Cathy Sue Swartz was stabbed to death in her Three Rivers apartment, while her infant daughter slept in the next room back in 1988. Cathy fought for her life, but she was beaten, strangled and stabbed, succumbing to her wounds.

​

After such a violent murder, the rumor mill churned, working overtime to point the finger at a police officer. there was also talk of a serial killer stalking women in the area, but like with the police rumor, it went nowhere.

I run a cold case group on another site and the finger pointing at this one cop was endless. (ETA - it was not a cop that killed her)

Well, this week police made an arrest in her case -

Suspect arrested in decades-old cold case murder of Three Rivers woman (wndu.com)

In 2022, the Three Rivers Police Department says it made it a top priority to bring justice to the Swartz family and solve the cold case. Through a partnership with Michigan State Police, and the use of forensic genetic genealogy, investigators were able to narrow the suspect pool to a single family before identifying 53-year-old Robert Odell Waters as the suspect.

​

Waters, who lived in South Carolina, was questioned and taken into custody.

​

Hopefully this long awaited arrest brings a modicum of peace to Cathy's family.

​

additional reading -

COLD CASE FILES: Brutal murder of Cathy Sue Swartz | WSBT

Cathy Sue Swartz (1969-1988) - Find a Grave Memorial

Three Rivers police seek help in trying to solve 1988 murder of woman - mlive.com