In 2016, 22-year-old Katie Blauvelt was found murdered in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Investigators determined her estranged husband, John Blauvelt, was the primary suspect. John had a documented history of domestic violence, including threats to kill her and offers to pay a teenager to create a false alibi. After their marriage ended, John manipulated his girlfriend, Hannah Thompson, into staying with him and using her to hide evidence. Hannah, initially unaware of the murder, later admitted to maintaining contact with John for years and being present during key stages of the crime, including the disposal of evidence. John lured Katie to the farmhouse, stabbed her, covered her body with wood, and removed her car’s license plates. He then fled, going on the run and moving through multiple states, including Oregon, where he drove recklessly and left Hannah in a life-threatening situation. After years of investigation, John was finally located in 2022 and arrested. The case underscores how domestic abuse, manipulation, and deception can result in a heinous crime, and how victims’ families and witnesses play a crucial role in uncovering the truth. The investigation remains a powerful reminder of the long-term consequences of unchecked violence and the importance of accountability in justice systems.
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Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is not intended for all audiences.
Listener discretion is advised.
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, they know.
Hello, and welcome to Season 13, Episode 350 of Sword and Scale.
A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real.
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Simpsonsville, 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 Palais,
the police department, investigators spoke to a young man named Ricky Hargrove.
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?
It takes some kind of monster to do something like that to someone.
This interview with Ricky was one of the first threads,
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 Blauvelt.
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.
I just want to confirm with you, she was working here on Monday.
And do you remember what her outfit was?
What hours were here on Monday?
She was 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
9 to 2?
Mm-hmm.
I don't know exactly what time she left, but, I mean, it was no later than 2.15.
Okay.
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.
October 23rd, 2016, Katie worked a full-time shift at PetSmart.
When she clocked out at around 2.15 p.m., she confirmed plans to meet up with her younger sister, Cheyenne.
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 Kimani 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?
And she said, I don't know.
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.
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.
She never leaves her phone off.
You know, Katie never blows me off.
And around like 12, 30, 1 o'clock, I called John.
And he answered, and he sounded like he was 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've seen her.
He said, just tell me.
You know, and he said, no.
I said, I don't talk to her anymore.
That's what he said on the phone.
Desperate to find her sister, Cheyenne did the only thing she could think of.
She reached out.
She reached out to Katie's estranged husband, John.
What's your wife's full name?
Catherine Ann Blauvelt.
Okay.
And are you familiar that she's missing?
Oh, yeah.
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.
So I understand you've been deployed twice?
Yes.
Iraq?
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?
Mm-hmm.
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.
You couldn't get a different assignment, right?
No.
It's like one of the Army's, like, mandatory assignments.
You either take it or you get out.
Yeah.
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.
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.
After they married, it didn't take long for John and Katie to get married.
It took John and Katie to realize they weren't as compatible as they'd hoped.
They'd 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.
What kind of stuff were y'all arguing about?
Um, everything.
Just normal?
Just normal stuff.
People stuff?
And then, being a recruiter, I talked to a lot of different people.
So I had two phones, and I talked 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.
Mm-hmm.
Two months.
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'd never laid a hand on her.
Or caused her any physical harm.
I mean, 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 just left one day.
When was the last time you actually saw her?
I'd say probably July.
Because she moved out in April, I think.
Have you ever gotten so mad at her that maybe you did something you didn't mean to do?
No, absolutely not.
John also told investigators that he hadn't seen Katie for months.
And he provided a reasonable alibi for the day she went missing.
Did you work this Monday?
Mm-hmm.
What time did you get off Monday?
Uh, like 2, 30-ish, 2, I don't know.
Where'd you go to work?
Home.
Did you stop anywhere on the way home?
No.
Was anybody home with you?
Um, yeah, my roommates were there.
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 described John the same way.
Polite.
Disciplined.
The picture of an army soldier.
For them, the idea that he could hurt Katie didn't seem positive.
Possible.
at all they used to fight a lot but like she was never like violent with her when i lived there
and a lot of the time it was like mostly her that like 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 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 hopefully shine has been
i know up front with you but she's been dating around a lot okay yeah yeah we're looking into
some of that 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 show was a
ricky hargrove yesterday when i was uh finishing up some assignments in my classes online
i got a call from wayne at around 11 30 wayne caught says hey man can you can you come pick
me up from work on the night of october 24th 2016 ricky received an unexpected phone call
it was from katie's ex-boyfriend wayne roper
for a ride home from the walmart where he worked ricky hesitated then agreed as long as he got a
little gas money 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 uh yeah there
was this house that we used to hang out at and i've been wanting to check that because i think
they that she might be there 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 i get out of the car with him
giving my lamp
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 um you know if we do find her he says we're going to call the cops
and i say but my i got a bunch of weed in there and then um 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 um when we get done checking those we go downstairs 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 9-1-1 simpsonville 9-1-1 what's location
of your emergency um i remember
my friend uh she's been missing for for i think 30 hours now and uh we went into the woods where
we used to all hang out at and uh there's a house there and uh 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 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 that night the body of 22 year old katie blauvelt was found in the
basement of an abandoned farmhouse she'd been covered with plenty of wood and she was still
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.
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Moto Casino. On October 23rd, 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 house.
Wayne ended up moving into their home.
In a strange twist, he had become a housemate
to his ex-girlfriend and her new husband.
John offered me to move in with him and a roommate.
So you lived with her and her husband?
Yes.
That's weird.
Did he know that when you moved in?
Yeah.
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.
When you were living with John and Katie,
how often were you all being intimate with each other?
It was the only ones.
And John was there or not there?
He was there.
Did he know it?
How did he not know it?
It was like a three-something.
And after that, he just 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, I just thought everything was going to be okay.
Then they started having arguments because of me,
because she told me that he was jealous of me.
Their arguments started getting worse.
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.
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.
Then I called her.
I called Ricky and see if he'd give me a ride.
And, you know, I was almost home from work.
And I asked him if he would take me to go to the abandoned house to look.
And I used his flashlight to go in there.
And I was looking on the ground.
What kind of flashlight?
It was a headlamp.
Okay.
And I was looking on the ground for any footprints or tracks or anything.
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.
Then we went down to the basement.
I looked over in that concrete thing.
And I seen a jacket.
Looked to the left.
And 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 road,
I called 911.
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.
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,
and I said, oh my God.
I turn around and I hear him say,
Katie, like trying to wake her up or something.
And 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.
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.
Why didn't you call the police?
They already put out a missing report.
No, no, I'm talking about
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 could have called 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 minor
and going up in there at midnight
don't make no sense to me.
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?
What are the odds, if she's really there,
that she would be okay?
I mean, help me understand.
I mean, I don't know.
I'm trying to get it.
Because you drive up there
because 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?
Did you know she was dead?
No.
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.
It's really hard for me
to get through my brain
that you've 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 they just said what I mean.
You had a bunch of options, yeah?
But if you really,
really cared about her,
why didn't you tell somebody?
Why didn't you get somebody else in?
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.
Listening to this interview,
it's not difficult to figure out
what investigators were thinking.
They clearly believe 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.
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.
Yeah, 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.
I'll help you if you don't tell me the truth.
You're telling me 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?
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.
What kind of hand did you have
in putting her body there?
None.
None at all.
None whatsoever?
None whatsoever.
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 because the abandoned house that she was found in
uh like it was released in the news was a high school hangout for us we'd go over there and
chill sometimes but uh the only people that really knew about the house was the immediate group which
was me cameron uh wayne who found katie cheyenne ali nick and john when detectives reviewed the
names of people connected to the farmhouse one caught their attention john blauvelt katie's
husband he was 30 and an army recruiter so what was he doing hanging around a known teenage party
hotspot are you familiar with this abandoned
house yeah okay that's the spot that's like what's 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 a month ago it's been
months 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
have been able to determine 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 it was a good-looking
soldier with a confident smile and 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 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 uh do the recruitment
stuff then and then that's how we met him so it was a pretty safe state that's a hangout to
or if i say kids your age back then to hang out yeah drugs drink alcohol yes sir
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 during the time that you were around when they were together
did you ever see any violence between the two of them any arguing fighting katie yes yes um 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
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 katie filed a criminal domestic violence report
with fountain in police in january and in the report she detailed a fight that she had had with
her husband a month earlier where he threatened her several times at home with a revolver
threatening to kill her if she would not open or unlock her phone the report went on to say that
john blaufeld grabbed his shotgun both sets of keys and left the house saying he was going to kill
everybody she knows following this incident katie made up her mind to leave john she went to the
police station and reported what had happened within days officers were at the door to arrest
him she just left one day it was like a tuesday and then she came back friday with all the entire
fountain in police department and it was a pretty big scene it was a four-hour thing when police
arrived at john's door he was drinking and getting high with high school students and then the night
that it happened with the cops showed up he was i'm not sure what he was on but it was
he was running around the house waving guns saying that he wasn't going to let the cops in
and that he would like would rather like use the gun before he let them in so is this the night he
got arrested yes okay 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 because of the
civil investigation all of my recruiting duties have been suspended so i've literally been sitting
here since about march weren't they happy during the day just office type stuff playing on the
phone 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 a soon-to-be ex-wife katie blauvelt and everything kind of went bad for a
while 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
i was
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 incredibly john also offered a 16 year old girl fifty
thousand dollars 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
still be in simpsonville killing katie he was like uh do you want to go to charleston and i was like
who doesn't want to go to charleston yeah i'm going to charleston to work and he's like 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 thought that's weird i said why and he was like i can't really tell you he was like how i didn't
want to tell you really and i was like well why i was like i'm not even like why do you want me to
go he was like take my car my phone my credit card that's what he wanted me to do and i was like
and he was drunk and he was like i'm gonna kill katie he was gonna get ali to take his credit
card and his phone to charleston and ali asked why and he said so it'll look like i was in charleston
and ali asked him what he was gonna do once he was in charleston
he said he was gonna kill katie and he would give her fifty thousand dollars
which is the exact amount of life insurance policy naturally after hearing
these things about john investigators confronted him with the accusations john denied it all
have you ever and probably jokingly i would assume made a statement to any of your friends
about wanting to kill katie no um 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 okay um have you ever gone up to any friends and
said hey would you do me a favor and i'm gonna kill katie and i'm gonna kill her and i'm gonna
take my car take my keys my debit card my phone and 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 okay 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 that's the same type of shit that has been coming out of her family's mouth
for the last fucking two weeks 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 i'm trying to understand but i'm going through the same fucking shit i lost a
friend maybe not the best wife but i lost a fucking friend there was another crucial element in this
that would eventually give investigators their best
shot at justice for Katie.
It centered around a teenage girl named Hannah Thompson.
So this girl Hannah, tell me about her.
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.
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.
When was the last time you saw Katie?
Like a few months ago.
What were 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 a good girl.
That she was, like, here for me if I ever needed a thing.
So is it fair to say you were on good terms with her
once she was killed?
Mm-hmm.
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 I should kill her?
No.
Have you ever joked about that?
No, sir.
I've never joked about that.
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.
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.
You're 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.
Investigators gave Hannah the typical pep talk about honesty,
consequences, and the importance of coming clean.
But none of it seemed to sink in.
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.
Well, Hannah denied being. 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.
Well, after me and John started, like, getting together,
Katie started not liking me.
And I'm going to say it right now, 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 to her.
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 going to go down with the rest of them.
You're going to 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.
I don't know.
Which is evident.
I don't want to talk anymore right now.
Okay.
You know who else can't talk right now?
It's Katie.
Man, she's not able to ever talk again.
Investigators kept pressing Hannah, but they went too far.
The moment they showed her the photos of Katie's body,
the interview fell apart.
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, 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?
All you got to do is tell the truth.
I'm trying to.
It would be so easy.
I can't look at her.
Can I?
I can't look at her.
Can I tell you something?
To tell the truth, you don't have to try.
It just flows.
It just comes out.
Please leave.
Please leave.
Hannah, this is a friend of yours that we're trying to do this.
I know, and I want to help, but I can't.
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.
OK.
Unfortunately, you are right in the middle of all of this.
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.
I'm just going to ask you point blank.
Did you kill Katie?
No.
Do you know who killed her?
No.
Would you be willing to take a polygraph so we can go ahead and do that with you
and eliminate you and start looking elsewhere?
I have to talk to my lawyer about that first.
OK.
See what he says, because I don't know about that at all.
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 her 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.
Hannah Thompson's mother reported her missing yesterday to the federal court.
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 Blaufeld, the known homicide suspect.
Investigators told Hannah's mom that Hannah's bank account has been left untouched since her 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 and an open murder case.
For the next six long years, the investigation into Katie's death would remain frozen in place.
The investigation into Katie's death would remain closed.
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.
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, you know,
serve wants and get him.
And waiting was hard, but we thought, you know, we know they got him, they'll get him.
But then when he ran, our hearts sunk, like, now what?
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.
Obviously, we brought you in here today because we wanted to talk to you about the trip
and about what's going on.
We wanted to talk to you about everything that's been going on with you,
but let me tell you that we are very glad that you're back and that you're safe
and that nothing bad 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.
Well, where did you go first?
When you guys first left from the Simpsonville fountain 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.
And so we 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.
Like, he basically drove all the way to Texas before he went to sleep.
According to Hannah, she and John were in a car accident.
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.
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 going to leave.
And I was like, okay, like, what was the reason for panicking?
Um, 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.
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,
like, she had no other options.
Like, 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.
Like, he just kept saying that, like, pretty much every day.
He made me believe that, like, he knew what was best for me, and he, like, he'd be safe, like.
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.
We had stopped down at McDonald's, and he was going to use, like, Wi-Fi,
because that's usually where we would go, like, Starbucks and McDonald's to get the 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.
And he was like, I can't talk right now.
And he was like, I'm trying to focus.
Sean 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.
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 telling me to be quiet and not talk to him.
And stuff like that.
And then he just got in the car, like, stuck in the, like, in trees, like, in the mountains.
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.
Sean'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'd 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.
I feel like when he crashed,
the car crew 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 going to die.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 just started crying, and he was, like, saying,
no, 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,
like, 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, panicking again, like, he was, like,
saying that he did all that stuff for me.
Like, did all that stuff, like, killed 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 was just trying to make me feel really 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.
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 gone.
Then, like, one morning, like, he had gotten up.
And I was like, I'll be right back, like, I'm going to get into the bathroom.
And I was like, okay.
I was kind of, like, half asleep.
He just got up and left.
And then I, like, went back to sleep.
Then when I had woken up, he still wasn't back, and I was just, like, I'm not just going
to, like, sit here, like, and by then, I was having to use the bathroom, too, so I got up.
And I was like, I'm going to go to the bathroom.
home to Simpsonville. She accepted and said that from that moment on, John Blauvelt was gone from
her life. 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. 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.
I feel like he was just trying to, like, manipulate me
and just make it so that, like, he wouldn't be alone
or so that I wouldn't tell anybody anything.
It seems to me like he was looking out for his best interests 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.
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.
The last time you went to work with him, was that that Monday?
Mm-hmm.
That was the last time you went to work with him?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
So he was driving you in a passenger seat?
Mm-hmm.
Was it just the two of you?
Yeah.
And you went up to work with him at 9?
Mm-hmm.
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 Woodruff Road.
And so I turned, and we were in the parking lot.
And he got out of the car.
He started walking.
And I didn't think to, like, ask him what he was doing, like,
because at this point, we'd 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.
Um. 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.
What was his relationship with Katie like?
Did he still communicate with her to your knowledge?
Every time they talked, 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.
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.
At some point, they were, like, on the trail leading up to the abandoned house.
He told me that's where they went.
That he took her.
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.
Investigators believe that after Katie bled to death,
John drove her home.
He 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.
So I went back home, and John was outside.
Like, I didn't even go inside the house.
But he was outside, and he was, like,
he needed to follow me, and he was about to call her somewhere.
And he had this, like, bag.
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.
And I followed him,
and we just drove, like, for a long time
because he didn't get on the highway at all.
John parked Katie's car,
removed the license plates,
and climbed into Hannah's vehicle.
The two, though, didn't get on the highway at all.
They were 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.
When he threw the clothes away, or the bags away,
did you know at that point in time what was in the bags?
No.
Okay.
Then what happened?
We go home.
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.
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 men's 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 cold.
And I immediately, like, woke John up, and I showed him.
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'd turn it back on her,
making her feel guilty for even breaking the law.
It was just so crazy, because, like,
I didn't know, like, what to think.
And he had told me, like,
the police didn't 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 get to see your mom.
Like, the way that I felt, it felt like I did it.
You know, like. When did he tell you about how he killed her?
She never, like, came out with it.
He 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-hmm.
No, he said, he was just, he was just brushing off.
Like, he'd be like,
do you really want to talk about that right now?
Like, kind of make me feel dumb for wanting to know,
for asking it.
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.
I'm not saying that you knew what he was about to do, Hannah.
Okay?
And quite honestly, I don't think so.
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 anybody.
Like, I'm just really scared.
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 maybe. Hannah's return to Simpsonville was a good thing for several reasons.
For one, she was safe and no longer on the run with the 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.
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?
No.
First, what she talked about going to Mexico.
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.
And the investigation into Katie Blauvelt's murder remained open and unresolved for years.
This week marks three years since 22-year-old Katie Blauvelt
was brutally murdered in Simpsonville.
Police say her estranged husband, John,
is a suspect in her murder.
But Simpsonville police say he's been on the run
since they found her body in a cellar of an abandoned home.
Now, he was last seen on the West Coast back in 2016
and not been seen since.
By 2021, investigators had more information.
They renewed their efforts to find John.
Part of that effort meant bringing Hannah Thompson
to Simpsonville.
now 22 years old, back into the interview room.
John is not a good person, obviously, and we are trying desperately to find him, okay?
But we're still looking for him, and he needs to be held responsible for what he's done, okay?
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.
And how were 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 going to talk to you.
I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I don't think.
And so I think the conversation was pretty, like, like, no, like, substance to it, really.
Just maybe, like, hey, like, 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.
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, 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.
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.
Oh, you're not even in prison yet?
No, I still got to go to trial and everything.
I'm going to 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.
And I signed up for a 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.
I'm going to be in this jail for years.
You know, they're not going to 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.
And 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. Marshals just pulled up in the driveway.
Okay.
At 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 so.
I don't know.
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.
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.
I was on the run for six years, man.
And I was used to it.
Every night, I would pace in the living room
until like 3:30, 4 o'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 swear, dude, I smiled.
I was like, I can't believe it's over.
I got in the truck, and the Marshal was like,
"Six years is a long run, man."
And I was like,
"Oh, I'm glad you finally found me."
You know, I was like,
"It was a nightmare."
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.
He didn't even, like, feel bad after the fact.
Why do you say that?
He never cried about it.
He never said anything.
Like, he just had to let it never happen.
And that's why he would get mad at me
if I started crying about it.
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.
I met that girl.
It was real good.
I, like, maintained her budget, put her on a diet,
so I can turn her life around.
We bought a house together in September.
It took three years to save up for it.
We 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."
And I'm 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 liked that name, too.
We had a good time.
We had a good life, man.
We had a house, we had a dog, we had three cats.
I didn't work for two years.
I worked for the first two years we were together.
I was a landscaper.
I was mowing lawns, building fences, and stuff like that.
Right.
And then that guy retired.
He retired, and I was out of a job.
And she was like, "Well, you can just stay at home.
"Just keep the house clean.
"Just take care of the dog."
And I was like, "All right."
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.
So he's being arrested on charges out of South Carolina for murder.
Are you serious?
Yeah.
We've been together for like six years.
He would do random odd jobs.
And he was basically here watching my cats and my dog all the time.
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.
"There is also a second suspect in Katie's death.
Hannah Thompson was John Blauvelt's teenage girlfriend who fled the state with him.
She is now 25 and charged with obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact."
Despite the charges against her, Hannah agreed to testify against John at his trial.
Without aid?
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 he deserved.
On Friday, a jury found John Tufton Blauvelt guilty of murdering his estranged wife in
2016.
Blauvelt, the former U.S. Army recruiter out of Greenville, now a convicted killer, was
sentenced by the judge to life without the possibility of parole.
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 leaving the case was that she was a victim.
She was a victim.
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.
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. 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. 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 Katie.
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, swordandscale.com. If you do enjoy that sort of
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You can find anywhere, on TV or podcasts or anywhere. 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 it 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 only do this once a year. I do a long beg. It's part of my routine before
I go back to my natural habitat. But yeah, I'm running out of time. I'm going to have
a lot 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'll see you next time. Bye for now. Stay safe.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
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Podcast Summary
Key Points:
Katie Blauvelt, a 22-year-old woman from Simpsonville, was murdered in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse in October 2016 after being lured by her estranged husband, John Blauvelt.
John had a history of domestic violence, including threatening to kill her with a gun, and later offered money to a teenager to create a false alibi.
Investigators discovered that John manipulated Hannah Thompson, his teenage girlfriend, into staying with him and later used her as an accomplice by hiding evidence and covering up the crime.
Hannah initially claimed ignorance of the murder but later admitted to maintaining contact with John for years, including through social media, and to being present during the disposal of evidence.
John drove Katie to the farmhouse, murdered her, covered her body with wood, and disposed of evidence like clothing and license plates, while hiding from police for nearly six years.
Despite initial investigations and interviews, John remained at large until 2022 when he was finally located and arrested.
The case revealed how domestic abuse, manipulation, and deception can lead to a tragic and prolonged criminal act.
The investigation highlighted the dangers of unchecked domestic violence and the importance of thorough forensic and testimonial evidence in solving cold cases.
Summary:
In 2016, 22-year-old Katie Blauvelt was found murdered in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Investigators determined her estranged husband, John Blauvelt, was the primary suspect. John had a documented history of domestic violence, including threats to kill her and offers to pay a teenager to create a false alibi.
After their marriage ended, John manipulated his girlfriend, Hannah Thompson, into staying with him and using her to hide evidence. Hannah, initially unaware of the murder, later admitted to maintaining contact with John for years and being present during key stages of the crime, including the disposal of evidence. John lured Katie to the farmhouse, stabbed her, covered her body with wood, and removed her car’s license plates.
He then fled, going on the run and moving through multiple states, including Oregon, where he drove recklessly and left Hannah in a life-threatening situation. After years of investigation, John was finally located in 2022 and arrested. The case underscores how domestic abuse, manipulation, and deception can result in a heinous crime, and how victims’ families and witnesses play a crucial role in uncovering the truth.
The investigation remains a powerful reminder of the long-term consequences of unchecked violence and the importance of accountability in justice systems.
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In 2016, 22-year-old Katie Blauvelt was brutally murdered in an abandoned farmhouse in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Investigators found evidence linking her estranged husband, John Blauvelt, to the crime, including threats, drug use, and a plan to hide her body.
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