Pod Insights Dark Downeast The Murder of Katharina Reitz Brow (Massachusetts) About this episode For almost three years, the case of Katharina Reitz Brow languished without information or evidence that could bring a true ending to the search for answers. And then when someone was finally arrested, charged, and convicted of her murder, a hard-fought battle by the suspect’s own sister unearthed evidence in a dusty courthouse basement that changed everything about the case nearly two decades later.
Now, just this year, 2025, investigative genetic genealogy has identified the person that investigators believe is actually culpable for Katharina’s death.
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:01 Kylie Low? Every case starts somewhere. A small town, a missing persons report, a family asking the same questions over and over. But sometimes a story reaches beyond its own community. Its impact extends further, calling for more attention, more conversation, and a wider audience. That's what Crime Junkie does every Monday. Ashley Flowers and Brett Preawat cover the cases you can't stop thinking about, from unsolved murders to missing people to investigations that still need answers. Because every new person who hears the story is another chance to uncover the truth. Listen to Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:46 Kylie Low? For almost three years, the case of Katerina Reitzbrow languished without information or evidence that could bring a true ending to the search for answers. And then, when someone was finally arrested, charged, and convicted of her murder, a hard-fought battle by the suspect's own sister unearthed evidence in a dusty courthouse basement that changed everything about the case nearly two decades later. Now, just this year, 2025, investigative genetic genealogy has identified the person that investigators believe is actually culpable for Katharina's death. I'm Kylie Low, and this is the case of Katerina Reitzbrow, on Dark Down East.
1:40 Kylie Low? It was around 10:45 a.m. on the morning of May 21, 1980, and a family member was just arriving at the home of 48-year-old Katerina Reitzbrow for a visit. As she stepped up to the front door of 7 1/2 Rosewood Avenue in Air, Massachusetts, knocking once and then again, she was met with silence. With a tentative turn of the doorknob, the woman stepped inside to find a terrifying scene. The kitchen was spattered with blood. A TV was chattering away and the kitchen faucet was running, but Katerina wasn't anywhere she could see. She tried calling out for her, but again was met with nothing. It wasn't until air police arrived at the scene that Katerina was finally located.
2:24 Kylie Low? She was deceased in her bedroom. The autopsy found that she was stabbed 30 times. Five of the stab wounds penetrated her heart. According to reporting by the Evening Gazette, police believed that Katerina had been attacked while she was washing dishes, and her assailant was either voluntarily let in, meaning it was someone Katerina may have known and trusted, or they'd entered through an unlocked door, because there were no signs of forced entry. Yet there were signs of a struggle everywhere. Court records indicate that the attack began in the kitchen and Katerina fought back with a fury. She struggled with the assailant through the house and into the bedroom where she was overtaken.
3:06 Kylie Low? As the police chief, William Adamson Sr., put it, quote, "It was a very fierce battle", end quote. A demonstration of Katerina's strength. The assailant seemed to be looking for something specific and knew where to search for it. The linen closet had been torn apart, and Katerina's purse with cash and jewelry that was normally kept in that closet was missing, along with a stash of cash she kept hidden between sheets in the closet. Investigators theorized that whoever killed Katerina came to her house that day with a plan, but that plan may not have included committing a brutal and fatal attack. A knife was found discarded in a trash can covered in blood.
3:51 Kylie Low? The handle bore the name of the company where Katerina's husband worked. He later confirmed that the knife, the murder weapon, came from their own kitchen. Katerina also suffered injuries consistent with being struck by a blunt instrument. Several early reports, including a piece published in the Boston Herald, suggest the blunt instrument was a ceramic lamp also found at the scene.
4:16 Kylie Low? Charles Brow had left the home he shared with Katerina that morning around 7:10 a.m., leaving a three-and-a-half-hour-ish window for the murder to occur. The medical examiner hypothesized that it was more likely Katerina died closer to when Charles left for work. Katerina was a mother of two children, who had immigrated to the United States from Germany, and she was saving that money tucked away between the sheets of her linen closet for a trip back to visit family. She'd already endured so much. She was home at the time of her murder because she'd suffered a heart attack a few weeks earlier and was still recovering. Who would target Katerina for such a brutal crime?
4:58 Kylie Low? Who knew about the money? Katerina's husband, Charles, worked at R. Murphy Company, which was a knife maker. He does not appear to have been considered a suspect for very long, if at all. Court records state that he was seen around town on the morning of the murder, and he may have stopped to have a tire repaired, and then at the post office, before continuing to work. His whereabouts were accounted for. As interviews with Katerina's family members and other witnesses continued, a name surfaced that caught the attention of Air Police Chief William Adamson and Officer Nancy Taylor. According to court records, Katerina's family member talked about a man named Kenneth Waters,
5:42 Kylie Low? who lived just behind Katerina's home and worked at the Park Street Diner, where Katerina was a regular. According to the family member, people at the diner had seen Katerina carrying large amounts of cash in her wallet, something they told her numerous times wasn't a good idea. They insisted that Katerina keep the cash at home. Air Police already knew Kenneth's name. According to Faris Stockman's reporting for The Boston Globe, he had a "rowdy" reputation in town. He also had a history of violence and criminal charges. According to Patricia W. Montman's reporting for The Lowell Sun, just two years earlier, in 1978, Kenneth was charged
6:26 Kylie Low? with attempted murder after he slashed a man's throat in Rockingham County in New Hampshire. The charges were later reduced to aggravated assault, and he served somewhere around 18 months of a three-and-a-half-year sentence in a New Hampshire detention facility.
6:43 Kylie Low? At the time of Katerina's murder, Kenneth was working overnights at the diner, but their history dated back even further to Kenneth's childhood. Kenneth reportedly rode the bus with Katerina's kids when he was younger, and Thomas Greeley reports for The Lowell Sun that Katerina had "given him a ride to work just the week before her murder." They may have crossed paths on a semi-regular basis too, as Kenneth was living with his grandfather at the time, whose home was on Vernon Street, adjacent to Rosewood Avenue. Naturally, police had some questions for Kenneth. Officers caught up with him the next day and transported him to the police station for an interview. Meanwhile, Kenneth's girlfriend at the time, Brenda Marsh,
7:26 Kylie Low? who also lived at Kenneth's grandfather's home with him, told officers that Kenneth had been in court the previous morning on an unrelated charge. Kenneth told officers that he'd worked a double shift at the diner on the night of May 20th into the 21st, and quickly stopped home to change before leaving for his court date. He had an alibi for the estimated time of the murder. He believed his time cards would prove it, and he saw some of the air officers at the courthouse too. Kenneth was examined for any sign he'd been involved in a struggle. The officer who examined him didn't note any cuts or scratches, and his clothing and shoes were unremarkable as well. No blood, nothing that set off any red flags.
8:09 Kylie Low? But Kenneth's background and proximity to the scene kept him under a microscope for the investigation. Blood type testing conducted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Safety determined that the majority of the blood at the scene of Katerina's murder was type B, which was consistent with her blood type. However, a small amount of type O blood was found on towels in the linen closet and near the front door. It was believed that the killer had been injured during the intense struggle and left behind their blood while rifling through Katerina's closet in search of money.
8:48 Kylie Low? There was also hair found at the scene. Much of the hair, including strands found in Katerina's hands, was found to be microscopically similar to her own hair. But other strands of hair found on the knife were different from Katerina's hair, and believed to have come from her killer. Investigators also found latent prints throughout the house, namely on a broken piece of a toaster that was damaged in the attack, and the kitchen faucet. As investigators attempted to compare these prints to possible suspects, police sought Kenneth Waters for another conversation. This one as part of a voice stress examination. A voice stress test is different from a polygraph test.
9:31 Kylie Low? It focuses primarily on discrete changes in someone's voice that may be present at times of deception. Kenneth passed the test. In the months after the murder, Kenneth and Brenda moved to Providence, Rhode Island. They eventually broke up, and he went to California before entering a treatment program in Arizona for a year. Meanwhile, the investigation into Katerina's murder continued, but not with much success. In March of 1981, air police used hypnosis in hopes of developing leads. The goal wasn't to generate new information, but to advance what they already had. A relative of Katerina's and an air police officer were hypnotized,
10:13 Kylie Low? but what came from that investigative strategy, if anything, isn't totally clear. About two and a half years later, the unresolved case saw a major update. Police had identified and arrested their primary suspect. 29-year-old Kenneth Waters was arrested and charged with being a fugitive from justice in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 12, 1982. A Massachusetts warrant had been issued for his arrest, charging him with armed robbery and the murder of Katerina Reed's brow. He entered a not guilty plea the following day. As Kenneth's sister, Betty Ann Waters, would later testify in a civil suit,
10:56 Kylie Low? Kenneth was sure he'd be released because he had an alibi for the night before and morning of Katerina's murder. He thought the police were just trying to bother him by accusing him of a crime he didn't commit. He was upset, but confident he'd be cleared and heading home soon. Betty Ann said she visited Kenneth the day after his arrest, and he asked that she go to the Park Street Diner and get his time cards, hoping they were still there two and a half years later. When Betty Ann showed up at the office of the diner, asking about the time cards, the secretary informed her she'd already pulled them for the police, and as Betty Ann claimed, the secretary said she saw that Kenny did, in fact, work at the diner on the night of and the night after.
11:41 Kylie Low? Betty Ann asked to see the card herself, but the secretary hesitated. Police were on their way to pick up the time cards, and she didn't want to do anything she wasn't supposed to do. Betty Ann updated Kenneth that his time cards were still on file, and Kenneth was satisfied that they were proof enough to get him out of jail with the charges dropped. But by the time the probable cause hearing rolled around, Kenneth and his public defender couldn't put their hands on that potentially exculpatory evidence.
12:16 Speaker 01 You know that thing where you're scrolling the internet and suddenly you're three hours deep into a celebrity lawsuit? Where you hear a courtroom term and think, wait, what does that actually mean?
12:25 Speaker 02 I'm Eliza Orland, career public defender.
12:27 Speaker 01 And I'm Taya Johnson, law professor and legal analyst.
12:30 Speaker 02 And on our brand new podcast, Criminally Online, we break down the law behind the stories you can't stop talking about.
12:36 Speaker 01 No legal degree required, just curiosity. Find Criminally Online wherever you get your podcasts.
12:53 Kylie Low? Kenneth's former girlfriend Brenda Marsh testified at his probable cause hearing in early November of 1982. She explained that about a week before the murder, Kenneth told her that a German woman had a lot of money in her home and he could really use the money. According to Brenda, around 10:00 PM on May 20, 1980, Kenneth got dressed in his work clothes and said he was going to work. But when she tried calling him at the diner later on that night, the staff there said he wasn't working. Brenda claimed that the next morning, May 21, Kenneth arrived back home wearing the same work clothes he'd donned the night before, and she noticed he had a scratch on his face from his left eye to his mouth. When she asked him about it,
13:37 Kylie Low? he said it was none of her business. She noted that he didn't have any blood on his clothing. Later that day, Brenda saw police cars at Katerina's house. She woke Kenneth up and asked if he wanted to check out what was going on over there. She testified that Kenneth responded that he didn't care. Court documents also state that Kenneth said something like, "If police show up, tell them I'm not home." Brenda testified that one of the reasons they moved out of town to Rhode Island was because Kenneth felt he was being accused of something he didn't do. And it was in Providence that Brenda claims a confession spilled out of Kenneth while he was intoxicated. She testified that she asked Kenneth during an argument
14:21 Kylie Low? if he, quote, "killed that woman back there," end quote. Kenneth responded with something like, "Yeah, what's it to you?" Brenda said she moved out and back to Massachusetts the next day. Kenneth's public defender suggested that Brenda may have been offered money from the state to testify against Kenneth, but she insisted that was not the case. When asked why it took her more than two years to come forward with information in the case, she said it was because she never wanted to see Kenneth again. Air Police Officer Nancy Taylor also testified at the probable cause hearing. She spoke to the evidence at the scene, indicating that while they found latent fingerprints,
15:03 Kylie Low? they were smeared and useless to the investigation. Kenneth's connection to the crime and the basis for his arrest was primarily the statements from his ex-girlfriend. Now, defense witnesses testified that Kenneth went to work on May 20th, and he worked a double shift, and then had a hearing at Air District Court on the morning of May 21st to face charges of assault and battery and possession of a dangerous weapon for assaulting a police officer. However, at least one source notes that at the time, the court record apparently did not show that Kenneth was actually present for that court date. Kenneth's defense attorney asked that he be released on bail.
15:45 Kylie Low? He argued that there was no evidence tying him to the crime, and the case was largely held up by witness testimony that came two and a half years later. The fact that Kenneth returned home without any blood on his clothing, the same clothes he wore when he left the night before, they argued, was another indication that he was not involved in the murder. The scene had been covered in blood. Ultimately, in consideration of the severity of the charges and Kenneth's prior convictions, his bail was set at $250,000 double surety bond, or $25,000 cash. The trial of Kenneth Waters began on May 4th, 1983.
16:26 Kylie Low? A witness named Addie Ogden, a friend of Caterina's who worked at the diner, said that a few weeks after her death, Kenneth walked into the diner. When Caterina's name was raised in conversation, Kenneth supposedly said that he hated her because she was the reason he was sent to a reform school after he was caught breaking into her house when he was 10 years old. Addie testified that she told Kenneth she herself had a German Shepherd dog for protection and to keep people from breaking into her home. Kenneth, allegedly, responded by saying, "Dog or no dog, when he wants to kill, he will kill." In other testimony, Addie said that she was shocked when Kenneth showed up at the diner
17:10 Kylie Low? again five or six weeks after the murder, trying to sell two pieces of jewelry. Addie instantly recognized them as gifts she'd given to Katerina. Quote, "I asked him where he got them and he said he stole them from his estranged wife. I bought only the ring because I had only five dollars. I went home and the next morning I went to the police." End quote. Kenneth's former girlfriend Brenda Marsh testified about that scratch she claims she saw on Kenneth's face, this supposed uttered confession after a night of drinking, and other details that seemed to connect him to the murder. Another former girlfriend of Kenneth's, Rosanna Perry, took the stand for the prosecution too.
17:55 Kylie Low? Rosanna said she started seeing Kenneth during the summer of 1980. More than once during their relationship, Kenneth allegedly told her that he'd been picked up for murder, but that, quote, "they couldn't pin it on him," end quote. She testified that he'd been drinking when he said these things. Rosanna testified that during the winter of 1982, again while Kenneth was drinking alcohol and was drunk, he said that he killed a woman, using an offensive term. According to Rosanna, he allegedly said he stabbed her and had taken her money in jewelry. The witness said she didn't go to police with the information she had about Kenneth immediately because she was afraid of him and his family. After Kenneth made the comment about stabbing someone, Rosanna said she saw him a few more
18:40 Kylie Low? times until he, quote, "bashed my teeth in," end quote. He allegedly assaulted Rosanna in March of 1982. The prosecution introduced physical evidence, specifically blood evidence, that they argued connected him to the killing. Blood found at the scene was largely type B, which was Katerina's blood type, but among the victim's blood were droplets of type O. Kenneth had type O blood. Blood test experts could not further confirm that the droplets came from Kenneth. DNA testing wasn't an option at the time. During cross-examination of the blood type expert who examined the evidence from the scene, Kenneth's attorney asked which blood type is the most common.
19:25 Kylie Low? The witness responded that most people had blood group O and presented figures that 47% of the white population and 48% of the black population had type O blood. It should be noted that there was also hair found at the scene in Katerina's hand and on the knife used in the murder, but an FBI report failed to identify any of the hair as belonging to Kenneth. When it was Kenneth's turn to present his defense, his attorney pointed to what Kenneth thought would clear him from the beginning: he had an alibi. He was working a double shift at the diner. However, when a representative of the diner's ownership was subpoenaed to appear in court,
20:08 Kylie Low? he disclosed that the time cards that could have shown the shifts Kenneth worked that week were missing. According to documents filed in a future civil suit, the only time cards that were missing from the diner's records were from the week of the murder, but I have not been able to independently confirm this detail. Without records to prove he was at work and support his alibi, Kenneth was up against a convincing case by the Commonwealth. The jury deliberated for about 10 hours over two days. In the end, they sided with the prosecution. On May 11, 1983, the jury found Kenneth Waters guilty of first-degree murder and robbery.
20:52 Kylie Low? He was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole and a concurrent sentence of not more than 10 years and not less than 10 years for the robbery conviction. Kenneth, his family, and legal team were committed to proving his innocence, and he filed a notice of appeal the day after he was convicted. On February 20th, 1984, Kenneth filed a motion for a new trial, which included a sworn affidavit from his former girlfriend, Rosanna Perry, whose testimony featured heavily in the case against him at trial. Now, Rosanna was recanting her story. She said that her testimony at trial was false and given under intense interrogation
21:35 Kylie Low? and alleged abusive and coercive tactics by an air police officer. Despite a key witness recanting her testimony, the motion for a new trial was denied on October 1st, 1985. Kenneth appealed to the state Supreme Court, and his conviction was affirmed in 1987. Now, the time cards that corroborated or could have corroborated Kenneth's story about working a double shift at the diner on May 20th and 21st had disappeared before trial. After his trial and conviction, Kenneth's defense team had uncovered accounting records that supported his claim that he worked a double, which contributed to a total of 55 and a half hours that week. These records were part of his appeal process, too,
22:19 Kylie Low? but the court found that they didn't support a new trial because the accounting records didn't specify which days he worked a double. Kenneth filed a petition for habeas corpus in federal court in February of 1989, and that, too, was dismissed in May of 1990. All along, Kenneth maintained his innocence. His family believed that he was innocent, too. One of Kenneth's fiercest supporters from day one was his sister, Betty Ann Waters. She was so convinced that her brother did not commit the murder that she decided to get her law degree and represent him in a continued fight for justice.
23:05 Kylie Low? I've been trying to get a head start on holiday shopping this year, and I've realized that some of the best gifts are just really nice versions of things people already use every day, which is why I always turn to my BFF, Quince. I got my daughter the cutest lightweight puffer jacket, which is perfect for Layering during these colder months, and don't worry, she doesn't know how to find the podcast app yet, so she won't hear this and spoil her gift. As a New Englander, high-quality outerwear is key, but I can't justify paying triple digits for a jacket that'll fit her for, like, two snowstorms. Quince is high-quality, everyday essentials, not high prices, because they work directly with factories and cut out the middleman. I know you can find what you're looking for from Quince:
23:49 Kylie Low? cashmere sweaters, organic cotton basics, bedding, luggage, a gift for everyone. And hey, pal, you deserve to treat yourself, too. Gold hoop earrings? Add to cart. Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns, now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was dark down east. It's the best way to support the show.
24:18 Speaker 02 You know that thing where you're scrolling the internet and suddenly you're three hours deep into a celebrity lawsuit?
24:24 Speaker 01 Or you hear a courtroom term and think, wait, what does that actually mean?
24:27 Speaker 02 I'm Eliza Orland, career public defender.
24:30 Speaker 01 And I'm Taya Johnson, law professor and legal analyst.
24:33 Speaker 02 And on our brand-new podcast, Criminally Online, we break down the law behind the stories you can't stop talking about.
24:39 Speaker 01 No legal degree required, just curiosity. Find Criminally Online wherever you get your podcasts.
24:55 Kylie Low? Betty Ann Waters was a single mother of two children at the time when she began working nights and weekends waiting tables to put herself through law school. Jeff Skirck reports for The Lowell Sun that getting her law degree felt like the only recourse Kenneth and his family had after they'd spent tons of money on legal bills for his defense and subsequent appeals. During her schooling, Betty Ann was working on a research paper about the use of DNA in post-conviction releases when she got an idea that stuck with her. After passing the bar exam in 1998 and officially becoming her brother's attorney, Betty Ann called to the courthouse where her brother's trial took place years earlier.
25:36 Kylie Low? With the help of a clerk, she located a box of evidence still in the basement of the courthouse, and it included pieces of cloth with a preserved blood sample. It could have been destroyed at any time in the previous years according to evidence retention schedules, but it was still there and still usable. Betty Ann had been writing to the Innocence Project as she pursued her law degree, asking for advice on Kenneth's case. And in November of 1999, the co-founder of the Innocence Project himself, Barry Scheck, also joined Kenneth's legal team. If that name sounds familiar, he was part of the "dream team" that represented O.J. Simpson.
26:19 Kylie Low? Together, Barry and Betty Ann pushed for new DNA testing on the blood evidence that they believed would prove he did not commit the murder of Katerina Brow. Betty Ann sought a stipulation from the District Attorney's Office that allowed her to obtain a blood sample from Kenneth without a court order. A forensic expert from California would test and compare his blood to typo droplets at the scene, while the Massachusetts State Crime Lab would test the same evidence for the District Attorney's Office. The DNA tests conducted by both parties showed that evidence at the scene did not match Kenneth Waters' DNA.
26:59 Kylie Low? On March 15, 2001, a judge vacated Kenneth's conviction. The then-47-year-old Kenneth was released from prison on personal recognizance after serving 18 years of a life sentence. The District Attorney's Office did not oppose a motion for a new trial. Investigators began re-examining the case to determine what charges could be brought against Kenneth in light of the new evidence, if any.
27:27 Kylie Low? A few months later, on June 19, 2001, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office announced that it would not seek a second trial and dropped all charges against Kenneth Waters. According to a statement released by the office, "At this time, there is insufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal prosecution against the defendant. As such, the Commonwealth has determined that at this time, a nullie prosequy is in the interests of justice. The Commonwealth's investigation into the murder of Katerina Brow has, and will, continue." End quote. Kenneth was free after 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
28:07 Kylie Low? It was widely reported that Kenneth enjoyed a corned beef sandwich upon his initial release. He held a cellphone for the first time in his life and reconnected with family members, including his child. But life after his wrongful conviction was all too brief. Ken Maguire reports for The Republican that in early September of 2001, Kenneth was walking to his brother's house when he decided to take a shortcut. He scaled a 15-foot wall along the route, but fencing at the top buckled, and he fell headfirst onto the ground. He was found unconscious and bleeding around 6:00 PM that evening. He suffered a fractured skull. He was listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
28:50 Kylie Low? A few days later, his condition was upgraded to stable as he was taken off life support. He was able to open and close his eyes and shake hands with people. He squeezed hands to communicate but couldn't speak. Ultimately, though, Kenneth's condition took a turn for the worse. On September 19, 2001, he was removed from life support after doctors declared him brain dead. He passed away, surrounded by his family, including his sister, who had fought for his freedom. He lived just about six months outside of prison walls. As his sister Betty Ann put it, "Kenny had six months of freedom to this day, but we look at it as six months of freedom is better than 20 years in jail." End quote.
29:34 Kylie Low? The story of Betty Ann Waters and her journey to becoming a lawyer to defend her brother's innocence is the subject of the 2010 film Conviction, starring Hilary Swank as Betty Ann and Sam Rockwell as Kenneth Waters. The family of Katerina Reed's Brow was not consulted in the making of the film. After Kenneth's exoneration, Betty Ann went back to managing a pub in town, but she was not finished with her days as a lawyer. In 2004, she filed a civil suit on behalf of Kenneth's estate, accusing Air Police of coercing false testimony and withholding evidence that could have cleared him. According to the complaint filed in US District Court on behalf of the estate of Kenneth Waters
30:19 Kylie Low? against the town of Air, several Air Police Officers, and the town's insurers, an informant had come forward shortly before Kenneth's arrest with information that reactivated the case more than two years after Katerina's murder. The informant was the new boyfriend of Kenneth's ex-girlfriend Brenda. We'll call him Jeffrey. As stated in the complaint filed in the civil suit, Jeffrey called Air Police and, allegedly, asked for money in exchange for information about Katerina's murder. Jeffrey said that Brenda told him Kenneth confessed to killing a woman in Air, and that she washed blood out of his clothes after the murder. Now, according to representatives of Kenneth Waters Estate,
31:04 Kylie Low? when officers questioned Brenda about this story her new boyfriend Jeffrey had relayed to them, she denied it. She said whatever Jeffrey claimed she said wasn't true, and she didn't have any information that connected Kenneth to the murder. However, as the questioning continued, Brenda's story changed. She told officers that Kenneth came home around 10:30 a.m. on the morning of the murder, and he was drunk, and he had that supposed large, fresh scratch on his face she testified to at his probable cause hearing. The complaint also alleged that fingerprints that Officer Nancy Taylor testified were useless were actually potentially valuable and exculpatory. The complaint stated that there was a bloody fingerprint
31:47 Kylie Low? on a broken toaster, as well as a partial print on the faucet. The prints weren't Kenneth's fingerprints. He had been excluded as the source of the prints at the scene very early on, and the civil suit alleged that police knew about this, but ignored it, or even actively lied about it, and suppressed the evidence at trial. According to the complaint, when the DA's office reopened the investigation following the discovery of the DNA evidence, a state police trooper requested files from Air Police relative to Katerina's investigation because the file that the DA had appeared to be incomplete. That's when the trooper received documentation that Kenneth had been excluded as the source
32:30 Kylie Low? of the latent fingerprints at least twice. And, and, a timestamped note from the police chief indicating that Kenneth did in fact work at the diner that night, confirming Kenneth's alibi. The officers named in the civil suit, including Air Police Officer Nancy Taylor, denied allegations that they suppressed evidence or engaged in any conduct such as coercive or abusive interrogation techniques with any witnesses. The civil claim went to trial in US District Court in 2009. Jonathan Saltzman's reporting for the Boston Globe states that the Town of Air and its
33:09 Kylie Low? insurers agreed to pay a combined $3.4 million to settle the wrongful conviction lawsuit. The judgment filed in US District Court records indicate that the settlement was north of $10 million. That could have been it for Katerina's case. The Commonwealth brought their suspect to trial, secured a conviction, but with it overturned, it would not have been surprising if the investigation stopped there without further action. However, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said they'd be continuing the investigation. Back in 2001, when the new DNA evidence was raised, prosecutors agreed to check the DNA sample obtained from the blood evidence in state and national DNA databases to see if
33:54 Kylie Low? a new suspect might match the profile. They stayed true to their word, but things didn't happen overnight. Not that year, or even that decade. But in 2022, Katerina's murder was reviewed under a new forensic lens with the help of investigative genetic genealogy DNA testing.
34:14 Kylie Low? Just this year, in June of 2025, the DA's office made the results of that testing public. Forensic chemists at Parabon NanoLabs isolated a genetic line from DNA evidence collected at the scene of the murder, and that genetic line pointed to two potential suspects. They were brothers. Both were deceased at the time of identification. Family members of the two brothers agreed to work with the DA's office on the investigation. They submitted their own DNA for comparison. With the help of scientists at Bodhi Laboratories, investigators determined that there was an overwhelming statistical likelihood that one of the brothers left his DNA at the scene.
34:58 Kylie Low? His name was Joseph "Leo" Boudreau. What I know about Joseph "Leo" Boudreau comes from the DA's press conference and the suspect's obituary, published in the journal Tribune in February of 2004. He went by Joe, and he was born in Natick, Massachusetts in 1943, and lived in the state for much of his life. It appears he was a well-educated and accomplished person. He served in the US Air Force and graduated from Boston University. His obituary states that he worked at NAYZAMAM Chemical Company, that's N-A-Y-Z-A-M-A-M Chemical Company, for 17 years as a research chemist, but I haven't been able to find
35:43 Kylie Low? any trace of a company by that name or anything similar, so maybe it was misremembered or a typo by the author of the obituary? If you recognize it, please fill me in. Joe then worked as the assistant produce manager for Farm Stand in Framingham, Massachusetts, before moving to Maine in 1987. He worked as a painter at a Maine Veterans Hospital for a few years, and a truck driver at a drywall company in Maine after that. What his obituary left out was that he was convicted of armed robbery in New Hampshire in 1975. He died in 2004 at the age of 61. He was living in a gunkwit Maine at the time.
36:24 Kylie Low? At the time of the announcement in June of 2025, investigators did not know of any connection between Joseph "Leo" Boudreau and Kenneth Waters.
36:34 Kylie Low? Genetic genealogy answered the question as to who killed Katerina Reitzbrow. Genetic genealogy has not, however, answered why. Why did Joe target her? How did he know where to find the money she was keeping stashed away? What had him in the town of Eyre at that very moment, a short time after her husband left for work? Those are questions that may never be answered. The loss of Katerina Reitzbrow was not just a tragedy. It was a heartbreak that continues to ripple through the lives of those who love her. The tragedy is compounded by a grave injustice. Not only did Katerina's family endure the trauma of a wrongful conviction, but the
37:17 Kylie Low? true perpetrator died without ever being held accountable. That too is a tragedy, one that denied her loved ones the full truth and the justice they deserve. Victims' rights don't end with the person who was taken. They extend to the family members left behind, who live every day with the weight of their grief and the unanswered questions of a system that failed them. Katerina's loved ones deserve recognition, resolution, and a justice system that works just as hard for the innocent as it does to punish the guilty. There's been little shared about who Katerina was and is to those who love her, but there's this: she was a loving mother and grandmother. It is the kind of everyday love that quietly shapes generations.
38:01 Kylie Low? That's a legacy no act of violence can erase and no injustice can diminish.
38:14 Kylie Low? Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. You can find all source material for this case at darkdowneast.com. Be sure to follow the show on Instagram, @darkdowneast. This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Low, and this is Dark Down East.
38:46 Kylie Low? Dark Down East is a production of Kylie Media and AudioChuck. So what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?
38:56 Kylie Low? In New England, investigations can shift with the tide. And my friend Delia Diambra, host of Park Predators, knows just how the landscape can shape a case. From beaches to national parks around the world, Delia investigates true crime cases as compelling as the places where they occurred. Through her signature boots-on-the-ground reporting, she goes beyond the headlines and speaks directly with those closest to the case. If you're ready to follow the evidence beyond the trail, listen to Park Predators every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.
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