The sheer number of cold cases in the country is staggering. Missing cases, sudden murders, kidnapping victims never found; it’s all a grim set of affairs that can chill anyone’s bones.
However, sometimes there is a breakthrough thanks to new technology or new personnel in a position of authority breaking open the cold case again.
But there’s a third reason for a cold case getting cracked open- a confession by the killer. This is rare, but sometimes the guilt weighs down on some perpetrators so much that the only way out is to confess it somehow. Corey Wieneke’s killer did confess as well, but to a spiritual entity through a black candle, and that proved to be her downfall.
Annette Cahill was convicted of the second-degree murder of Corey Wieneke in 1992. She was sentenced to a maximum prison term of 50 years in 2019. Cahill murdered Wieneke because she was jealous that he was sleeping with other women. It took 25 years for the case to be closed because, initially, her alibi had checked out. But what did her in was a confession she made in front of black candles that her niece Jessie Becker heard.
Who Really Killed Corey Wieneke?
Corey Wieneke was found bludgeoned to death on October 13, 1992, inside the home he shared with Jody Hotz, his fiance and high school sweetheart. She was the one who found his body after returning from work in the evening.
Authorities concluded that an aluminum bat was used to murder him in his Iowa residence after the bloodied weapon was found on October 14.
In the initial stages of the case, Corey’s friend Wendi Marshall told authorities that Annette Cahill had confronted them while they were leaving Wink’s Bar & Grill restaurant, Corey’s family-run business, where he was a bartender. Marshall had narrated that Cahill (then Hazen) was drunk, but Corey gave her a lift home.
However, the drive wasn’t smooth. The two of them got into an argument before Corey dropped her home. Investigators did suspect Annette Cahill, but her alibi had checked out then. Cahill had said that during the murder, she was busy with a roofing job that she worked with her sister-in-law. The latter had corroborated this.
A further polygraph test was also done, but that only helped rule her out. The case then went cold. But 25 years later, something happened. Or rather, someone watched something. Jessie Becker, who was only nine years old when the crime occurred, went to the authorities on December 2017.
She confessed to the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation that her aunt Annette Cahill was the one who had murdered Corey Wieneke. Becker said that she saw Cahill apologize to Corey by lighting black candles while at a sleepover at her house. Cahill had said:
“I’m so sorry, Corey. I never meant to hurt you. I loved you, Corey. I never meant to kill you.”
Police arrested her on May 31, 2018, and she was charged with first-degree murder. In September 2019, the jury declared she was guilty of second-degree murder. As a result, she was sentenced to a maximum prison term of 50 years.
Annette is currently serving her sentence at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women. NBC Dateline is telling the entire story of Corey Wieneke in the episode titled The Black Candle Confession. But why did Cahill murder her lover?
Why Did Annette Cahill Murder Corey Wieneke?
During Annette Cahill’s 2019 trial, prosecutors said that she murdered Corey Wieneke because she was jealous of his relationships with other women. So she killed him in a fit of jealous rage. The jury wasn’t convinced at the first trial. This led to another trial in September.
What ultimately convinced the jury was Scott Payne, her drug partner, confessing that he saw Annette burn blood-stained clothes on the day Corey was murdered. Annette later admitted to being in a casual sexual relationship with the victim.
They had quarreled because she was indeed jealous. However, she said they had made up later and even slept together. But apparently, that wasn’t enough, and that led to the murder.
Dateline’s 2-hour-long The Black Candle Confession episode will be aired on NBC at 9 pm ET on August 4, 2023.
What are your thoughts on Annette Cahill murdering Corey Wieneke?
Was the murder done in a fit of rage? Or was it cold and calculated to an extent?
Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Newstars
