"Real dark": 20/20 episode featuring Cati Blauvelt murder case reveals horrors of Simpsonville house

Cati Blauvelt was 22 when her body was discovered inside an abandoned house in the woods (Images via Instagram/@abc2020)
Cati Blauvelt was 22 when her body was discovered inside an abandoned house in the woods (Images via Instagram/@abc2020)

The 20/20 episode titled Born to Kill revisits the shocking murder of a 22-year-old girl named Cati Blauvelt, who was stabbed to death by her estranged husband, John Tufton Blauvelt, in an abandoned home in Simpsonville on October 24, 2016. However, the abandoned home looked like a horror movie set. The house stood old and hidden deep inside the woods, completely invisible from the street. ABC News described the graffiti on the house's walls as

"Real dark."

Footage shown in 20/20 revealed that the house's walls were full of holes, stained mattresses covered the floor, and empty beer and soda cans were scattered everywhere. It seemed like the place had been deserted for a very long time.

Continue reading more about the horror of Cati Blauvelt's murder location in ABC's 20/20.


The 20/20 episode featured the horrors of the Simpsonville house

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The Simpsonville house, where Cati Blauvelt was killed by John, looked like something straight out of a horror film. The house was old and abandoned and was hidden deep inside the woods, due to which it was invisible from the street.

20/20 revealed that the walls of the house had holes, stained mattresses were scattered across the floor, and trash like empty beer and soda cans covered the place. The 'real dark' and Satanic-like graffiti covering the walls made the house seem even older, and it seemed like the building had been deserted for an unknown length of time.

ABC News revealed that if the house could speak, it would have endless stories to tell. Many people used to gather there to smoke, drink, and hang out. It appeared that high school students had long used it in the same way. It was simply a hidden house in the woods where teenagers spent time after school without getting caught.


20/20's Simpsonville house horror story: The murder of Cati Blauvelt

October 23, 2016

As per 20/20 and U.S. Marshals Service, Cati Blauvelt's family reported that their daughter went missing after she failed to meet her friends following her work that day. News 19 reported that Cati was last seen around 2:15 p.m. after she left her job at a pet store in Greenville.

October 24, 2016

Around 2 p.m., Cati spoke to her niece, Chyanne Paxton Davenport, over the phone after finishing her work and talked about meeting later. Later, Chyanne remembered that Cati didn't sound normal during the call. Meanwhile, on the same day, John stabbed Cati to death in the abandoned Simpsonville house.

October 26, 2016

Cati's body was recovered from the basement of the abandoned Simpsonville house by her friends, Richard Hargrove and Wayne Roper, who looked for her after she went missing.

Investigators discovered a knife blade lodged in Cati's neck and concluded that she died from bleeding caused by stabbing. Blood stains were found outside the house, continuing down into the basement. The evidence led officials to believe that she was attacked outside and then her body was moved downstairs.

November 15, 2016

According to the U.S. Marshals Service, John was last traced in Las Cruces, New Mexico, while traveling with a female passenger.

November 18, 2016

Simpsonville Police obtained a warrant for John's arrest and charged him with murder and with carrying a weapon while committing the crime.

September 2024

John was found guilty of murder, and the court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

John's high school girlfriend, Hannah Thompson, was also charged and later admitted guilt to one count of obstructing justice and one count of misprision of a felony. She received a sentence of 3 years on probation and was not given any prison time.


Follow Soap Central for more updates on 20/20.

Edited by Aratrika Baidya