WEST LIBERTY, IOWA: If there is anything worse than learning that a loved one has been murdered, it is probably finding out that the case has remained unsolved for years and the killer is yet to be caught. The infamous case of a bartender from West Liberty, Iowa, is one such example.
Corey Wieneke was only 22 when his murder left the town of Iowa in shock. Known to be loved by everyone, no one could even imagine him becoming the victim of such a heinous crime. NBC's 'Dateline' will be going back to their iconic episode, 'The Black Candle Confession', to investigate this case which has remained unsolved for decades.
How was Corey Wieneke killed?
Wieneke had realized his dream of becoming a bartender of his family-run bar Wink's Bar & Grill and was spending a happy and peaceful life with his fiancee, Jody Hotz. He was the golden boy of West Liberty as he was a football star in his high school, and was adored by each and everyone in his neighborhood. The whole town was left horrified when he was found dead inside his home by the woman who was going to be his wife soon.
His body was found in the bedroom on October 13, 1992, at an odd time as those were his working hours at the bar. Upon discovering his body, Hotz called the police. Later, reports unveiled that someone had brutally attacked him on the head and the murder weapon was suspected to be an aluminium baseball bat. The weapon was soon found on the side of a road and the blood stains on it matched Wieneke's. However, the lack of fingerprints left the investigation team puzzled and with no leads.
Who killed Corey Wieneke?
The investigation team were out of suspects until they landed on Annette Cahill (then Hazen) who was brought in for a statement as someone had seen her and Weineke have an argument on the day of the murder. She was later let off after she confessed it was just an ex-lovers spat over Wieneke being with another woman when Cahill had previously been in an open sexual relationship with him.
It was only later that a woman came forward with a confession that placed Cahill in the list of suspects more than 25 years after Wieneke's murder. She reported that she had overheard Cahill asking for forgiveness for killing Wieneke back when she was nine with black candles lit in front of her. Added to that was another tip from Cahill's brother's friend, Scott Payne, who had seen the woman burn blood-stained clothes close to the time Corey was murdered. This resulted in the conviction of Cahill as his murderer and she received 50 years in prison for second-degree murder.