Father David Weikart watched and prayed as investigators from the Portage County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and an FBI evidence collection team exhumed the body of Kathryn Menendez at St. Joseph Cemetery in Alliance.
The 17-year-old girl was laid to rest at the cemetery in 1994 after someone stabbed and strangled her.
"My concern for Kathryn is that I want the woman to rest in peace," the Catholic priest said. "I am here to be a presence and so that I can make sure that the body is handled in a reverent way."
Investigators began digging at the grave site around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. The process of exhuming the remains and collecting potential evidence took about three hours.
Portage County Chief Deputy Ralph Spidalieri said the exhumation took a lot of finesse and care as both a concrete vault and the casket were removed from the ground.
"You do not want to disturb any movement within the casket as you're pulling it out," Spidalieri said.
Spidalieri said detectives have been following fresh leads on the cold case over the past two years and got a court order to have the body exhumed.
They're hoping significant advancements in DNA testing will lead to new clues, and eventually, to the killer.
"We collected evidence that would have been potentially on the hands," Spidalieri said. "We've had a couple of potential suspects just based on the evidence since 1994, so it's been ongoing. We've not let this case die."
In August of 1994, Kathryn vanished from Alliance. Four days later, her nude body was found near Atwater by the Berlin Reservoir on an oil access road in southeastern Portage County.
Her mother, Janet Menendez— who died earlier this year— spoke about her anguish with News 5 back in 2015 when investigators reexamined the crime scene.
"They can find who murdered her. It's not gonna change anything for me because my life is not going to change. Kathy is not going to come back," Janet Menendez said in 2015.
In November 1994, the skeletal remains of 14-year-old Sarah Rae Boehm were found a half-mile away from Kathryn's body.
She had been missing from Beaver County, Pennslyvania, which is about two hours away from Portage County.
Detectives have consistently said it's possible that the same person is responsible for both murders.
Spidalieri said the team of officers had a "successful collection of evidence" during the exhumation.
The evidence will be taken to a lab to be tested. It's not clear which lab will be used or how long it will take to get the results back, but Spidalieri is hopeful that the coordinated effort could lead to a big break in the cold case.
"I think that there's always hope or we wouldn't be here, having the amount of manpower and the amount of movement that we've had here today," he said.
Kathryn's remains were returned to her final resting place by early Tuesday afternoon. Father Weikart said he's hoping for justice and peace.
"I trust the mercy of God, and whatever torment that ended her life, I hope that she's at peace in our Lord's arms."
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