Baltimore Co. Police Say Former Priest's DNA Doesn't Match Scene Of Nun's Killing

A DNA sample from the exhumed remains of a former priest doesn't match DNA from the murder scene of a Catholic nun whose death has attracted renewed interest 47 years later.

Baltimore County police on Wednesday said they got the results from an accredited laboratory that ruled out A. Joseph Maskell as a contributor to DNA preserved from the scene where Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik was killed.

Her body was found in a Lansdowne dumping area in January 1970. She was last seen alive at her Baltimore City apartment before she left to run errands in Edmonson Village the previous November. Police believe whoever killed Cesnik accosted her as she was returning from the store and forced her back into her car. They believe she was driven to Monumental Avenue, where she was assaulted and murdered. Her car was found in the early morning hours the next day.

At the time, Cesnik was on sabbatical from the church and teaching at Western High School in the city.

Cesnik's death is the subject of a seven-episode Netflix series premiering Friday titled "The Keepers."

Maskell's body was exhumed on Feb. 28 amid suspicion he may have been involved. A sample was sent to Bode Cellmark Forensics in Lorton, Va. County police are only equipped to analyze biological fluids.

Over the years, police have developed DNA profiles of around six suspects, none of whom match the crime scene evidence.

Now, police say they're back to square one and say their best hope for solving the case is now with anyone still alive and willing to offer conclusive evicence.