A 23-year-old South Carolina woman was arrested this week in connection to a 2016 murder, with authorities accusing her of helping cover up the crime.
In October 2016, Catherine “Cati” Blauvelt was found stabbed to death in an abandoned home in Simpsonville, SC, nearly two days after she disappeared following her shift at a local pet store. She was just 22.
Simpsonville Police Investigator Keith Morecraft told “In Pursuit with John Walsh“, which highlighted the case in 2019, that her estranged husband John Blauvelt (above right) was “very unemotional” when informed about Cati’s death.
On November 18, 2016, police obtained warrants for Blauvelt’s arrest for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, but he was already on the run. Police believed Blauvelt — who was 28 at the time — took off with his then-17-year-old girlfriend, Hannah Thompson (above left). He was last seen in Las Cruces, New Mexico on November 15, 2016 before his eventual arrest years later.
Per the US Marshals, Thompson’s parents reported her missing, before Hannah and John traveled through Alabama, Texas and California. Hannah was eventually found in Oregon in December 2016, having been reportedly “abandoned by Blauvelt.” She called her parents, saying she wanted to return home after experiencing homelessness in Oregon.
Following a six-year manhunt, a 33-year-old Blauvelt was finally apprehended in Medford, Oregon in July of this year, thanks to a lead “provided by a dedicated cold case team of investigators” at the U.S. Marshals. In addition to murder charges in connection with Cati’s death, he also stands accused of deserting the U.S. Army.
He’s awaiting trial and was denied bond in August.
This week, Thompson was also charged with two counts of misprision (or concealment) of a felony, two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of accessory after the fact in connection to the case.
Per Fox Carolina, she stands accused of dropping Blauvelt off near his ex’s work the day of the murder, as well as following him while he drove Cati’s car and abandoned it in a parking lot the same day — and not disclosing either fact to police.
The arrest warrant also stated Thompson “concealed the fact that she knew where the suspect was who was wanted for this murder” and told police he simply “disappeared one morning.”
Thompson is being held without bail at this time.
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