🕵️‍♂️ The Sassy Gazette proudly presents Dicking Around With Richie: A True Crime Feed 🧩 Episode: The Forgotten Fire Who Killed Catherine Corkery?

🕵️‍♂️ The Sassy Gazette proudly presents

Dicking Around With Richie: A True Crime Feed

🧩 Episode: The Forgotten Fire Who Killed Catherine Corkery?

“She was sweet. She was kind. And someone brutally destroyed her. Thirty-five years is too damn long.”

 

🔥 The Night She Never Came Home

On a sultry July night in 1989, 22-year-old Catherine “Cathy” Corkery left a Mt. Lebanon party and walked toward home in Dormont, Pennsylvania. She never made it.

The next morning, her nude, mutilated, and burned body was discovered in a backyard just steps from her apartment, near the Potomac Station light-rail tracks. She had been strangled with a ligature, slammed into the rails, stabbed, sexually assaulted, and set on fire. Her killer tried to erase every trace  but failed.

What followed was an avalanche of unanswered questions, a gut-punched community, and an unsolved murder that’s haunted the South Hills for decades.

👩 Who Was Catherine Corkery?

Catherine was more than a statistic in a cold case file. She was a bookkeeper, a future social worker, a beloved daughter, girlfriend, and friend. She had just moved in with her boyfriend and was planning to attend night classes to build a new life.

Instead, someone took that life with rage and ritual.

🕯️ The Crime Scene: Dormont’s Darkest Memory

On July 22, 1989, at approximately 7:00 AM, Cathy’s body was found in the backyard of 2933 Voelkel Avenue burned from the waist up, her clothing and belongings missing, her body slashed and brutalized.

Police determined she was dragged like a human leash along the tracks, strangled, bludgeoned, and stabbed, with signs of sadistic sexual mutilation. Then her killer doused her in gasoline and set her on fire under a cherry tree.

Her burns were so severe it took 16 hours to identify her. The killer left no weapon, no clothing, and not a single solid lead.

🧬 Can DNA Save This Case?

Back in 1989, DNA was a lab curiosity. Today, it cracks decades-old cases wide open. Investigators have said biological evidence may still exist  but it hasn’t been enough to make an arrest.

With the rise of genetic genealogy, all it takes is one viable sample… and one motivated community.

👁 Someone Saw. Someone Knows.

Cathy was last seen around 2:00 AM, leaving a party with around 40 guests. No one knows (or admits) who she left with.

But someone does.

Did she accept a ride from someone she trusted? Did someone follow her along the tracks? Did a stranger spot her alone?

It’s been 35 years. Allegiances shift. Secrets eat away at people.
If you know something, this is your moment. Speak.

🧩 Suspects, Theories, and the Silence That Screams

Cathy’s boyfriend and inner circle were interviewed and cleared. The police ruled them out. But the savagery of this crime the sexual rage, the fire, the mutilation suggested something personal.

Many believe she knew her killer.

Others speculate a stranger predator was lurking. Serial killer Glen Edward Rogers known for targeting petite young women, often stabbing and burning them has been loosely linked to Cathy’s murder. But no evidence has tied him to Dormont, and he was executed in 2025 without ever confessing.

Dormont police, to this day, have never named a suspect. But former investigators admit “they have theories strong ones”.

🧊 A Case That Refuses to Stay Cold

This isn’t forgotten.

Local media including KDKA, WPXI, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review continue to spotlight Cathy’s case.
Retired detectives say they’re still hoping for a DNA match.
Friends and family say their grief still burns hotter than the fire that charred that cherry tree in 1989.

Cathy’s grave still gets visits. Her name still gets whispered. And her killer unless dead or imprisoned is still out there.

📆 What We Know

• Victim: Catherine Corkery, 22
• Last seen: Leaving a party in Mt. Lebanon, July 22, 1989
• Body found: 2933 Voelkel Ave, Dormont (near Potomac Station)
• Cause of death: Strangulation, blunt trauma, stabbing, sexual assault, arson
• Scene details: No clothing, no weapon, no DNA hits
• Status: Cold case but very much still open

📣 Let’s Bring the Fire Back -To Find the Truth

Catherine Corkery has waited 35 long years for justice.
Her killer has lived freely, without consequences.
It’s time we change that.

💬 Share this post.
📞 Call Allegheny County Police if you know something.
📢 Talk. Push. Demand DNA testing.

And don’t stop until someone answers for what they did to Cathy.

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🔎 Disclaimer:
Some images featured in this post were created using AI-generated visual tools for illustrative and storytelling purposes. These visuals are intended to enhance awareness and do not depict actual crime scenes or individuals unless explicitly stated. The use of AI does not alter the factual integrity of the case information presented.