Sneak peek: Cati Blauvelt: Death of a Soldier's Wife | Forensic Files

[Music] Simpsonville is a tit neck Community it's got that small town southern charm this is a place where you bake a
cake and take it to your neighbor next door it was a great place to be a police officer and murders and serious assaults
were a few and far [Music] between my name is Patty piver and Katie blel is my daughter
Katie was 5'1 she was a teeny little thing she was just a free spirit she made friends so easily she
loved animals that was her biggest thing she loved animals she touched a lot of people's
lives she did John blav Bel was working over there at the Armed Forces Center he was a recruiter for the
military he was someone that was respected by the community somebody's in military you can
rely on them and I think she wanted that somebody's stable and dependable John was a catch for Katie
she married him was happy wanted to have kids and get their life started they were moving into their new
house so everything was really cool what did John and Katie seem like as a couple to you at first they were
really great honestly they had a little honeymoon after they got married and once they got
back things were no longer as good as they were it seemed like ever since then just
everything went downhill their marriage had fallen apart Hannah Thompson and John were
hanging out a lot he started dating Hannah Thompson who I believe was 17 and was Hannah in love with him 100%
she loved John and she wanted to be with him and Katie was a problem for her and
if they got Katie out of the way she could have John to herself on October 24th of 2016 Katie Blauvelt went
missing she disappeared she disappeared off the face of the Earth yes and now nobody can get in touch with
her her phone's cut off we don't know what's going on shortly after midnight I got a phone
call from our chief of police at the time and he advised me that they'd found a body at an abandoned
house very dilapidated house how had she died has she been stabbed in the neck John did it I know John did it oh
yeah I immediately thought John we did our first interview with him several days after her body was
located I'm just going to ask you point blank did you kill Katie no do you know he killed her no shortly after that
interview is when he fled the state John disappears and he is on the Run John blel Goes On The Run where's
Hannah with him I contacted the United States Marshals this is their bread and butter
what they do best I'm a deputy US Marshal we go after fugitives violent offenses he's been
trained on how to defend himself he's been trained on how to kill does that make him a unique fugitive it does so we
don't know where he's going to go we don't know what he could be doing next and when you heard that he was on the
run what' you think I was like oh my God you're never going to find him

ENCORE: A soldier goes on the run after his wife is murdered. With him, his 17-year-old girlfriend. What does she know? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports Saturday, Feb. 21 at 9/8c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

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Brief Summary

Katie Blauvelt's murder leads to a manhunt for her husband John Blel, revealing a troubled marriage and community impact.

Key points

Katie's Disappearance. On October 24th, 2016, Katie Blauvelt went missing, leaving her family and friends in shock.
John Goes On The Run. After being questioned about Katie's death, John fled the state, becoming a fugitive.

Episode highlights

Katie's DisappearanceOn October 24th, 2016, Katie Blauvelt went missing, leaving her family and friends in shock.“She disappeared off the face of the Earth.”2:15Mar 6, 2025

Episode quotes

She disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Describing Katie's sudden disappearance.

2:15WatchMar 6, 2025

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