The Jamestown resident has gone through a lot of emotions through the years, including seeing arrests only to find out those individuals were no longer suspects after a lengthy trial, regional and national television stations doing various stories, books written, and even psychics brought in.

A little more than two years ago, he was contacted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office from its newly formed “Unsolved Cases” unit and said they wanted to reopen the Kathy Wilson murder case.

While there is a lot he would like to share, right now he is laser focused on helping police and is enlisting The Post-Journal and its readers to help.

Wilson said the statement below is “very measured and word specific.” He asked the entire opening statement be published in its entirety.

Kathy Wilson

MARK WILSON STATEMENT

On May 8, 1988 Kathy went to the Chautauqua Mall during her lunch break. She was violently abducted in the parking lot at the Chautauqua Mall, where there was an eye witness.

She was then taken to a known residence in Lander, Pennsylvania. She was held alive for a significant period of time, during which she was reportedly seen and identified.

Kathy was eventually murdered and her body was deposited in a remote wooded area near Lander, Pennsylvania.

Law enforcement now knows who owned the property where she was held, along with their related associations. They know the connection with the business located in Russell, Pennsylvania, and the connection with this location and the James B. Schwab Company in Falconer, NY where Kathy was employed.

There are people out there that know what has transpired and the time is now to come forward. The telephone for the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department is 716-753-4578.

Well over two years ago the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department, led by Sheriff James Quattrone, brought in outside investigators from Southern California who had extensive experience investigating cold cases.

Recently with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department joining us, our family had the opportunity for a private meeting with Warren County Pennsylvania District Attorney Cody Brown, his staff, and a large contingent of the Pennsylvania State Police. We are most grateful for this opportunity.

At this meeting we learned several disturbing facts, only a few examples of which we can reveal today.

The first and perhaps most important – a small portion of Kathy’s remains had been preserved in the early 1990s by the Pennsylvania State Police for future DNA testing, which was then in its infancy. We found out that almost 20 years ago the Pennsylvania State Police destroyed Kathy’s remains without notifying our family. They cannot tell us the manner in which this was done, or the location where this was done. Where do we now hold an additional memorial service?”

Secondly, we found out that there were two very different death certificates issued for Kathy’s murder – one by the coroner in Warren, Pennsylvania, and a very different one filed in the state Capital of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

We also found out that despite the case being unsolved, the case had been closed by the Pennsylvania State Police. Thanks to the efforts of Warren County District Attorney Brown, Warren County District Attorney Chief Detective Jeff Walters, Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Unsolved Cases Unit, the death certificate issue, and the status of the unsolved case is now being rectified. We also express our thanks to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt and his staff for the investigative and legal assistance his staff has provided to the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department investigators.

POLICE ISSUES AND RESOLVE

After giving his opening statement, Wilson continued to talk.

He noted that when his wife was first kidnapped and her body later recovered it was a difficult time, not only because of losing such a wonderful woman but with how they were treated.

“Early on when this first transpired almost 40 years ago ‘chaotic and bizarre’ would be a way of describing everything. My family and myself were not treated very well by law enforcement. Except for rare instances, we were kept in the dark,” he said. “There were a couple of hurtful books that were written and Kathy’s disappearance was featured on a national crime show called ‘A Current Affair’ by Maury Povich and even psychics were brought in.”

Wilson noted the original task force had members of both New York and Pennsylvania State Police. It was headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. “I was told afterwards by a member of this task force that there was a power struggle between them and information was rarely shared,” he said.

Wilson noted a long trial was held after an arrest was made. “Two individuals were eventually acquitted of Kathy’s murder. This trial would later be described as an ‘unserious performance of justice’, or if you will, a ‘show trial,'” he said.

LESSONS LEARNED

Wilson said that it’s important for everyone to know that “despite the obvious mistakes that were made, the past is the past.”

A scholarship was later established in memory of Kathy Wilson, which is managed by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

He said the family wants it known that the current law enforcement people, including the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department headed by Quattrone, the Cold Case Unit lead by Investigator Tom Tarpley, and current Warren County District Attorney Brown and his associates have all been remarkable. “I personally want to thank them for the compassionate manner that they’ve treated my children. I know it takes a special kind of person to tackle cases like this,” he said.

Wilson noted his children were 13, 9 and 5 years old when they lost their mother. “They’re now married, have careers and have children of their own, but in effect they’re going through this for the very first time,” he said.

Wilson also said that the Sheriff’s Department and the Warren County District Attorney’s Office are working together to propose legislation in both New York and Pennsylvania that will “prevent these types of things from happening to any family or community in the future.”