A former Army recruiter who was accused of killing his estranged wife and going on the run has been convicted of murder.
John Blauvelt fatally stabbed Cati Blauvelt in October of 2016 before fleeing the state with his teenage girlfriend. Cati was found dead in the basement of an abandoned house in Simpsonville.
Blauvelt remained on the run for six years before the U.S. Marshal’s Service captured him in Oregon in July of 2022. A short time later, he was brought back to South Carolina.
Family members said the couple had separated a few months before the incident after John threatened to kill her.
“Well, we’ll never forget about her,” said Cati’s mother, Patricia Piver. “Even after all this is over, she’ll never be forgotten. We’ll always fight for her and we’ll always fight for what’s right and to keep her memory alive.”
During the pre-trial motions on Monday, the prosecution asked the judge to allow a prior domestic violence charge involving Cati to be included.
The state called numerous witnesses during the trial including Simpsonville Police Officer Cheryl Schofield. She testified that investigators found a letter in John Blauvelt’s journal that essentially confessed to the murder.
Blauvelt’s defense cross-examined Tim Nafziger, a DNA expert with the Greenville County Department of Public Safety, about partial DNA profiles collected from blood spots near Cati’s body. Nafziger said only one-third of the DNA markers were available for testing and one out of every 86 males could have those markers. DNA found under Cati’s fingernails also didn’t provide a certain match to Blauvelt.
The jury determined there was evidence beyond a reasonable down to convict John Blauvelt of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
The judge sentenced John Blauvelt to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
