S2 E5: Continuing a Complex Investigation

In the Season Finale of Upstate Unsolved, we attempt to give Ruth's case the attention she deserves and continue to ask for anyone who knew Ruth or the people who made up her life to come forward. Additionally, we share a potential lead that will be touched upon in a Season Two Update coming in the near future.

Investigating, researching and reporting on a murder that has been cold for 60 years is difficult on various levels. In order to understand the victim you have to understand the social climate in which they lived and the people that made up their life. You have to get to know the victim through the accounts of their friends and families, any diaries or notes they kept, or treasured belongings still in possession of loved ones. When there's 60 years of time between now and when the crime happened, tangible connections to the person become imperative.We don't have that for Ruth Whitman. We don't have personal items from her life and no family or friends have come forward willing to speak publicly about Ruth. And the handful of surviving family members we have been able to speak to, do not wish to discuss their memories of her on Upstate Unsolved. All that we have to get to know Ruth is the original case file, filled with interviews from hundreds of people. But not all of these interviews are reliable, a good portion of them are riddled with gossip and contradictions. In this episode, we talk about the culture Ruth grew up in and the disadvantages her family faced. We also detail the numerous men that claim to have been romantically involved with Ruth prior to and right up until her murder.

Law enforcement interviewed approximately 500 people. The case file is massive and is filled with inconsistencies. More specifically, the statements made by the people who claim to know Ruth Whitman contain contradictory information about the moments leading up to her murder. Some accounts place her at a certain time and place, while others insist she was in a completely different location.

The body of 18-year-old Ruth Whitman was found face down in a drainage ditch on Sand Creek Road in Colonie on December 8, 1959. She had been severely beaten in the head, with one eye swollen shut and she had a laceration on the back of her head. For 60 years, Ruth's case has remained unsolved.

We believe that Catherine Blackburn's case can be solved. The acts she endured are unique and rare, and with the modern day ability to disseminate the details of her case, we are hopeful that someone somewhere will be able to provide new connections, leading to answers.

55 years ago Catherine Blackburn's niece and sister found her exposed body in the vacant upstairs apartment of her home on Colonie Street in Albany. In 1964, crime scene cleanup wasn't facilitated by police; that burden fell on the deceased's loved ones. Kate's 20-year-old nieces, Sandy and Theresa, had to clean their Aunt's blood from the apartment. In this episode, we speak to Kate's niece Sandy about the impact her Aunt's murder had on her life and family.

Please be advised that we will be detailing the extreme violence Catherine Blackburn had to endure in this episode. Listener discretion is advised.

Catherine "Kate" Blackburn was found beaten and stabbed death in the unoccupied upstairs apartment in her Colonie Street home in Albany on September 14, 1964. While Albany Police Detectives at the time went to great lengths to investigate her brutal murder, the case went cold.While it’s important to re-evaluate her case using modern day techniques and tactics, we have to also understand the context of her life.

Now in its second season, the true crime podcast, in partnership with the Cold Case Analysis Center at the College of St. Rose, investigates the unsolved murders of Catherine ‘Kate’ Blackburn (1964), and Ruth Whitman (1959). While seemingly unconnected, these women have one crucial element in common: their cases aren’t well known to the public. With the support of the Albany Police Department and the Colonie Police Department, WGY’s “Upstate Unsolved” brings these cold cases into the spotlight in hopes of finding justice for these women...no longer forgotten.

Now in its second season, this WGY original true-crime podcast, in partnership with the Cold Case Analysis Center at the College of St. Rose, investigates the unsolved murders of Catherine ‘Kate’ Blackburn (1964), and Ruth Whitman (1959). While seemingly unconnected, these women have one crucial element in common: their cases aren’t well known to the public. With the support of the Albany Police Department and the Colonie Police Department, WGY’s “Upstate Unsolved” brings these cold cases into the spotlight in the hopes of finding justice for these women no longer forgotten.