home.

Transcript

[Mike Boudet]

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[Sam]

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[Mike Boudet]

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[Sam]

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[Mike Boudet]

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[Sam]

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[Mike Boudet]

Get started [e-mail] audio and take control of your privacy with Ipvanish. Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

[Sam]

Unfortunately, you're right in the middle of all of this, and to sit here and lie to us to begin with is not helping you at all. This is a friend of yours, or was a friend of yours and somebody brutally murdered her.

[Mike Boudet]

Hello and welcome to season 13, episode 350 of Sword in the Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance. And now we're customizing this rush hour ad to keep you calm, which could help your driving. And science says therapy is great for a healthy mindset. So enjoy this 14 second session on us. I think you've done everything right and absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, anything that hasn't gone your way could probably be blamed on your father not being emotionally available because his father wasn't emotionally available, and so on. And now that you're calm and healing, you're probably driving better, too. Simpsonville, South Carolina, is a small Southern town where life moves at an easy pace. Families know their neighbors. Church bells still mark the hour, and the peaceful atmosphere feels almost rehearsed. But on the afternoon of October 26, 2016, the calm was broken inside a cramped interview room at the Simpsonville Police Department. Investigators spoke to a young man named Ricky Hargrove.

[Sam]

I want to tell you what you've effectively done, Ricky, is you've inserted yourself into a murder investigation. I mean, what do you think I think who would do something like that? Take some kind of monster to do something like that to someone.

[Mike Boudet]

This interview with Ricky was one of the first threats in an investigation that would span nearly a decade. It was a horrific homicide case that centered around a 22 year old woman named Katie Blavel. Katie believed she could build a simple life for herself in Simpsonville and was doing what she could do to make that happen. Katie was an animal lover and in 2016 she was working full time at her local Petsmart.

[Sam]

I just want to confirm with you she was working here on Monday. And do you remember what her hours were here on Monday? She was 9am to 2pm 9 to 2. I don't know exactly what time she left, but I mean it was no later than 2:15. So you were working on Monday, didn't you? Yes. How was Katie's demeanor that day? Perfectly fine. She was talking about picking up her someone named Cheyenne. I don't know who that is to her. And they were going shopping together.

[Mike Boudet]

On October 23, 2016, Katie worked a full time shift at Petsmart. When she clocked out at around 2:15pm she confirmed plans to meet up with her younger sister, Cheyenne.

[Sam]

But I said, what are you doing? And she said, I'm driving around. I asked her, I said, will you take me and Kimani to get food and Kimoni will buy you food? And she said, yeah, I'll be there in an hour. And I said, well if you don't know what you're doing right now, I said, why is it going to take you an hour to get here, you know? And she said I don't do. But I kind of just let it go because I was like, you know, maybe she's doing something she don't want to tell me about. She's grown, she can do that, you know. And so I fell asleep and I called her back in like an hour and a half and she didn't answer.

[Mike Boudet]

Katie never showed up to meet her sister that day. When phone calls went unanswered, Cheyenne felt the first wave of panic. She immediately knew that something was very wrong.

[Sam]

Her phone was off. And then that's when I kind of started to worry. I'm like, Katie never leaves her phone off. Katie never blows me off. And around like 12:31 o' clock, I called John and he answered and he sounded like he's just woken up. And I said, I can't find Katie. And I said, I need to know if she's at your house or if you see me. Katie, I Said, just tell me, you know, and he said, no, I don't talk to her anymore is what he said on the phone.

[Mike Boudet]

Desperate to find her sister, Cheyenne did the only thing she could think of. She reached out to Katie's estranged husband, John.

[Sam]

What's your wife's full name? Katherine Ann Blauvelt. Okay. And are you, you familiar that she's missing? Okay. Yeah.

[Mike Boudet]

28 year old John Blauvelt was an active duty soldier in the United States Army. When Katie went missing, he was living and working in Simpsonville as a recruiter.

[Sam]

So I understand you've been deployed twice. Yes. Iraq or. Yeah. When was the last time you got back? 2010. How's recruiting? Obviously a lot different than being deployed. Yeah, it was probably the worst job I've ever had. Really? Yeah, because, you know, I joined the army at 18 to fight in Iraq. Shoot guns. Shoot big guns. Yeah. And then they had me sit behind a desk. And you couldn't get a different assignment or anything? No, it's one of the. It's like one of the Army's, like, mandatory assignments. You either take it or you get out.

[Mike Boudet]

John and Katie met by chance outside the army recruiting office where he worked. Her job was just a few doors down. And one afternoon during a smoke break, their conversations began.

[Sam]

So me and her just kind of met and started dating. I was staying at her house most days during the week at her dad's house. And then we finally got an apartment in December. And you got married in what year? 2015.

[Mike Boudet]

After they married, it didn't take long for John and Katie to realize they weren't as compatible as they'd hoped. They barely lived together for two months before the relationship fell apart and Katie decided to walk away. She left John and the two were officially separated.

[Sam]

What kind of stuff are y' all arguing about? Everything. Just normal. Just normal stuff. People stuff. And then being a recruiter, I talked to a lot of different people, so

[Mike Boudet]

I had two phones and I talked

[Sam]

to a lot of females and she didn't like us. But that was my job as a recruiter. I had to talk to everybody. Yeah. And she wouldn't like that. So then we'd argue about that. So you guys weren't married long at all? Two months.

[Mike Boudet]

In October of 2016, Katie went missing. And naturally, her husband was one of the first people police wanted to talk to. For the most part, John was open and cooperative. He admitted that their marriage had been difficult, even horrible at times, but he insisted he never laid a hand on her or caused her Any physical harm.

[Sam]

I mean, we, we were the worst couple. You know, we argued a lot, but I think it was just bad timing, honestly, because she was going through some shit and I was going through some shit and she's left one day. When's the last time you actually saw her? I'd say probably July because she moved out in April, I think.

[Mike Boudet]

Have you ever gotten so mad at

[Sam]

her that maybe you did something you didn't mean to do? No, absolutely not.

[Mike Boudet]

John also told investigators that he hadn't seen Katie for months and he provided a reasonable alibi for the day she went missing.

[Sam]

Did you work this Monday? What time did you get off Monday? Like 2:30ish. 2. I don't know. Where'd you go to work? Did you stop anywhere on the way home?

[Mike Boudet]

Was anybody home with you?

[Sam]

Yeah, my roommates were there.

[Mike Boudet]

John's roommates backed up his story. They told investigators they saw him come home from work that day on the day that Katie went missing. Though they did lose track of him later in the evening when he said he was going out for a jog. Investigators also spoke with people who knew both John and Katie and were familiar with their relationship. Many describe John the same way. Polite, disciplined, the picture of an army soldier. For them, the idea that he could hurt Katie didn't seem possible at all.

[Sam]

They used to fight a lot but like he was never like violent with her when I lived there. And a lot of the time it was mostly her that started the argument. What do you think chances are that John lost his cool and did something to her? I know he didn't. I've been around him when he's drunk, like straight up drunk. And he's not angry. You know, they've gotten really upset and he just, he just comes in and just cries like I mean I've seen him mad but you know, he just yells and that's the end of it.

[Mike Boudet]

After looking into John and finding no clear link to Katie's disappearance, investigators began to consider other possibilities. They knew that after the marriage ended, Katie had started dating again. This opened the door to new questions and a different suspect. I don't know what her family's told you.

[Sam]

Hopefully Cheyenne's been upfront with you, but she's been dating around a lot. Katie? Yeah. Yeah, we're looking into some of that.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators learned that Katie had recently reconnected with an ex boyfriend, 21 year old Wayne Roper. This was a bizarre relationship that quickly became the focus of their suspicions. And through a series of strange, unsettling events, that relationship led detectives to another name, the young man you heard at the beginning of this episode, Ricky Hargrove.

[Sam]

Yesterday, when I was finishing up some assignments in my classes online, I got a call from wayne at around 11:30. Wayne says, hey, man, can you. Can you come pick me up from work?

[Mike Boudet]

On the night of October 24, 2016, Ricky received an unexpected phone call. It was from Katie's ex boyfriend, Wayne Roper, who asked for a ride home from the Walmart where he worked. Ricky hesitated, then agreed, as long as he got a little gas money.

[Sam]

When he got out of the. Got into the car, I say, hey, man, what's up with Katie being missing? And he said, they haven't been able to find her. They pinged her phone in West Virginia or something, and then they pinged it again, and it was in Simpsonville. And he said, yeah, there was this house that we used to hang out at, and I've been wanting to check that because I think that she might be there.

[Mike Boudet]

When Wayne climbed into the passenger seat, his request caught Ricky off guard. He wanted to go to a nearby abandoned farmhouse, a place that was rumored to be haunted. Strangely, Wayne said he thought Katie might be hiding there.

[Sam]

I get out of the car with him, give him a lamp, my headlamp, and we walk in there. I'm talking about the house being haunted. I don't want anything to do with this. And I tell him about, you know, if we do find her, he says, we're going to call the cops. And I say, I got a bunch of weed in there. And then I'm not expecting to find her at all in there. And I was just kind of dismissive. Whenever we go in there, we check all the upstairs rooms, and then when we get done checking those, we go downstairs.

[Mike Boudet]

Reluctantly, Ricky drove Wayne to the abandoned farmhouse, and together they searched the dark, empty rooms for any sign of Katie. After several minutes of searching, and after they made their way into the basement, Wayne Roper pulled out his phone and dialed 911-SPMPSONVILLE 911.

[Sam]

What's the location of your emergency? I'm in that discover church across my friend. She's been missing for, I think, 30 hours now. And we went into the woods where we used to all hang out at, and there's a house there. And we went looking for her there just in case, like, she might be there staying or something. And we found her in the bottom part in the basement, covered up with pieces of wood. Okay. Like, was she still alive? No, sir. No response. She's pale, so she was pale and unresponsive. Yes. Are you still there with her? No, sir. I walked away. I couldn't. Is anybody still there with her? No, sir.

[Mike Boudet]

That night, the body of 22 year old Katie Blauvelt was found in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse. She'd been covered with planks of rotting wood and an autopsy later revealed she'd been brutally stabbed to death. Simpsonville wasn't the kind of place where people normally vanished or where murder made the nightly news. When it did, everyone knew about it. Naturally, solving Katie's murder became a top priority for local investigators. But answers didn't come quickly. Nearly a decade would pass before a jury would finally hear the case. And even then, the truth was anything but certain. Did you know using your browser in incognito mode doesn't actually protect your privacy? Take back your privacy with IPVanish VPN. Just one tap and all your data, passwords, communications, browsing history and more will be instantly protected. IPVanish makes you virtually invisible online. Use IPVanish on all your devices, anytime you go online, at home, and especially on public wi fi. Get IPVanish now for 70% off a yearly plan with this exclusive [e-mail] audio IPVanish protects every device you own. Your phone, your laptop, your smart tv.

[Sam]

If it connects to the Internet, it should be protected. IPVanish encrypts your connection and masks your

[Mike Boudet]

IP address, helping keep your browsing private at home and on public wi fi and with no device limits. One account covers everything stream with added privacy. Browse securely. Connect with confidence right now.

[Sam]

Save 83% off the two year plan.

[Mike Boudet]

Get started [e-mail] audio and take control of your privacy with IPVanish. Did you know using your browser in incognito mode doesn't actually protect your privacy. Take back your privacy with IPVanish VPN. Just one tap and all your data, passwords, communications, browsing history and more will be instantly protected. IPVanish makes you virtually invisible online. Use IPVanish on all your devices, anytime you go online, at home, and especially

[Sam]

on public wi fi.

[Mike Boudet]

Get IPVanish now for 70% off a yearly plan with this exclusive [e-mail] audio. On October 23, 2016, 22 year old Katie Blauvelt was supposed to meet her younger sister after work. But by that evening, she was missing. The following day, investigators began piecing together what little they knew. A troubled marriage with an army recruiter, a recent separation and a late night drive to an abandoned farmhouse. That's where two young men, Wayne Roper and Ricky Hargrove, claimed to have made a discovery they'd never forget. It was Wayne, who happened to be Katie's ex boyfriend, who reached for his phone and dialed 91 1.

[Sam]

I was worried about my friend Katie, and she went missing. She's been missing for a while now, and we came in this house that we used to hang all in. And. What's more, what's wrong with her? Sir, she. She's not alive. We found her in this house. Not alive. You found her? What? We found. We found my friend Katie Boyer, dead in. Okay, okay. In other words, she's dead in that. Are you saying she's dead in the house? Yes, ma'. Am. Now, you sure she's dead? She's not breathing. Is she cold? She's very pale. And there was no response? There's no response? No, ma'. Am. Okay, sir. And what's your name? Wayne Croper.

[Mike Boudet]

After Wayne made this call, officers quickly arrived at the scene, and the search for Katie Blauvelt came to an end. Her body was found in the basement of the abandoned farmhouse, stuffed into a narrow cement opening and covered with planks of rotting wood. An autopsy later revealed the cause of death. She'd been stabbed multiple times, including twice in the neck. A fragment of the knife used to kill her was still lodged in her throat. Investigators later concluded that the murder had taken place somewhere else, likely nearby, perhaps in the driveway, and that Katie's body had been dragged into the basement in a hurried attempt to hide the crime. Now that Katie had been found and the case had shifted from a missing person to a homicide investigation, detectives turned their attention to the man who claimed to have discovered her body, Katie's ex boyfriend, Wayne Roper.

[Sam]

Tell me, how did you meet Katie? I went to school with her, and I did Chris. Okay. Y' all just had classes. Y' all the same age? She's 22 and I'm 21. She's a few months older than me, but y' all were in the same grade. She's a year above me. Okay. And did y' all have classes together? How'd y' all meet? We rode the bus together, and we also had the same lunch. I first met her. We were friends at first, and then we dated for, like a month or so.

[Mike Boudet]

Wayne explained that his relationship with Katie had been a brief high school fling and that after they broke up, the two remained friends. Years later, after Katie married army recruiter John Blauvelt, Wayne ended up moving into their home In a strange twist, he had become a housemate to his ex girlfriend and her new husband.

[Sam]

John offered me to move in with them and a roommate. So you live with her and her husband? Yeah. Did he know that when you moved in? Yeah.

[Mike Boudet]

According to Wayne, John was aware of his past relationship with Katie and never seemed to be bothered by it. In fact, after a night of heavy drinking, Wayne claimed he was invited into their bedroom.

[Sam]

When you were living with John and Katie, how often were y' all being intimate with each other? It was a long one. And John was there or not there? It was. Did he know it? How did he not know it? I hate to. Yeah, it was like a threesome thing. And after that, like, he just. He changed. And how did that come about? I was drunk and he was drunk, and it was her idea. I can 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 I just thought everything was gonna be okay. Then they started having arguments because of me, because she told me he was jealous of me. Their arguments started getting worse.

[Mike Boudet]

Wayne described how John and Katie's marriage had fallen apart, marked by constant fighting and tension in the house. Eventually, Katie moved out, and a few months later, Wayne did as well. Then after Katie went missing, Wayne claimed he had just decided on a whim to go look for her at the old abandoned farmhouse where her body was found.

[Sam]

Tell me about the abandoned house. How do you know about it? We used to go there and drink all the time, but I didn't get off of work until 11. I called Ricky and see if he'd give me a ride. And I was almost home from work, and I asked him if he would take me to go to the Benthouse to look. I used his flashlight to go in there, and I was looking at the flashlight. It was a headlamp. Okay. And I was looking on the ground for any footprints or tracks or anything.

[Mike Boudet]

Wayne said he went to the abandoned farmhouse in the middle of the night to look for Katie, which was something investigators immediately found unusual and highly suspicious.

[Sam]

Then we went down to the basement. I looked over in that concrete thing, and I seen a jacket, looked to the left. I seen her on. How do you know it was her? She was missing. Like, it's the first thing that popped in my head after that. We ran out of there. And then once I got to the. Got to the road, I called 911.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators also spoke with the young man who had driven Wayne to the farmhouse. Ricky Hargrove. His account of that night largely matched Wayne's version of events.

[Sam]

And then he looks down, and he said. I think he said, there she is. Oh, my God. And then I looked. Glanced at her. I said, oh, my God. I turn around, and I hear him say, Katie, like, trying to wake her up or something. I'm like, dude, I think she's dead. I'm kind of going up the steps by then. And he comes up behind me when he's pulling out his phone, calling right then.

[Mike Boudet]

Naturally, investigators were puzzled by this story. Something about it just didn't add up. It was strange enough that these two guys had randomly decided to search for Katie in the middle of the night. But even stranger was the first place they looked, they found her body. Detectives knew something wasn't right. One of them, or maybe both, had to be lying.

[Sam]

Why did you call the police? They already put out a missing report for you. No, no, I'm talking about the. All this conversation about the abandoned house. I'm just curious, why didn't you refer it and say, hey, look, y' all might want to go over there and look? I didn't think of it at the time. I didn't. That's kind of odd, isn't it? It's just like. I don't know. I just didn't expect anything to be there. You hit a call and said, hey, I don't know if there's any truth to this, but I've heard people talking, and there's an abandoned house down here, and y' all may want to check that. That makes sense to me. Putting on a headlamp like a miner and going up in there at midnight don't make no sense to me.

[Mike Boudet]

Another detail that bothered investigators was that Katie's car wasn't at the scene. It had actually been found the day before, abandoned in a parking lot several miles from the farmhouse with its license plates removed. So when Wayne and Ricky showed up at that old house, investigators had to wonder, why go inside at all? If Katie's car wasn't there, what made them think she would be?

[Sam]

Did you think she was dead? No, I didn't. Okay, but there's no cars there, so what are the odds, if she really there, that she would be okay? I just. But, I mean, help me understand. I mean, I don't know. I'm trying. I'm trying to get it. Because you drive up there because you're. You're kind of worried about her. When you get there, there's no cars, right? So what's the Probability that she's really there. How would she have gotten there? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. This is just abandoned house. Did you know she was dead? No.

[Mike Boudet]

Detectives pressed Wayne with simple questions. One that should have been easy to answer. But instead of explanations, they got shoulder shrugs and a string of I don't knows.

[Sam]

It's really hard for me to get through my brain that you got hundreds of law enforcement officers looking for this little girl that you said was a friend of yours. We're pinging phones, we're subpoenaing records. We're trying to find this girl because people that love her are trying to find her. And yet you and other guy in there, the first place they look, they find her. What are the odds of that? What do you mean? I think I just said what I mean. You had a bunch of options. Yeah, but if you really cared about her, why didn't you tell somebody? Why didn't you get somebody else? Why? Why would you think the best idea is for you to walk into what turns out to be her final resting place? Where somebody murdered her and dumped her down there like a piece of trash? Why do you think the best solution for you and Ricky is to go up there and put your DNA all over a murder crime scene? Why? I just. I didn't think about that.

[Mike Boudet]

Listening to this interview, it's not difficult to figure out what investigators were thinking. They clearly believed that Wayne already knew what had happened to Katie. He probably knew where her body was. And this so called discovery had been completely staged.

[Sam]

And we need to decide whether we're going to continue to risk being a sensory before or after the fact of a murder. Helping dispose of a body after it was already dead. Or play stupid and end up getting charged with all of it. Because right now we can't put your hand being the one that killed that girl. But you finding her there, that's way too big of a coincidence for me, pal. So I'm not opposed to helping anybody that's 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're telling me part of the truth. I'm telling you the full truth. I've told you everything that I know. You haven't told us everything you know, Wayne. But it's time for you to do that. Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators kept pressing Wayne for what they believed was the truth. But no matter how hard they pushed, he stood by his story that he'd simply found Katie's body and he had nothing to do with her death or how she ended up in the farmhouse.

[Sam]

You took that, your poor unsuspecting friend right down in the crime scene. Cause you knew exactly where she was. And you couldn't stand the fact that she was gonna be there and might not be found. That's what I think happened. You took that boy in there so you could find her body. No, I didn't. I'm telling y' all the full truth.

[Mike Boudet]

I've told you everything that I can think of.

[Sam]

What kind of hand did you have in putting her body there? None. None at all? None whatsoever. None whatsoever.

[Mike Boudet]

Despite the investigators efforts, Wayne stuck to his story and to his claim of innocence. After several hours of questioning, both he and Ricky Hargrove were released and sent home. From there, the focus shifted to the farmhouse itself. Detectives began narrowing down their list of suspects by looking for anyone who not only knew about Katie, but was familiar with the property. They soon learned the house had a reputation. It was a popular hangout spot for local teenagers looking to drink or get high.

[Sam]

Because the abandoned house that she was found in, like, it was really small. And the news was a high school hangout for us. We'd go over there and chill sometimes. But the only people that really knew about the house was the immediate group, which was me, Cameron, Wayne, who found Katie, Cheyenne, Allie, Nick, and John.

[Mike Boudet]

When detectives reviewed the names of people connected to the farmhouse, one caught their attention. John Blavel, Katie's husband. He was 30 and an army recruiter. So what was he doing hanging around a known teenage party hotspot?

[Sam]

Are you familiar with this abandoned house? Yeah. Okay, that's the spot. What's the spot? The hangout spot. I've been there a couple times. When was the last time you were there? I don't know. Like a week ago, month ago. It's been months.

[Mike Boudet]

When asked, John admitted he was familiar with the farmhouse. He'd partied there before with some local teenagers, but he claimed he hadn't been there in months. Even if that was true, investigators couldn't ignore how strange it was for a nearly 30 year old army recruiter to be socializing with high school students. As they dug deeper, they learned that John's job often brought him into contact with juniors and seniors, and that drinking with them had apparently become part of his routine. Many of those students said they admired him. And why wouldn't they? He was a good looking soldier with a confident smile in a uniform that commanded respect. On the surface, he looked like a man who had his life in order. Disciplined, trustworthy, the kind of person parents might even encourage their kids to follow. But beneath that polished exterior, investigators were hearing something very different. According to several of those same teenagers, it wasn't unusual for John to invite potential recruits back to his house where he let them drink and get high.

[Sam]

He was doing some recruitment thing, and I guess he wasn't meeting his quota. So she had. He had told her to invite some friends over to smoke, and then he would do the recruitment stuff then. And then that's how we met him. So is it pretty safe to say that that's a hangout or if I say kids your age back then to hang out? Yeah. Use drugs, drink alcohol? Yes, sir.

[Mike Boudet]

As investigators spoke with these teenagers, they began to get a clearer picture of John and Katie's relationship. What they learned didn't quite match the simple and amicable separation story John had been telling.

[Sam]

During the time that you were around, when they were together, did you ever

[Mike Boudet]

see any violence between.

[Sam]

Between the two of them? Any arguing, fighting? Katie? Yes, yes, it was frequent. They were always fighting about something, and then John would always be yelling and screaming at her. And then they would just go in their room and lock the door and just fight. And we wouldn't see any of it, like, visually, but there was, like, we could always hear it.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators eventually discovered that before her death, Katie had filed a police report with a different department than the one handling her murder case. In that report, she stated that John had threatened to kill her and her entire family.

[Sam]

Katie filed a criminal domestic violence report with Fountain Inn police in January. And in the report, she detailed a

[Mike Boudet]

fight that she had had with her husband a month earlier, where he threatened

[Sam]

her several times at home with a revolver, threatening to kill her if she would not open or unlock her phone.

[Mike Boudet]

The report went on to say that

[Sam]

John Blofeld grabbed his shotgun, both sets of keys, and left the house, saying he was going to kill everybody she knows.

[Mike Boudet]

Following this incident, Katie made up her mind to leave John. She went to the police and reported what had happened. Within days, officers were at the door to arrest him.

[Sam]

She's left one day, it was like a Tuesday, and then she came back Friday with all the. The entire Fountainhead Police department. And it was a pretty big scene. It was like a four hour thing.

[Mike Boudet]

When police arrived at John's door, he was drinking and getting high with high school students.

[Sam]

And then the night that it happened, when the cop showed up, he was. I'm not sure what he was on, but he was running around the house waving guns. Saying that he wasn't gonna let the cops in and that he would like, would rather like, like use the gun before he let them in. So is this the night he got arrested? Yes. Okay.

[Mike Boudet]

Strangely, when officers arrested John, it wasn't for threatening Katie with a gun, even though she'd filed a report saying he had. Instead, he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for drinking and using drugs with teenagers. After the arrest, the army was notified and John's recruiting duties were suspended pending an investigation.

[Sam]

Because of the civil investigation, all my recruiting duties have been suspended. So I've literally been sitting here since about March where they have you do during the day, just office type stuff playing on the phone.

[Mike Boudet]

John knew that the army's investigation was mostly a formality. He knew what the outcome would be. He'd be found guilty and discharged, ending a 10 year military career with a dishonorable record. After a decade of service, he'd essentially destroyed everything he'd built. But instead of any self reflection, instead of admitting that giving alcohol and drugs to teenagers might have been a bad idea, John looked for someone to blame. All of his anger landed squarely on his soon to be ex wife, Katie Blauvelt.

[Sam]

And then everything kind of went bad for a little while. He feels like it's her fault that he's losing his job. He just blames it all on her, you know, and I don't know if this matters or not, but I know he has like $150,000 life insurance policy on her too.

[Mike Boudet]

As John waited for the army to discharge him, his behavior didn't change. He continued drinking with the high school students, and according to several of them, he often talked about Katie's life insurance policy and his desire to see her dead.

[Sam]

I was over there one day with a bunch of like, friends, and like John, like, he plotted out ways to like, kill her. But it was jokingly.

[Mike Boudet]

Incredibly, John also offered a 16 year old girl $50,000 to help him build a false alibi. He planned to have this teenager drive his car and take his phone to Charleston. So it would appear he'd left town, when in reality he'd still be in Simpsonville killing Katie.

[Sam]

He was like, do you want to go to Charleston? And I was like, who doesn't want to go to Charleston? Yeah, I want to go to Charleston. To what? And he's like, well, I want you to take my car and my phone and all that, like me, you, and Cheyenne. And he was like, no, just you. I realized why. And he was Like, I can't really tell you. And he was like, kind of like, didn't want to tell me, really. And I was like, well, why? I was like, I'm not gonna. Like, why do you want me to go? He was like, take my car, my phone and my credit card. That's what he wanted me to do. And he was drunk and he was like, cause I'm gonna feel petty. He was gonna get Ally to take his credit card and his phone to Charleston and all. He asked why, and he said so to look like I was in Charleston. Asked him what he was going to do while she was in Charleston. He said he was going to kill Katie and he would give her $50,000, which is the exact amount of life insurance policy.

[Mike Boudet]

Naturally, after hearing these things about John, investigators confronted him with the accusations. John denied it all. Have you ever, and probably jokingly, I

[Sam]

would assume, made a statement to any of your friends about wanting to kill Katie? No. Ever said, you know, well, if Katie dies, you know, we'll get some money or a lot of money to do anything with? No. Have you ever gone up to any friends and said, hey, would you do

[Mike Boudet]

me a favor and take my car,

[Sam]

take my keys, my debit card, my phone, go away for the weekend to Charleston, say, and that'll make it look like I'm out of town so I can kill Katie? No. Okay. So somebody told us that they're making that up. I believe so, yeah.

[Mike Boudet]

After being confronted with the accusations, John pointed the finger at Katie's family, claiming they were spreading lies about him. In his version of events, he was the real victim and just as hurt as everyone else who loved Katie.

[Sam]

That's the same type of shit that has been coming out her family's mouth

[Mike Boudet]

for the last fucking two weeks.

[Sam]

And I'm getting kind of sick of it because I don't feel safe in my house anymore. Fucking dirtbag ass family. Well, you gotta understand, right now they're going through a lot too, understand? But I'm going through the same fucking shit. I lost a friend. Maybe not the best wife, but I

[Mike Boudet]

lost a fucking friend. There was another crucial element in this investigation, one that would eventually give investigators their best shot at justice for Katie. It centered around a teenage girl named Hannah Thompson.

[Sam]

So this girl Hannah, tell me about her. Are her and John like a couple or. Hannah and John have been sort of together, I guess, for like seven, eight months. Seven months. So pretty much since me and Katie split up.

[Mike Boudet]

While John and Katie were still living together, John began sleeping with 17 year old Hannah Thompson. And after Katie moved out, Hannah became John's live in girlfriend. Once investigators learned about Hannah and her connection to John, they were, of course, eager to speak with her.

[Sam]

When was the last time you saw Kenny? Like, a few months ago. What was your feelings towards her? I mean, I always, like, I've always seen her as, like, a friend because, like, you know, she always told me that she was, like, here for me if I ever needed anything. So is it fair to say you were. You were on good, good terms with her when she was killed? Mm. Okay. We had a good relationship. Like, we were kind of close. Did John ever make any mention of life insurance policy on her? I don't know. He never talked to me about it. Has he ever joked around about things would be better if she was dead or how she kill her? No. Have you heard jokes about that? Yes, sir.

[Mike Boudet]

Within moments of speaking with Hannah, investigators were fairly certain of one thing. She was trying to cover for John. In other words, she was lying to protect him, which was an extremely dumb thing to do.

[Sam]

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. 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 going to get married and walk down yellow brick road, okay? But no man and no woman is worth going to prison for.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators gave Hannah the typical pep talk about honesty, consequences, and the importance of coming clean, but none of it seemed to sink in.

[Sam]

When you told me earlier that you and John aren't an item, that was a lie, right? No, we're not really. Like, there's not a label on it. So who are you dating? I'm not dating anybody. But if you look at your Facebook status, you just posted on Sunday that you're currently in the most amazing relationship ever or something along those lines. So who was that relationship with on Sunday? It was. I mean, it was with John, but we're not, like, in a relationship. We're not dating. I just have a good relationship with him.

[Mike Boudet]

While Hannah denied being in a romantic relationship with John, investigators only turned up the pressure. They were clearly convinced that she knew a lot more than she was saying.

[Sam]

Well, after me and John started, like, getting together, Katie started not liking me. And I'm gonna 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. I know. I know. I know. And at this point, nobody needs to cover for anybody. If you know something and you're trying to cover up for it, you're gonna go down with the rest of them. You're gonna go down with the person who did this to her. I don't know anything about her murder. You do. I don't. You do. I really don't. We really do. You do. We know more than you think we do. Which is evident. I don't want to talk anymore right now. Okay? Is it because. You know who else can't talk right now is Katie. Man, she's not able to ever talk again.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators kept pressing Hannah, but they went too far. The moment they showed her the photos of Katie's body, the interview fell apart.

[Sam]

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 her. She's right here. I 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 gotta do is tell the truth. It will be so easy. I can't look at it. I can't look at him. Can I tell you something? To tell the truth, you don't have to try. It just flows. It just comes out. Can I please leave? Can I please leave? Hannah, this is a friend of yours that I'm trying to do. Listen to me. Listen to me for just a second. This is a friend of yours, or was a friend of yours, and somebody brutally murdered her. I know. Okay. Unfortunately, you're right in the middle of all of this, and for to sit here and lie to us to begin with is not helping you at all.

[Mike Boudet]

Before long, Hannah abruptly stood up, walked out of the room, and the investigators had no choice but to let her go. Around the same time, their interview with John ended as well. After he refused a lie detector test and said he'd be contacting a lawyer.

[Sam]

I'm just gonna ask you point blank. Did you kill Katie? No. Do you know who killed her? No.

[Mike Boudet]

Would you be willing to take polygraphs

[Sam]

so we can go ahead and do that with you and eliminate you and start looking elsewhere? I had to talk to my lawyer about that first. Okay, see what he says, because I don't know about that at all.

[Mike Boudet]

By this point, investigators had gathered a good amount of evidence against John. Several interviews with friends and acquaintances painted the disturbing picture of John repeatedly talking about killing Katie and hiding your body. One witness said that John even offered them money to help him create a false alibi. Investigators also knew John had a documented history of domestic violence towards Katie and that he was the sole beneficiary of her life insurance policy. Also, cell phone records placed John's phone near the parking lot where Katie's car was abandoned at the exact time it was left there. Despite all of this, investigators decided to hold off on arresting John, wanting more time to strengthen their case. They let John walk out of the interview room. This was a decision that would turn out to be a very big mistake.

[Sam]

Hannah Thompson's mother reported her missing yesterday to the Fountain Inn Police Department. The report states that the teen was last seen on October 30th. Hannah's mother told police that her daughter is believed to be with John Blofeld, the known homicide suspect. Investigators told Hannah's mom that Hannah's bank account has been left untouched since her

[Mike Boudet]

last paycheck in November of 2016. When investigators went looking for John and Hannah again, both of them were gone. No note, no warning, no trace. They had simply vanished. Their phones were dead, their car missing, and every lead hit a dead end. Overnight, the prime suspect of his teenage girlfriend had disappeared into the wind, leaving behind a grieving family in an open murder case. For the next six long years, the investigation into Katie's death would remain frozen in place, just waiting for the day that John Blauvelt finally resurfaced.

[Sam]

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[Mike Boudet]

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[Mike Boudet]

Get started [e-mail] audio and take control of your privacy with Ipvanish. In November of 2016, the investigation into Katy Blauvelt's murder took a shocking turn. Her estranged husband, the prime suspect was army recruiter John Blauvelt, had disappeared. He'd fled town with his teenage girlfriend, Hannah Thompson, and nobody seemed to know where they might have gone.

[Sam]

Well, 28 year old John Blofeld is charged with murder in the death of his wife Catherine, who went by Katie. Katie's body was found in an abandoned house in Simpsonville back on October 26th.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators say she was killed with a

[Sam]

knife two days earlier. Her husband was last seen on November 15th in New Mexico and remains on the run. Simpsonville police say investigators believe that he's with his 17 year old girlfriend.

[Mike Boudet]

After John and Hannah fled, police spent weeks chasing scattered tips across state lines. But nothing brought them any closer to finding the couple or even knowing where they might be hiding. For Katie's mom and the rest of her family, this was a crushing setback

[Sam]

because losing your child, I mean, losing a member of the family is hard, but losing your child is just unbearable. And then in the beginning we had hopes that we knew John did it. We just in our hearts knew John did it. But police have to go through their steps before they can serve once and get him. And waiting was hard, but we thought, we know they got him, they'll get him. But then when he ran, our heart sunk back. Now what?

[Mike Boudet]

Weeks turned into months and there were still no credible signs of John or Hannah. Then, just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Hannah Thompson walked into a police station and turned herself in.

[Sam]

Obviously we brought you in here today because we wanted to talk to you about the trip and about everything that's been going on with Heathen. But let me tell you that we are very glad that you're back and that you're safe and that nothing bad

[Mike Boudet]

happened to you after Hannah returned To Simpsonville. Investigators wasted no time to find John. They needed to know what they'd been doing while they were gone.

[Sam]

Well, where did you go first? When you guys first left from the Simpsonville fountain in the area, where did you guys go? We went to Spartanburg first because John had, like, a friend that he worked with that said that we could park the car in his yard to sleep there. So he did that for a few days, and then he drove, like, for two days straight, like, not sleeping or anything, like, through Georgia and then Alabama. He basically drove all the way to Texas before he went to sleep.

[Mike Boudet]

According to Hannah, she and John hit the road and never looked back. They drove through several states, living like fugitives, mostly sleeping in their car, always on the move, and always looking over their shoulder.

[Sam]

What was the game plan when you guys left? I don't think we really had one. Like, I guess both of us just kind of panicked, and he decided that he wanted to leave, like, the state. And he told me that we were gonna leave, and I was like, okay, what was the reason for panicking? I think that was, like, around the time that, like, you and, like, the other investigators have been, like, texting me, and he wouldn't let me reply or anything.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah told investigators that John had simply panicked. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was arrested, so he ran. As for Hannah, she claimed she'd only left with John because he'd convinced her that she had no other options.

[Sam]

He just kept telling me that if I talked to anybody that I would go to jail. If I went back home, I would go to jail. If I left him, I would go to jail. He just kept saying that pretty much every day. He made me believe that. That, like, he knew what was best for me, and he, like, keeping me safe, like.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah explained that after several weeks on the run, the couple made it all the way to Oregon. That's where John's paranoia began to take over. He was unraveling more and more each day and panicking over the smallest things. Then one afternoon at McDonald's, his anxiety finally got the better of him.

[Sam]

We had stopped down at McDonald's, and he was gonna use, like, Wi Fi, because that's usually where we would go, like, Starbucks and McDonald's to get up Wi Fi. And he, like, went to go find a table to sit at, and I went to the bathroom. And then when I came out, he was like. He, like, packed everything up, like, really fast, and he was like, we gotta go, like, right now. And I was, like, asking him why? And he just wasn't like talking to me. He was just like, we just gotta go. And we got in the car and he like, he just kind of like threw the laptop like on my lap and like basically floored it out of McDonald's. And I kept asking him, like, what's going on? Like, what's wrong? He was like, I can't talk right now. And he's like, I'm trying to focus.

[Mike Boudet]

Dawn had seemingly snapped. He began driving like a madman, weaving through the winding roads of Eugene, Oregon, pushing deeper into the mountains as his paranoia took over.

[Sam]

We, like drove up into the mountains and he like freaking out, like just being really like hectic and like in his own head and, you know, just panicking. I kept asking him more and he just kept coming to be quiet and not talk to him and stuff like that. And then he just got the car like stuck in, like in trees, like in the mountain. And then I was like, why did you do that? Like, what are you doing? Like, how are we going to get it back out? And he was like, we'll figure it out. He said that we would hike. We had to hike, like walk off the mountain, basically.

[Mike Boudet]

John's paranoia had made a very bad situation even worse. The couple was already on the run for murder and now John had managed to get their car stuck deep in the wilderness. There was no way to get it out without drawing attention, which meant they just lost their only means of transportation. Hannah said this was the moment it finally hit her. Something inside her 17 year old brain finally clicked. She was trapped in the middle of nowhere with a man who was losing his grip. And for the first time she realized that her life was in real danger.

[Sam]

I feel like when he crashed the car he was trying to kill me or both of us because he was just driving like into trees, like full speed, just like so fast. And we were hitting stuff and I was really, I got scared like at that point that like I was gonna die.

[Mike Boudet]

That night, John and Hannah spent what would be their final night in the car. John talked about ending it all. A double suicide, he said, might be their only way out. The next morning, as they made their way off the mountain, he confessed something that was just as terrifying.

[Sam]

That night. I remember before I went to bed, he told me he was like, I'm thinking about letting the car run all night so that we both die in our sleep. And then the next morning he, he had taken a gun with him, like when we left. And he, the next morning he said he really thought about shooting me in my sleep and then shooting himself.

[Mike Boudet]

After weeks of living on the road and dealing with John's spiraling, unpredictable behavior, Hannah finally broke. She wanted out, she wanted to live, and she wanted to go home.

[Sam]

And I was just. At that point, I was kind of, like, not really having it, and I was crying, and I was like, I can't do this anymore. I was like, I need to go home, like. And he. He just started crying, and he was like, like, saying, oh, don't worry. I'm going to fix it. I'm going to fix it. He was like, I'll find it somewhere. He started, like, yelling at me and calling me names and saying that if I left, he was going to kill himself. He, like, ran from me. Like, he ran away from me, just, like, screaming. And then he came back, and he was just, like, I guess panicking again. He was, like, saying that he did all that stuff for me. Like, did all this 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, like. And he kept telling me that, like, if I went home, like, I wouldn't get to see my parents because I would just go straight to jail. He just tried to make me feel guilty. And, like, he told me that, like, he was the only person I could ever trust in the world. He basically told me I didn't have anybody else but him.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah told investigators that John had manipulated her into staying with him, convinced her she didn't have a choice. But then one day, John was simply

[Sam]

gonna, like, one morning, like, he had gotten up, he was like, I'll be right back. Like, I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I was like, okay. I was kinda, like, half asleep. He just got up and left. And then I went back to sleep. And when I'd woken up, he still wasn't back. And I was just like, I'm not just gonna, like, sit here, like. And by then, I was having to use the bathroom, too. So I got up, I went to try and find the library.

[Mike Boudet]

Anna said she made her way to a nearby library, logged into a public computer, and sent a few messages through her social media. A friend responded, offering to come get her and take her home to Simpsonville. She accepted and said that from that moment on, John Blauvelt was gone from her life.

[Sam]

By the time I had gotten back on the computer, everybody had, like, responded to me. And that's when, like, Angie came to pick me up. They had, like, arranged it for her to come pick me up. Did you ever see John again?

[Mike Boudet]

During this interview, it became clear that Hannah had switched sides. She now recognized that John was dangerous and manipulative, and investigators appeared to believe her story. At least that's the impression they gave her.

[Sam]

Do you understand now what he was trying to do? I felt like he was just trying to, like, manipulate me and just make it so that he would be alone or so that I wouldn't tell anybody anything. To me, like, he was looking out for his best interest the whole time, and it really had nothing to do with you. It just is really upsetting because, like, I've never, like, trusted somebody that much before.

[Mike Boudet]

With Hannah now seemingly on their side, investigators shifted focus. They pressed for details about Katie's murder. They wanted to know what Hannah knew, how involved she'd been, and anything John might have told her.

[Sam]

The last time you went to work with him, was that that Monday? That was the last time you went to work with him? Okay, so he was driving. You were in the passenger seat. Was it just at two of you? Yeah. And you went up to work with him at 9. Did you sit in the car? Did you go walk around? What did you do? I sat in the car, and I remember him telling me he needed me to drop him off on board. Your throat. And so I turned, and we were in the parking lot, and he got out of the car. We started walking, and I didn't think to, like, ask him what he was doing, like, because at this point, we've been dating for kind of, like, a while, and it was just not something that I usually do, like, ask him what he's doing or, like, why he's doing something.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah told investigators she had nothing to do with planning Katie's murder and claimed she didn't even know what John was up to. According to her, on the day of the murder, she simply gave John a ride to a remote parking lot and dropped him off without asking any questions. Investigators later concluded that John had likely lured Katie to the abandoned house where she was killed. Phone records showed that despite their separation and despite the restraining order, the two were still in contact. It seemed that Katie, ever hopeful, wanted to believe their marriage could still be saved. John used that hope to his advantage and ultimately to lure her to her death.

[Sam]

What was his relationship with Katie like? Did he still communicate with her to your knowledge or. Every time they talk, she would call from a private number, and they would only use, like, texting apps to talk to each other because they had, like, a restraining order. I guess. And so they were, like, kind of sneaking around, talking to each other.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah also claimed that John later described the murder to her. He told her that when he stabbed Katie, the knife broke off in her neck. And as she bled to death, Katie begged him to let her go.

[Sam]

At some point, they were, like, on the trail leading up to the abandoned house. He told me that's where they went. He took her there. He says that they were talking for a little bit. He doesn't say, like, exactly the conversation. He just said that they were talking, and then he just did it. And he said that he stabbed her in her neck and that there was a lot of blood. And she told him that if he lets her go, she won't say anything to anybody.

[Mike Boudet]

Investigators believe that after Katie bled to death, John dragged her body into the basement of the abandoned house and covered her with planks of wood. Then he went home, met back up with Hannah, and once again asked for her help.

[Sam]

So I went back home. John was outside. Like, I didn't even go inside the house, but he was outside, and he was like, I need you to follow me in Spot's car somewhere. And I was like, okay. And he had this, like, bag.

[Mike Boudet]

John loaded what investigators believed was a trash bag full of his bloody clothes into Hannah's car. Then he told her to follow him as he drove Katie's vehicle to an empty parking lot.

[Sam]

And I followed him, and we just drove, like, for a long time because he didn't get on the highway at all.

[Mike Boudet]

John parked Katie's car, removed the license plates, and climbed into Hannah's vehicle. The two then headed back home, but not before stopping at a couple of dumpsters, where John disposed of the plates, the bag of bloody clothes, and anything else that might tie him to the crime.

[Sam]

When he threw the clothes away or the bags away, did you know at that point in time what was in the bags? Nothing. Okay, then what happens? You go home.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah claimed that as she drove John around that day, she had no idea she was essentially acting as his accomplice. She said she didn't even know Katie was dead until days later, after the body was found and after the story hit the media.

[Sam]

When I woke up in the morning, my mom had, like, sent me, like, the news story that, like, a body was found in the man house. And I was just, like. I immediately got, like, cold chills, and I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, what is going on? Like, I used to go there all the time. It was just really scary. And I immediately, like, woke John up and I showed him.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah said that once she learned about Katie's murder, the truth slowly began to sink in. At first, John denied having anything to do with it, but deep down, she knew he was lying. Eventually, he admitted to what he'd done, though he rarely talked about the details. And whenever Hannah tried to ask him, he turn it back on her, making her feel guilty for even bringing it up.

[Sam]

It was just so crazy because, like, I didn't know, like, what to think. And he had told me, like, the police are going to want to talk to you. He was like, you need to lie to them or else you're going to go to jail. Like, you're never going to see your mom. Like. Like, the way that I felt, it felt like I did it, you know? Like, when did he tell about how he killed her? He never, like, came out and said, I killed her, but, like. But you knew in your gut that he did it. Yeah. Did you ever ask him, hey, John, did you kill Katie? Mm. What? He said he was just. He would just brush it off. Like, he'd be like, you really want to talk about that right now? Like, kind of you. No. For asking it.

[Mike Boudet]

Considering Hannah's relationship with John, that she was sleeping with him, running with him, and protecting him, it would be easy to doubt her story. But honestly, I don't. John completely played her for his own benefit. And I do believe that he turned her into an accomplice without her even realizing it. Judging by the way the investigators treated Hannah, I don't think they doubted her story either.

[Sam]

I'm not saying that you knew what he was about to do, Hannah. Okay? And quite honestly, I don't think that you had a hand in it at all. I'm just scared. Like, I don't want anybody to think that, like, I would do or help somebody do something like that to his body. Like, here's what I think. Okay? One, I know he took advantage of you. He trusted you, and he lured you in, promised you whatever, told you whatever, and then made you do stuff that, in the long run, was just to save him.

[Mike Boudet]

Hannah's return to Simpsonville was a good thing for several reasons. For one, she was safe and no longer on the run with a killer. And it also gave investigators another potential witness that could testify against John when his case went to trial. But that would only matter if they could actually find him and catch him.

[Sam]

We're still hunting for John. While he's out there, there's no telling what he's going to do. Did he ever talk about going to Mexico or Canada or flying anywhere. When we first left, he talked about going to Mexico.

[Mike Boudet]

Unfortunately, when it came to John's whereabouts, Hannah didn't have much to offer. As far as anyone knew, John might not have even been in the country anymore. And the investigation into Katie Blauvelt's murder remained open and unresolved for years. This week marks three years since 22

[Sam]

year old Katie Blavelt was brutally murdered in Simpsonville. Police say her estranged husband John is

[Mike Boudet]

a suspect in her murder. But Simpsonville police say he's been on

[Sam]

the run since they found her body in a cellar of an abandoned home.

[Mike Boudet]

Now, he was last seen on the

[Sam]

west coast back in 2016 and not been seen since.

[Mike Boudet]

By 2021, investigators had renewed their efforts to find John. Part of that effort meant bringing Hannah Thompson, now 22 years old, back into the interview room.

[Sam]

John is not a good person, obviously, and we are trying desperately to find him. Okay. But we're still looking for and he needs to be held responsible for what he's done. Yes, ma'. Am. Okay, I understand.

[Mike Boudet]

During this follow up interview, Hannah made a disturbing admission. She told investigators that she'd remained in regular contact with John for years after returning to Simpsonville in 2016.

[Sam]

And how are you guys communicating? At the very beginning, we were communicating on Facebook and Messenger. And then after that we were talking on Snapchat. Like at first we were talking every single day, multiple times, like for hours a day. I was the one that stopped communication with him and I had just decided to like, do it. I didn't tell him, like, I'm not gonna talk to you anymore, I don't think. And so I think the conversation was pretty, like, no substance to it really. Just maybe like a, hey, how are you? Where was he back then? I know that he was living with somebody who? A girl that he said that they were dating. She had her own house, I think. I think it was an apartment. Okay. But he also did like meet her parents and like they had gone to her parents house, stuff like that too. So what's the girl's name? I don't know. Where was that at? I don't really know. Whenever I would ask him like where he was, he would not tell me. He would say, like, I'm not telling you that. Or like, I can't tell you that.

[Mike Boudet]

Unfortunately, by the time Hannah made this admission, it had been nearly a year since she'd last heard from John. Even so, the information helped investigators narrow their search. In 2022, about six years after Katie's murder, John Blavelt was finally found tonight.

[Sam]

An upstate man on the run since 2016, who investigators say killed his estranged wife is now in custody. The victim's family just confirmed to us John Blavelt was arrested in Jackson County, Oregon. Online records show he's been booked into that local detention center today.

[Mike Boudet]

After his arrest, John made several jailhouse calls to friends and family. The recordings gave investigators a glimpse into his state of mind as well as the events that led him to go on the run.

[Sam]

Oh, you're not even in prison yet. No, I still gotta go to trial and everything. I'm gonna be in this jail for two to three years. Oh, no. Yeah. I thought you were in prison. So. Okay. That's why I need a lawyer. I gotta. I signed up for public defender, but, you know, they're like, fresh out of college. They don't give a shit what happens. They just need to do their job. So I don't even know if I could get a real attorney, but we'll see. Like, I'm gonna be in this jail for years, you know, they're not gonna give me a bond because they know I'll run because I just ran for six years. The day I ran, I wasn't staying at my house anymore. And I was on my way home from work or something from somewhere because I just like to stop by and check on my dog. And I saw the police at my house knocking on my door. So I said, okay, I'm leaving. And then I left. And, you know, I was homeless for a while. Then I was working for a while, and I met a girl, and I lived with her for like four years. And then one morning, the U.S. marshals came. I was out front tending to my vegetable garden, and the U.S. marshal just pulled up in the driveway. But that night, I got the best sleep that I've had in six years. So I guess there's a positive to it. Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I was. I've been anxious, you know, I've had that anxiety, depression the whole time. But I'm actually feeling really good now. I'm at peace.

[Mike Boudet]

During these calls, John said more than once that he was relieved to be caught, happy even, that he no longer had to live his life constantly looking over his shoulder.

[Sam]

I was on the run for six years, man. And I was used to pace every night. I would pace in the living room until like 3:30, 4:00 clock in the morning, fully dressed, like, ready to run. You know what I mean? It was like When I seen the marshals, like, pull into the driveway, like, ten dudes, guns out. And I just. I swear, dude, I smiled. I was like. I was like, I can't believe it's over. I got in the. I got in the truck, and the Marshall was like, six years, a long run, man. And I was like, oh, I'm glad you finally found me. I was like. It was a nightmare.

[Mike Boudet]

What's most disturbing about these calls is what John didn't say. Not once did he mention Katie, her family, or show a single hint of remorse. Like a textbook narcissist, every word was about himself and the supposed peace he'd finally found.

[Sam]

He didn't even, like, feel bad after the fact. Why do you say that? He never cried about it or anything. Like, he just acted like it never happened. That's why he would get mad at me if I started crying about it.

[Mike Boudet]

In later phone calls, John shared more about the six years he'd spent on the run. He described how he'd managed to weasel his way into another woman's life, lying about his name, his past, and who he really was.

[Sam]

Then I met that girl. Did real good. I, like, maintain her budget, put her on diet, turned her life around. We bought a house together in September. I took three years to save up poorly. Bought a house all in her name. And then I got arrested. The US Marshals tracked me down, and I called her, like, a week later from jail, and she was like, fuck you. You ruined my life. I was like, oh, okay. You didn't know about anything, I guess? No. Hell no. I didn't tell her shit about this. I had a fake name. I was going by Ben. I like that name, too. We had a good time. We had a good life, man. We had a house. We had a dog with three cats. I didn't work for two years. I worked for the first two years we were together. I was a landscaper, smelling lawns, building fences, and stuff like that, right? And then that guy retired. He retired, so. And I was out of a job. And she was like, well, you can just stay at home. Just keep the house clean, take care of the dog. And I was like, all right.

[Mike Boudet]

Once again, this narcissist seemed either blissfully unaware or simply incapable of understanding that by dating this woman, living with her for years, and hiding his past, he'd made her a victim as well.

[Sam]

So he's being arrested on charges out

[Mike Boudet]

of South Carolina for murder.

[Sam]

Are you serious? Yeah. I can't believe. Hey, we've been together for, like, six years. He would do random odd jobs. He was basically here watching my cat, so my. My dog all the time.

[Mike Boudet]

When John's girlfriend learned the truth, she was devastated. And who wouldn't be? Imagine living with someone for nearly six years, loving them, trusting them, only to find out they were wanted in another state for murder. That the name and the backstory they'd given you were complete lies. The man she thought she knew had been living a double life. But this woman wasn't the only one to face the fallout. With John behind bars, it was finally time for Hannah Thompson to face justice as well.

[Sam]

There is also a second suspect in Katie's death. Hannah Thompson was John Blauvelt's teenage girlfriend

[Mike Boudet]

who fled the city state with him.

[Sam]

She is now 25 and charged with obstruction of justice, an accessory after the fact.

[Mike Boudet]

Despite the charges against her, Hannah agreed to testify against John at his trial without any promise of leniency from prosecutors. Unlike John, Hannah's remorse seemed genuine. And as the star witness for the state, she helped ensure that John Blauvelt received the prison sentence that he deserved. On Friday, a jury found John Tufton Blavelt guilty of murdering his estranged wife in 2016. Blaveld, the former US army recruiter out of Greenville, now a convicted killer, was sentenced by the judge to life without

[Sam]

the possibility of parole.

[Mike Boudet]

As for Hannah, she pleaded guilty to her charges and received probation for helping John flee after the murder. Her reduced sentence reflected both her cooperation with investigators and the fact she was only 17 when she ran away with them. There's no question that Hannah was also a victim in this case. John clearly manipulated her, but one thing about her lenient punishment still feels hard to accept. After returning to Simpsonville in 2016, Hannah stayed in contact with John for years. And she didn't tell investigators about this until 2021. She said nothing, knowing that Katie's family was still suffering. She said nothing knowing that a killer was still out there and could strike again at any time. Maybe a more fitting punishment would have been a prison sentence that matched the years she kept this secret. But that's just my opinion. And what do I know? I'm a podcaster. In the end, what matters most is that Katie's family finally got some measure of justice and hopefully a bit of peace in knowing that John Blauvelt will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

[Sam]

What's one thing that we should know about Katie? One of the things I had was something about her laugh and her big eyes and her smile, and she just had a True heart. And her name is Katie, but her name is Catherine. And it meant innocent and pure. And that's what she was. And we lost that.

[Mike Boudet]

The murder of Katie Blauvelt wasn't a crime of passion or a moment of rage. It was the calculated act of a man who understood appearances, how to weaponize them, and how to hide behind them. As a soldier, a recruiter, and a husband, John Blauvelt knew exactly how to make people believe he was something worth trusting. But beneath that uniform, an easy smile was a manipulator who saw others as tools to use, to control, to discard. He fooled his wife, his girlfriend, his community, and for a time, even the system meant to hold him accountable. In the end, John's greatest deception wasn't how he escaped justice. It was how long he convinced everyone that he was one of the good guys. If nothing else, Katie's murder is a reminder that trust should never be automatic. Because anyone can wear a uniform that hides their deception. And sometimes that person wearing it is a monster. We hope you enjoyed that episode. Like we hope you enjoy all episodes of Sword and Scale, which are available on our website, Sword and scale dot com. If you do enjoy that sort of content, head on over there. Maybe do download our app as well. Sign up for plus. You can get all kinds of content. You can get hundreds and hundreds of hours, all new stories, and you can also get Sword and Scale television or TV offerings features hour long episodes, each dedicated to a particularly gruesome case. And it's filmed in a very,

[Sam]

how

[Mike Boudet]

would I say, maybe a David Fincher like style, if that helps. It's very moody, it's very aesthetically pleasing. I don't know how to really break it down for you, but we spent a lot of time getting it right and making sure that it's the best goddamn true crime show you can find anywhere on TV or podcasts or anywhere. So. So definitely go take a look, see if you like it. It's right there for you. All 26 episodes. Plus we got one coming every month for the rest of the year, so make sure to check it out while you can because seems like true crime isn't really in vogue these days. A lot of people aren't that interested anymore. So it's you. Yes, you. Keeping the lights on, making sure that we continue offering this show for you every week. So one way to make sure that happens is to support us. This is my long beg. I. I only do this once a year. I do a long beg. It's part of my it's part of my routine before I go back to my natural habitat. But yeah, I'm running out of things to say here, so yeah, just buy it or something. I don't know. Or don't. I guess it's a free market. Speaking up. Probably shouldn't have alienated all of you woke people. Sorry about that. Oh well, guess I made my bed. For those of you still left, I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful rest of your week. And I don't know, stay safe,

[Sam]

Sam.

[Mike Boudet]

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[Sam]

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[Sam]

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