The Brighton Ax Murder | Full Episode

foreign he has a beautiful smile and look at his eyes they just Sparkle my name is Sharon krasnick and I'm Jim's wife I've been his wife for 23 years these were beautiful Happy Days before this whole nightmare started nearly 40 years have passed since Brighton resident Kathleen krosinek was found murdered in her own home now prosecutors say crozanex then husband committed the crime that's Jim as a young man so this is Jim's first wife Kathy yes it is you can see Jim and Kathy so obviously love one another it was one of the most horrific crimes that we've seen in Rochester she looked like she's just lying there on her right side sleeping it does not appear that she ever saw this coming that she ever woke up the case is known as the brain ax murder this is the ax that was found in Kathy's head at the time that Mr Craftsman came home her three and a half-year-old daughter was there throughout the day with her mom dead in the bed how soon did Jim Krause become the suspect in his wife's murder well I think within 24 hours they felt that there just wasn't enough evidence to charge him at that point they went through the years thinking we're going to get something it just went cold the case has been unsolved for 40 years I think that people they just want to know what happened James prosnick will stand trial later this year for the murder of his wife in the Brighton home nearly 40 years ago no other physical evidence at the scene points to anyone other than James krausnik basically it became who else could it be they were so focused on Jim if Jim Krause did not kill his wife who did larabee early on police learned about this fella who was living not far from the crime scene this e ASE evil evil man that lived so close to Kathy and Jim he hated women well he was a one-man crime wave he was a psychopath they ignored him I have absolutely no doubt that James krausnik killed Kathy krasnick that morning so you're saying that this man who had never shown any sign of violence before and never shows any violence after snapped one night one night in his life and puts an ax in his wife's head yep yeah Jim is a decent loving human being there is no way Jim would ever ever have done anything like that James Carl's Nick just doesn't look like an Ax Murderer no but Ted Bundy didn't look like a serial killer I did not murder captain [Music] thank you [Music] on a wintry night near Rochester New York retired detective Mark Liberatore is showing us how we help bring one of the coldest cases in America to trial on February 19 1982 police officers arrived at this home which direction was her bedroom right over here to the right and encountered a horrific scene their bed was on this wall the body of a 29 year old mother Kathy krausnick dead in bed with an ax lodged in her head it was a single Blow To The Head and she died instantly according to the medical examiner Jim Krause told police he arrived home from work and found his wife's body his three and a half-year-old daughter Sarah was there and unharmed minutes later he showed up at his neighbor's house seemingly traumatized with Sarah in his arms the neighbor called 9-1-1 after Jim told her he thought Kathy was dead dispatch immediately sent First Responders Brighton police Lieutenant Bill flood arrived to get a statement from Crow's neck he was moaning he was crying Carl's neck a Kodak company Economist said he'd left for work that morning at the usual time around 6 30. he said he had been gone all day Kathy had planned to stay home to take care of Sarah you could tell that little girl had been left alone looked obvious to us that she addressed herself it seemed obvious to detect a flood that Sarah was confused about what had happened Sarah said she had seen a bad man sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed with an ax in his head asked if the man was black or white she said he was many colors but blood things Sarah hadn't seen a man at all that it was her mother in bed covered with blood and what does a three and a half year old do Gary Craig reports for the Rochester democrat and chronicle the murder in and of itself is baffling and hard to believe but you had this element where Kathy's daughter has been left in the house with her murdered mother it's inconceivable that somebody could do that Liberatore and his partner Steve hunt of Brighton PD say the first investigators at the scene found no significant forensic Clues like fibers or fingerprints and in 1982 DNA had not yet become an investigative tool but there was something about the scene that struck them immediately it looked like someone had pushed the pause button on a burglary there was a door leading into the house they had a pane of Glass Broken Out and there was a mall which is like a heavier ax on the ground leaning up against the wall right next to that the ax found at the door and the one in Kathy's had both belonged to the crowl's necks in the dining room there were valuable items scattered I mean on the floor was Kathy's purse with the contents strewn about there was a tea set on the floor too everything was standing straight up like it was set there neatly and a black garbage bag next to it inside was a faint shoe print as if someone had stepped in it to hold it open but despite many apparent signs of a burglary Liberator and Hunt say the most important one was missing nothing was taken there's an officer involved in this case from the 1980s who hits the nail on the head we in Brighton do not handle a lot of homicides we do handle a lot of burglaries and this was not a burglary investigators suspected the burglary was simply staged to cover up the real crime Kathy's murder and they began to focus on her husband let's face it I mean more often than not it's the husband it's domestic so police are going to go there but could Jim krawzik have committed such a brutal murder and left his baby daughter alone in that house we spoke to friends and family who said the couple had seemed happy Kathy and Jim had grown up in the same small town in Michigan but on opposite sides of the tracks Kathy's father was a trucker Jim's owned a successful carpet store they met at high school began dating in college and married after graduation that was a fancy wedding Kathy's cousin Susie was just a kid like like a princess wedding kind of deal Jim was pursuing an economics degree in Colorado when they had Sarah in 1978. she was just so excited about her daughter just so excited about her Kathy krause's friend Kathy be he can you can tell how beautiful she is said she was a warm Soul who lived for love but remembers feeling that the last time they saw each other just six months before the murder something just didn't seem right not the vivacious caffeine that I remembered what was the next thing you heard I got a call from my sister and she told me about Kathy being murdered if Kathy and Jim were having trouble they kept it to themselves but police grew suspicious when they discovered a pamphlet in the couple's car that offered services including marriage counseling and there was more when they went to Kodak they learned that Jim krusic had gotten his job under false pretenses claiming to have a PhD when he never actually completed the program there was also krausnik's Behavior newspaper reporter Gary Craig says initially he was cooperative he was willing early on to give statements krasic had spoken to investigators that night and the next morning even agreeing to another meeting that afternoon but when the time came he was gone less than 24 hours after he found his wife murdered yes krause's parents had driven from Michigan and returned there with Jim and Sarah police say Jim left town without telling them I wouldn't consider it normal um but this is America and he's free to do so when Rochester authorities followed them to Michigan krausner continued answering their questions and even provided hair and blood samples 10 days after the murder he hired a lawyer by this point police were focused squarely on Jim crowsnick but they had a problem they needed to establish exactly when the murder had happened had Jim even been at home at the time remember he told police he left for work at about 6 30 a.m back in 1982 the time of death gave a very broad range you know the science was that you really could not pinpoint autopsy findings reportedly narrowed the time of death to between 4 30 a.m and as late as 7 30 a.m an hour after krausen claimed to have left the house with no direct evidence against him nor any clear motive authorities didn't want to try their luck with a jury the investigation went cold no one was ever charged with a crime kraska and Sarah eventually moved out west he would briefly wed twice more before marrying his current wife Sharon 23 years ago never dreaming that his past will come looking for him we were in the bedroom it's about 9 or 9 30 in the morning we heard the doorbell ring [Music] foreign [Music] 1997 Sharon James ran into Jim krausner can old friend at a trade show when Sparks flew and he asked me out and from then on for two years we dated they both lived near Seattle kraussnick and his daughter Sarah had moved there 10 years earlier but couldn't leave the past behind he was devastated with the death of Kathy Sharon says he told her about Kathy's 1982 murder but didn't offer details and I didn't want to pry because he would start getting emotional what was it that made you fall in love with him Jim is so honest he's so loving I wanted to be a part of his family they married in 1999. he liked to spend a lot of time together oh absolutely as the years Roll by Sharon had no idea that more than 2 000 miles away in Rochester New York someone else would set her sights on Jim krausnik Monroe County district attorney Sandra Doorly Kathy really needed to have Justice in 2015 the FBI provided resources to help brighten police with their investigation I mean you look at all those boxes of paperwork and evidence it's it's daunting detectives Mark Liberatore and Steve hunt of the Brighton PD took the lead and pouring over the file they too became convinced the evidence pointed to one person Jim krausnik so on April 16 2016. we were just having a lazy Saturday morning and then all of a sudden the doorbell rang hey Mark Liberatore Hi how are you you wanted to surprise us absolutely all right we're a little bit surprised why we're here did Jim at that point think maybe I better call a lawyer no no not at all um on the contrary she says her husband welcomed them in and allowed them to record the conversation hopefully you'll get some good gifts we just want to kind of revamp everything go through everything again with you she says they sat around the kitchen table talking for more than an hour they said we think we know who killed Kathy we need your help in in that type of a tone I'm sure you think about this who could possibly have done this for a long time but but then Sharon says detectives Liberator and Hunt suddenly turned up the heat did you have anything to do this I didn't kill Kathy I disagree well I think you did you could see his heart pounding through his shirt that would be a very scary thing that somebody's accusing you of killing someone I would say scary if you did it was that the first time then you started hearing details of what happened to Kathy yes Sharon says it also was the first time she had heard any suggestion that her husband was involved did you ever ask him point blank no I didn't I didn't have to you didn't have to know no I know I know he did not murder his wife Sharon how can you be so sure you only have Jim's word for it no I when you're married to a man you know his heart and you know his soul Jim could never Aaron never in this world do something so horrific you know somebody listened you would say you sound alone naive didn't you have some doubts didn't you want to know more [Music] you can call me naive I suppose but she insists that no one who has known Jim Krause as well as she has for as long as she has could possibly have doubts no I'm not going to question him I don't doubt for a moment he was innocent but the detectives still hoped to find what investigators 40 years ago were never able to find a Smoking Gun that tied Jim Krause to the Brighton ax murder so you have to remember back in 1982 there was no such thing as DNA testing so my first thought was you know what can we test are we going to find someone else's DNA on any item within the home we sent the evidence from 82 back to the FBI lab the results there was no DNA evidence that directly tied krausnic to the crime but none tying anyone else to the murder either and although DNA evidence can degrade over time the most important thing was finding the absence of someone else's DNA within that home but to charge Jim Krause they wanted to prove his wife had died before he had gone to work Jim claimed to have left the house at around 6 30 a.m and Kathy had been fine we need a definitive time of death back in 1982 the medical examiner was unable to narrow the time of death enough and since then other experts have agreed with her in 2018 prosecutors turned to Dr Michael Baden for over 50 years bought in a forensic pathologist has been hired to work on a who's who of whodunic cases from the assassination of JFK Barton testified that a single bullet struck the president's back to the reported suicide of disgrace financier Jeffrey Epstein often raising eyebrows and generating controversy in this case using the same file from 1982 Biden said in his analysis it appeared Kathy died at about 3 30 a.m that would be hours before Jim Krause said he left for work that day you know some people may say that we're looking for an opinion that you were just looking for somebody who would pick a time of death that was before Krause left the house in order to secure an indictment absolutely but if in fact Dr Biden had agreed with the other medical examiners would you have heard him absolutely not armed with Dr Bond's opinion on Kathy's time of death along with what they believe is evidence of a staged burglary prosecutors went before a grand jury Jim Krause was indicted on November 1st 2019. he voluntarily surrendered to authorities a week later do you have any doubt about Jim Krause Nick's guilt in his wife's murder I have absolutely no doubt none none whatsoever but Jim krause's attorneys say there's a mountain of doubt in this case because Jim krasnick is not the bright next murderer there was someone who could be responsible for it a Serial Predator had been living in the neighborhood who actually confessed to killing Kathy [Music] there really is no evidence that Jim krausner killed his wife attorneys Bill Easton and Michael Wolford are trying to save James krausnik he is the most reserved humble a gentle person a man both believe had zero motive for murder they had a wonderful relationship they had a wonderful family and so is lawyers insists that February 19 1982 was a typical morning in a home defined by love until a stranger slipped in and took it all away Jim krausnik went to work someone came in and killed Kathy krausnik we think that someone was at larabee Ed larabee a monster just down the road it was just a violent son of a gun and terrible terrible human being from Rochester's back streets to New York's toughest prisons Ed larabee had a reputation and record as a violent sexual predator Laramie hunted women he was a psychopath before dying in prison in 2014 Larrabee was locked up for a total of 32 years on charges that ultimately included attempted murder robbery and his sixth specialty rape but all too often Larrabee was released back on the streets and every time he was free he would rape again he liked to laugh at women and humiliate them you probably know as much about Ed larabee as anyone I think so right yeah Rachel rear wrote catch the sparrow a harrowing story painfully close to home it's about the murder of my stepsister in 1991. 27 year old Stephanie kopchinski was a music teacher and violinist when her life tragically intercepted with Ed larabee's it's mind-boggling to me that he was ever free in 1991 freshly paroled after serving a sentence for robbery larabee had come back to the suburbs of Rochester his familiar hunting ground he got the job at Newcastle apartment complex which is where my stepsister lived larabee himself said that they were foolish to hire him it wasn't long before Stephanie went missing it was actually evaporated Stephanie kopzinsky's death rattled many when she disappeared from her apartment in 1991. her remains found seven years later the remains of Stephanie kopchinsky lay scattered in a shallow stream bed she had been strangled more than a Dozen Years Later larabee by then convicted of other crimes and back in prison admitted he was her killer what made him confess to Stephanie's murder what ultimately made him confess was that he was dying larabee who was suffering from ALS came up with a bucket list of a dying man Pizza sandwiches and he was angling for an agreement to be buried off prison grounds so in 2012 Ed larabee confessed he went into Stephanie's apartment and then she screamed and then he choked her and she died and he confessed to killing her but Ed larabee didn't stop with Stephanie kukinski once he confessed to Stephanie's murder and realized that he could get things in exchange for confession all of a sudden then he started wheeling and dealing and making more deals Ed Laramie contacted the FBI claiming he was a serial killer and one of the victims he listed was a Rochester housewife murdered on a February morning in 1982. 29 year old Kathy krausnik larabee lived very close by and she was someone that he was going to pray on the idea that decades earlier Ed larabee might have murdered Kathy doesn't come as a surprise to investigators and those who know him best everybody from back in that time frame was familiar with that he would have been out of prison at the time that Kathy was killed free violent and just down the road police went to question him shortly after Kathy's murder but Ed larabee wasn't talking back then they filed their report and then backed off and is it fair to say the police dropped the ball in that case because you've got a sexual predator within minutes of the house and they they don't do anything more than visit him once well I think it's very fair to say that to have apparently ignored Ed larabee in 1982 whether he did or didn't do it as clearly it was just a major lapse in the investigation I don't know that I'd use the phrase drop the ball unfortunately the officer and the sergeant who approved that report are both deceased still the FBI and detectives Liberator and Hunt don't believe Ed Lair be murdered Kathy he was a bad man he was that's one way and but he's not our bad man this is a guy who has a long history of hurting women and he's confessing to killing Kathy krausen yeah but he's appropriately was way way off base why are you so sure it's not Edward larabee because his confession didn't match up to the facts as simple as that larabee said Kathy had dark hair when in fact she was blonde that she was heavy set when she wasn't even Rachel rear who knows all too well the damage Laramie can do doesn't believe he killed Kathy to me I was like it's not his Mo I don't think he was a serial killer he's a serial rapist after four Decades of dead ends law enforcement was convinced that James crowsnick not Ed larabee wielded that Bloody ax this man is an innocent man he's been treated so unjust but come 2022 James krausnik successful businessman and father headed to trial [Music] The 40-Year-Old murder case could hinge on mere minutes and prosecutors proving that krusic was home when Kathy was killed you look at the evidence it's clear she was killed in her sleep thank you [Music] after four decades as James Crosley finally came to trial prosecutors were betting on Michael Baden that forensic pathologist they had engaged and his theory of when Kathy most likely died about 3 30 A.M well they needed Dr Biden who said basically that it happened at 3 30 in the morning that was different than any other medical examiner that was was involved in this case one of them was Catherine Maloney a forensic pathologist who would testify for the defense something she had seldom done before can you pinpoint the actual time of death no oh my goodness I wish I could the best you're going to do is is a window of several hours Dr Maloney thinks it's possible Kathy could have died much later in the day I mean so you're saying that Dr Biden is wrong I disagree with him um I think he's wrong I think she likely died sometime between like 5 a.m and 1 p.m timing of the death seemed crucial if Kathy was murdered in the dead of night before Jim Krause went to work them prosecutors say her killer wasn't an intruder it had to be her husband an opening statements today for the James cross neck trial 19. the stage was set for a gruesome drama in search of its final Act what makes this case so unique is it happened over 40 years ago over those decades Hearts have been broken relationships shattered really how would you describe the last 40 years on your family there's been a terrible it's just got awful and cousin Susie giacomovic witnessed the shift in Kathy's now 95 year old mother Bob Schlosser who today believes krausnic is a killer but for years was certain his son-in-law was innocent I just don't think that he would that he would do such a thing I mean had there ever been a real serious problem in their marriage that anybody had heard it not that I knew of but investigators believe the marriage was secretly crumbling he snapped is what we believe he just snapped people look at Jim Crow's neck he just doesn't look like an Ax Murderer what's the ax murderer look like Bob believes that over time Crow's neck began separating Sarah from her mother's family the child who was home when her mother was murdered we didn't see Sarah anymore Not only was Kathy taken away Sarah was taken away Sarah's a grown woman now firmly standing by her dad as sure that he's innocent as prosecutors Constance Patterson and Patrick Gallagher are certain he's Kathy's killer no doubt it all absolutely no doubt in my mind but as the trial moved forward lawyers on both sides confessed that they had a daunting challenge time itself dealing with with memory issues dealing with deceased witnesses witnesses can't recall what happened 40 years ago so investigators pursued evidence that didn't rely on the frailties of memory they homed in on the physical crime scene I wanted to not only prove that that Kathy was clearly killed in the early morning hours but also proved it was a stage burglary there's a lot of questions and things just didn't make sense authorities argued the scene was staged by someone who had no idea what a burglary looked like oh the house wasn't ransacked in fact there was Cash on the dresser in the room where Kathy was killed that wasn't taken the broken glass the seemingly precise placing of that mall they wanted us to believe that the mall was used to break that pain of class that silver tea set barely Disturbed and when you looked at the pieces that don't fit the reason they don't fit is because it was a stage burglary then there was that faint shoe print investigators found inside this garbage bag prosecutors thought the print told a story the only way that gets in there is when the bag is being opened when items are being placed in that bag and somebody is putting their foot on there so they can hold it open you're stepping on the edge of that bag and holding one Edge and you're placing that silver in the back investigators say the print was from special Footwear a boat shoe and why boats you and so there's a picture in that bedroom where you can see next to the bed you can see these boat shoes and whose shoes are those and those are James Crow stick's shoes he's a boat shoe wearing guy and we don't have murderers running around in February in the wintertime wearing boat shoes and killing people but the shoes krusic wore back then were not tested to see if they were a match and his lawyers say it's not just the wrong Theory it's the wrong man they say it said larabee that career Criminal Who before he died had confessed to killing Kathy He Lives four minute walk away but there's the problem of larabee's Mo remember he was a repeat sex offender was there any sign that Kathy had been sexually assaulted or that she had had any contact at all with her killer none whatsoever do you believe that there was tunnel vision in this investigation I think it would almost be the dictionary definition of tunnel vision there was this overwhelming urge and desire to solve the crime and it had to be Jim krausnik I know he did it I know it was him come closing statements cameras were allowed into the courtroom as lawyers made their final pleas the mystery of Kathy krausner's death remains to this day and we submit it has not been resolved by this trial it tells you this was a stage burglary those are the only reasonable inferences that can be drawn from this case there are no eyewitnesses there are no ear witnesses there is no direct evidence that was the case 40 years ago and that's the case now but Gallagher reminded the jury of that time stamp 3 30 a.m that pathologist Michael Boden put as Kathy's possible time of death Common Sense tells you she died early that morning as we said at the outset there is no new evidence simply a new opinion by Dr Biden we don't think that Hudson 40 years after that awful day the case would now go to a jury were you worried I was worried yes and Jim being the husband and that's been the typical Fall Guy a husband must have done it I was very fearful what do you make of the case against Jim Crow's neck see a timeline of how the investigation unfolded at 48hours.com thank you [Music] Jim krausnik's Vape will be determined by 12 strangers that we want to hold someone accountable for this I was very fearful because it's Sharon and Sarah's future as well on Friday night the jury hadn't finished their deliberations and I was so thankful I thought oh you know give us this weekend did you think this could be the last weekend you could spend with them I think deep down I probably did [Music] all together it takes a jury less than 10 hours of deliberation the four person please rise to reach a verdict guilty Jim krausnik is guilty of second-degree murder I remember standing up but I I saw this one Deputy across from me and I said oh please let me hug my husband he said no no I I can't wait Justice for 40 years thank God we got it unfortunately there is a presumption of guilt if the husband is living in the home and the wife is killed he's almost presumed guilty defense attorney Mike Wolford says that Jim Krause was convicted because of who he was not what he did I think there was a gut reaction on the part of of the jurors that well he probably did it but the jurors we spoke to insisted they decided this case on the evidence evidence they admit had divided them at the start I just kept thinking someone else really could have done this the forensics did not point to anybody else the first time they voted we were told six said guilty three not guilty three undecided the most important thing to me was the stage burglary scene they said that stage scene was a critical clue and there was something else they seemed to agree on that in the end it was impossible to say exactly when Kathy died we threw out all of that testimony we it meant nothing to us but their verdict means everything to krause's heartbroken daughter Sarah who tells the judge its sentencing it adds insult to deep injury I've been blessed with the most extraordinary parents sadly they have both been taken from my life my mother's killer got away with her murder in my father's life has been taken by a failed justice system that convicted him of a crime he did not commit but Sarah's grandfather Kathy's father wants to make sure Jim krausen expends the rest of his life paying for her death and Jim I hope you live to be a hundred years old and enjoy your new home and finally it's up to Jim crowsnick himself to take one last opportunity to address the court to this day it's still very difficult for me to talk about the circumstances that surrounded her death all I see is Kathy with an ax in her head and Sarah standing in the hallway disheveled with an empty and distant look on her face I did not murder Catherine I love Kathy with all my heart and with all my soul the judge is unmoved giving this 71 year old crows neck 25 years to Life Behind Bars before his own life is over there's one more thing Kathy's father wants to do for decades Kathy has been buried in Jim's Family plot I want to move my daughter's remains from her mother and brother are but to move her Bob Schlosser needs Sarah to agree and that may never happen Sarah and Sharon continue to support Jim who intends to appeal his conviction you're going to stand by him no matter oh absolutely Sharon krausnik rejects the possibility that her husband has permanently traded his golden years for the hardened medal of a prison cell we have a lot of hope we have a lot of faith this is not our retirement this is a hiccup this is just a just a a pause and krawzik's lawyers say that forcing him to defend a 40 year old case violated his constitutional right to a fair trial are you worried at all about that if an appellate court ruled in favor of Jim crowsnick and said that his rights have been violated then it would all be for nothing it would not be for nothing Kathy's story was able to be told and that family was able to get Justice justice has been done for Kathy [Music] I'm Aaron Moriarty and this is my life of crime listen to My Life Of Crime from 48 Hours wherever you get your podcasts does it take to be retirement ready your questions answered all next week on the CBS Evening News with Nora O'Donnell for more info go to cbsnews.com moneywatch [Music]

Channel: 48 Hours

Views: 944,618

Keywords: 48 hours, cbs news, jim krauseneck, jim krauseneck 48 hours, cold case, cathy krauseneck, ax murder, true crime, 48 hours mystery, erin moriarty, 48 hours full episode, full episode, true crime episode

Id: 2VEc9hZ9EfY

Length: 41min 23sec (2483 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 15 2023