Catherine Corkery, 22, of Dormont, was killed about 2 a.m. July 22, 1989. Her body, which had been beaten, strangled, slashed, sexually assaulted and burned, was found in the back yard of a house on Voelkel Avenue near the light rail transit tracks in Dormont, several blocks from her home. She was on her way home from a party in Mt. Lebanon, PA
Pain still fresh 16 years after woman's violent death
By Rob Amen
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 2, 2005
Buzz up!
Almost 16 years later, Catherine Corkery's father calls her killer "a son of a " with fresh anguish.
Corkery, a Mt. Lebanon High School graduate and Dormont resident, was beaten, strangled, sexually assaulted, stabbed and set on fire before her remains were discovered the morning of Saturday, July 22, 1989.
Authorities needed 16 hours to identify her. The relied on fingerprints and dental records.
She was found under a cherry tree, two blocks from her Dormont home. The flames that consumed her naked upper body flared so high, they scorched the tree's limbs.
story continues below
The neighbors couldn't stand to look at that tree, a constant reminder of such a heinous death. They chopped it down a few days later, said David Corkery, the victim's father.
"Sometimes you think if we would have lost Cathy to a car accident, I think it would have been easier," said Rebecca Finney, a high school friend of Corkery's. "The thought of her suffering, the thought of what she went though before she died, it really tears me up."
Corkery, Finney -- who then was Rebecca Hall -- and another friend enjoyed drinks that Friday night, July 21, at a Mt. Lebanon bar before meeting Corkery's boyfriend, Tim Rooney, and Finney's boyfriend at a party.
Rooney, who planned to someday ask Corkery to marry him, left early because he had a painting job the next morning.
Corkery mentioned several times that night that she planned to walk home, but Rooney and Finney said Corkery finally relented and agreed to get a ride with a friend. No one knows what she did.
After Rooney left, Finney was dealt into a poker game.
"One of the guys left and let me play his hand until he came back," Finney said. "I did really well. That's the only time in my life that I've played well. Otherwise, I would have been hanging out with Cathy."
Rooney awoke the next morning to find himself alone in the Ordinance Avenue apartment he shared with Corkery. He assumed she spent the night at a friend's.
When he returned home Saturday afternoon, he began to worry. It was only after hearing a 6 p.m. newscast reporting that a body had been found near his apartment that Rooney believed Corkery was dead.
"It was terrifying," Rooney said. "Look at the brutality of it. It's animal-like."
Police questioned everyone who attended the party, but found few clues.
Rooney still visits Corkery's grave. "Quite frankly, it's still very hard to handle," he said.
"There's no set recipe for getting over tragedy," said David Corkery. "The pain kind of goes away after awhile. You know she's not coming back.
"You just hope to God that they find the perpetrator."
Rob Amen can be reached at ramen@tribweb.com or 412-320-7982.
Follow this link Glen Rogers believed to be traveling serial killer responsible for Catherines death although there is no evidence to convict for crime ... he is on death row for a different killing/similiar to Cathys. Catherines family has no resolution.
Cathy was my school mate we went to a vo-tech school together in junior/senior year in hs.... she was bubbly carefree kind silly no-one deserves what happened to her.........if in fact Glen Roger did this to her I wish there was proof/ right now it's all circumstancial her family deserves to have closure.
http://books.google.com/books?id=c4...ig=5jXHwxMkKHyGohNAmeMmosONv3M&hl=en#PPA42,M1
Pain still fresh 16 years after woman's violent death
By Rob Amen
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 2, 2005
Buzz up!
Almost 16 years later, Catherine Corkery's father calls her killer "a son of a " with fresh anguish.
Corkery, a Mt. Lebanon High School graduate and Dormont resident, was beaten, strangled, sexually assaulted, stabbed and set on fire before her remains were discovered the morning of Saturday, July 22, 1989.
Authorities needed 16 hours to identify her. The relied on fingerprints and dental records.
She was found under a cherry tree, two blocks from her Dormont home. The flames that consumed her naked upper body flared so high, they scorched the tree's limbs.
story continues below
The neighbors couldn't stand to look at that tree, a constant reminder of such a heinous death. They chopped it down a few days later, said David Corkery, the victim's father.
"Sometimes you think if we would have lost Cathy to a car accident, I think it would have been easier," said Rebecca Finney, a high school friend of Corkery's. "The thought of her suffering, the thought of what she went though before she died, it really tears me up."
Corkery, Finney -- who then was Rebecca Hall -- and another friend enjoyed drinks that Friday night, July 21, at a Mt. Lebanon bar before meeting Corkery's boyfriend, Tim Rooney, and Finney's boyfriend at a party.
Rooney, who planned to someday ask Corkery to marry him, left early because he had a painting job the next morning.
Corkery mentioned several times that night that she planned to walk home, but Rooney and Finney said Corkery finally relented and agreed to get a ride with a friend. No one knows what she did.
After Rooney left, Finney was dealt into a poker game.
"One of the guys left and let me play his hand until he came back," Finney said. "I did really well. That's the only time in my life that I've played well. Otherwise, I would have been hanging out with Cathy."
Rooney awoke the next morning to find himself alone in the Ordinance Avenue apartment he shared with Corkery. He assumed she spent the night at a friend's.
When he returned home Saturday afternoon, he began to worry. It was only after hearing a 6 p.m. newscast reporting that a body had been found near his apartment that Rooney believed Corkery was dead.
"It was terrifying," Rooney said. "Look at the brutality of it. It's animal-like."
Police questioned everyone who attended the party, but found few clues.
Rooney still visits Corkery's grave. "Quite frankly, it's still very hard to handle," he said.
"There's no set recipe for getting over tragedy," said David Corkery. "The pain kind of goes away after awhile. You know she's not coming back.
"You just hope to God that they find the perpetrator."
Rob Amen can be reached at ramen@tribweb.com or 412-320-7982.
Follow this link Glen Rogers believed to be traveling serial killer responsible for Catherines death although there is no evidence to convict for crime ... he is on death row for a different killing/similiar to Cathys. Catherines family has no resolution.
Cathy was my school mate we went to a vo-tech school together in junior/senior year in hs.... she was bubbly carefree kind silly no-one deserves what happened to her.........if in fact Glen Roger did this to her I wish there was proof/ right now it's all circumstancial her family deserves to have closure.
http://books.google.com/books?id=c4...ig=5jXHwxMkKHyGohNAmeMmosONv3M&hl=en#PPA42,M1