The FBI is assisting the Brighton Police Department and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in its continued investigation of the February 19, 1982 murder of Brighton, New York resident Cathleen Krauseneck. Investigators are taking a fresh look at the case, including new forensic testing.

At the request of the FBI’s Buffalo Division, the FBI’s Seattle Division is also assisting. Agents out of the Tacoma Resident Agency have pursued several leads in Washington state, facilitated interviews with relatives and associates of the victim, and continue to contribute extensive investigative support.

Ms. Krausneck, who was 29 at the time of her death, was killed with an ax while she slept in her bed early that morning. Her 3-year-old daughter, who was not physically harmed, was home alone with the victim until late that Friday afternoon when her father, James Krauseneck, returned home from his job. Krauseneck, the victim’s husband, worked for Eastman Kodak Co. in 1982 and now lives in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Approximately one year ago, Brighton investigators presented the Krauseneck homicide case to the FBI Buffalo Division’s Cold Case Working Group (CCWG). The CCWG—which is composed of federal agencies, local police departments, medical examiner offices, district attorney offices, and crime labs—facilitates renewed discussion, and offers suggestions and innovative ideas in solving cold cases. The FBI has since digitized the Krauseneck case files.

In recent months, Brighton investigators have conducted interviews in multiple states, including Washington, and will send physical evidence to the FBI Laboratory Division in Quantico, Virginia, for testing.

For questions regarding this investigation, please contact Chief Mark Henderson, Brighton Police Department, on his cell phone (585-269-1271) or by e-mail: Mark.Henderson@townofbrighton.org.