What happened to Cati Blauvelt? Details explored ahead of 48 hours on CBS

Season 38 episode 21 of 48 Hours on CBS will replay the death of Cati Blauvelt, who was killed by her estranged husband John Tufton Blauvelt on October 23, 2016, in Simpsonville.

After committing the crime, John Tufton Blauvelt went on the run for six years. Finally, in 2022 he was arrested and in September 20 2024, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife.

This 48 Hours episode, focusing on Catherine Blauvelt's murder, is titled, Cati Blauvelt: Death of a Soldier's Wife. It will air on CBS on March 8, 2025. The logline for the same reads:

“A manhunt ensues when John Blauvelt vanishes after his estranged wife is murdered”.

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Cati Blauvelt was murdered by her husband John Tufton Blauvelt

According to Oxygen True Crime, on October 23, 2016, Cati Blauvelt left her workplace at the Greenville pet store at 2:15 pm to meet her friends. When Cati didn’t turn up, she was reported missing by her family.

The following day Cati Blauvelt's body was discovered by friends in the basement of an abandoned house in Simpsonville, a place where Cati and her friends would go and play as children. According to authorities, she was stabbed multiple times with a knife. Her wounds were six inches deep into her neck.

The authorities of Simpsonville took out a warrant for John Blauvelt, within a month of Cati’s murder. He was charged with the murder of Cati Blauvelt and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. During this time, John had already left the state with his then-17-year-old girlfriend Hannah Elizabeth Thompson.

Three days after obtaining a warrant for John, Hannah Elizabeth Thompson was reported missing by her family on November 21, 2016. John and Hannah had been spotted a day before in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

John had already abandoned Hannah when she was found by U.S. Marshals in Oregon on December 12, 2016. The U.S. Marshals learned that Hannah and John were homeless in Oregon before she reached out to her parents, requesting to return home.

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John Blauvelt was arrested in 2022

After being on the run for six years, in July 2022, the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, which was led by the U.S. Marshals, received a tip from the Marshals’ headquarters stating that John was still in Oregon. John was found and arrested. Reportedly, he was homeless and had been living under the pseudonym of Ben Klein. After a short period, John was taken back to South Carolina.

According to Court TV, during John’s trial, seventeen witnesses testified against him. Allison Somerville, a mutual friend of Cati and John, took the stand and told the court that John asked her if she wanted to go to Charleston, South Carolina, to kill his wife. She said he also told her that he was “born to kill people both good or bad”.

Officer Cheryl Schofield, also took the stand and spoke about a letter found in John’s Journal in which he confessed to killing his estranged wife, Cati.

More evidence presented to the jury as John’s DNA was found under Cati’s fingernails. On September 20, 2024, the jury had enough evidence to convict John of Cati Blauvelt's murder and possession of a weapon during the crime. The jury concluded that John was guilty and convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to Fox Carolina, John Blauvelt’s request for a new trial had been denied, due to which John’s defence team had filed for an appeal on February 20, 2025.

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To learn more about this case, watch this weekend's episode of 48 Hours on CBS.