Signs of a Psychopath: What happened to Kimberly Cates?

The murder of the Mont Vernon woman, Kimberly Cates, and the attack on her daughter, Jaime Cates, shocked the small community in 2009. Kimberly had been asleep when four teenagers attacked her house, killed her, and left her daughter severely injured with a machete.

The five young men, aged between 18 and 20, had been charged with home invasion before they stood trial for murder. Kimberly's house was targeted at random as an act of thrill killing.

Signs of a Psychopath episode titled An Excuse to Kill Somebody showcases the brutal murder of Kimberly Cates as it airs on Investigation Discovery on August 12, 2024, at 10 p.m. EST on ID. The official synopsis reads,

"Milford, New Hampshire reels after police arrest teenagers for robbing and murdering 42-year-old Kimberly Cates and maiming her 11-year-old daughter. Detectives uncover two suspects who are not ordinary criminals but sadistic psychopaths."

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Who was Kimberly Cates?

Kimberly Cates was born on March 6, 1967, to parents James and Lynnette (Hammond) Piasecki in Toledo, Ohio. Kimberly grew up with two of her brothers - Jeff Piasecki and Scott Piasecki. Cates took up a nursing program at Pima Community College, Tucson, and went on to Tucson Medical Center as she moved to Arizona.

Kimberly married David J. Cates in 1997 and the couple had their daughter, Jaimie Lynn. After a brief move to Baltimore where she worked at the St. Agnes Hospital, the family settled in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. In Mont Vernon, she was employed as a nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, Nashua, Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, and the Milford Medical Center.

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What happened to Kimberly Cates?

On the uneventful night of October 4, 2009, 42-year-old Kimberly Cates was asleep in her master bedroom when 17-year-old Steven Spader of Brookline and 19-year-old Christopher Gribble broke into her house. Spader and Gribble were assisted by their friends, William Marks and Quinn Glover, from Amherst. Kimberly's husband, David, had been out of town for some business.

According to NBC News, the teenagers turned off the electricity in the house before Spader attacked Kimberly with a machete while Gribble used a knife. Spader reportedly struck Kim 36 times in total which led to her eyeballs hanging out of the socket and her brains splattered around.

Kim's 11-year-old daughter, Jaime Cates, tried to protect her mother from the attack when she became the target. Jaime was struck in the face, chest, legs, torso, arms, and head. Jaime ended up with a broken jaw and a punctured lung. The only reason she survived was because she pretended to be dead after Gribble had allegedly thrown her against a door.

Once the intruders had left, Jaime crawled to the kitchen and dialed 911 from the phone to report the harrowing crime. While Kimberly was reportedly declared dead, Jaime was rushed to a Boston, Massachusetts hospital where she was treated.

The four men had ransacked the house for valuables, per NBC News. Additionally, The Nashua Telegraph reported that Spader and Gribble met Hollins, who was at a friend's house, to brag about their Mont Vernon raid. The young men were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and attempted murder.

The attackers drove around the neighborhood at 4 a.m. local time to plan their attack accordingly.

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Watch all the details of Kimberly Cates' murder as the Signs of a Psychopath episode airs on Investigation Discovery on Monday.