Do you know who murdered Cathy Sue Swartz in 1988? On a cold December day in 1988, the life of 19-year-old Cathy Swartz was brutally cut short in her Three Rivers, Michigan, apartment. A young mother, she was found beaten and stabbed to death on her bedroom floor. Her 8-month-old daughter was discovered unharmed in her crib in the same room. Investigators noted there were no signs of forced entry, suggesting Cathy may have known her attacker. Evidence left at the scene included DNA on her body and bloody handprints.
The perpetrator had apparently attempted to clean up, as a bloody footprint was found in the bathroom. Despite the collection of evidence, including fingerprints, blood, and footprints believed to belong to the killer, the case went cold for decades, leaving Cathy's family with unanswered questions.
The investigation into Cathy's murder was a long and arduous one. Over the years, numerous individuals were interviewed, but no suspect was identified. The case was eventually taken up by the Michigan State Police and Western Michigan University's Cold Case Program. Students assisted by organizing the extensive case files, which contained nearly 10,000 documents. A significant breakthrough came in 2022 with the use of forensic genealogy. DNA evidence from the crime scene was used to build a genealogical profile, which pointed investigators toward a specific family with four brothers.
This new lead allowed detectives to narrow down their search. After obtaining DNA and fingerprints from the other brothers and eliminating them as suspects, investigators focused on Robert Waters, who was 53 years old and living in South Carolina. Waters had been a childhood friend of Cathy's fiancé. In April 2023, detectives traveled to South Carolina to interview Waters. His DNA and fingerprints were taken and proved to be a match to the evidence found at the crime scene 35 years earlier. Robert Waters was arrested on April 30, 2023, and charged with open murder. However, before he could be extradited to Michigan to face trial, Waters died by suicide in his jail cell on May 6, 2023.
