3-11-2019
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — An episode of the forensic investigative series 48 Hours covered a 30-year-old murder in South Korea that was never solved, and it points fingers at a current Western Washington University employee, Kathryn Patrick.
CBS reporter Peter Van Sant intercepted Patrick in her office after she had denied him an interview, and while she answered a few of his questions, she was clearly upset.
The questions pertain to Carolyn Abel, who was stabbed to death in Seoul in 1988 while teaching English abroad.
Patrick and Abel were close friends, but another English teacher in the group accused Patrick of the murder, giving several different stories of what happened.
Patrick says she’s been available to investigators and will meet with Seattle prosecutors, but is adamant in her innocence.
Paul Cocke with WWU released a statement before the show aired Saturday maintaining Patrick hasn’t given them cause for concern during her tenure and they have no evidence that she’s a threat.
In a statement he said the following:
Kathryn Patrick is a program coordinator at Western Washington University, and has worked at Western since 2000. During her 18 years of service at Western, the University has had no concerns. The University asks that her privacy as a Western employee be respected. An assessment by University officials shows no evidence of a current threat to Western students, faculty or staff. University officials will continue to monitor the situation.
