The original detectives who investigated the brutal 1964 murder of Catherine Blackburn conducted an extensive investigation. They interviewed approximately 200 people, ranging from Kate's close circle of friends and family to sex offenders and violent criminals in the area at the time of her murder. They also looked into people who were looking for apartments, wondering if the killer would use the lure of a prospective tenant to kill again. There were 12 footprints found in the pool of Kate's blood in the vacant apartment she was killed in, and police used the footprints to look for potential suspects.
Investigators also looked for murders similar to Kate's. There was one in the Albany area that police looked at as a potential link: the murder of an 84 year old woman on Hamilton Street in Albany.
Albany police at the time of the original investigation also sent out teletypes using the New York Statewide Police Investigation Network to disseminate details of Kate's case and request information for any cases that shared similarities with her murder. They received a handful of responses but there are four cases in particular that stood out to the original investigators and investigators today.
In this episode, we detail the original investigation and the various leads officers investigated and unveil the new avenues being explored...including one route that officials are not taking lightly.
Photo: Catherine Blackburn's Family