MURDERED: Cathy Swartz
On December 2, 1988, 19-year-old Cathy Swartz was found brutally murdered inside her Three Rivers, Michigan townhome. Down the hall, her 8-month-old daughter was still in her crib, unharmed. The killer left behind a staggering amount of evidence. So much, detectives thought they’d have their suspect within days. They were wrong.
For decades, Cathy’s murder went unsolved, haunting a small Michigan community and leaving investigators with one question: How could someone leave behind so much and still get away with murder?
Then, more than 30 years later, advances in forensic science finally exposed a major clue. One that led them to a name that had been sitting inside their case file all along.
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Cathy Swartz
Courtesy: Courteney Swartz
Cathy Swartz
Source: Three Rivers Police Department
Cathy Swartz and her daughter, Courteney
Courtesy: Courteney Swartz
Cathy, baby Courteney, and Cathy’s fiancé Mike Warner
Courtesy: Courteney Swartz
Mike Warner, baby Courteney, and Cathy Swartz
Courtesy: Courteney Swartz
Cathy Swartz with her friend Jennifer Outman
Courtesy: Courteney Swartz
The exterior of the Riverside Townhome in Three Rivers, Michigan, where Cathy Swartz was murdered in 1988.
Source: Three Rivers Police Department
The stairs inside Cathy’s townhome
Source: Three Rivers Police Department
The phone line in Cathy and Mike’s bedroom that had been cut.
Courtesy: Three Rivers Police Department
Cathy’s killer left behind a fingerprint in their own blood
Source: Three Rivers Police Department
A sketch of the female allegedly seen by a witness entering Cathy’s apartment around the time of the murder.
Source: Three Rivers Police Department
Impression of the likely murder weapon left on a pair of sweatpants
Source: Three Rivers Police Department
Cathy’s fiancé Mike Warner (left) and suspect Robert Waters (right) pictured together in the same high school yearbook.
Source: Three Rivers High School
Robert Waters’ booking photo from when he was arrested for Cathy’s murder more than 30 years later.
Source: Beaufort County Detention Center
Additional Information:
Tips:
If you have any information about this case that could help law enforcement, you can reach out to the Three Rivers Police Department via email at [email protected]. If you’d prefer to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-773-2587 or by submitting a tip online.
Episode Source Material
- Original Reporting by Madison Cavalchire
- Kolker, Ken. “Left in Blood: The Cathy Swartz Murder.” WOOD TV8, 16 Dec. 2023, https://www.woodtv.com/news/target-8/left-in-blood-the-cathy-swartz-murder. Accessed 2026.
- Three Rivers Police Department. Investigative Files, case no. 5585-88. 1988. Accessed 2026.
- Walters, Barbara. “Chilling Death Remains Unsolved.” The Kalamazoo Gazette, 26 Dec. 1988, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1150155544/. Accessed 2026.
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