She was a loving person, kind and sweet with a hard will. She was also a hard-working special education teacher, a devoted wife, an amazing mother, and Christian. She gave the world all she had and didn't ask for anything in return.
Kathy would eventually settle down in Bardstown, at 5120 Springfield Rd, which was about an hour away from where she grew up.
Kathy's passion was Special Education. In 2014, Kathy had been a Special Education Teacher for seven years at Bardstown Elementary School. She worked primarily with fifth graders but was known to help out however she could. She participated in many extracurricular events: such as volunteering and donating to the Special Olympics. The principal of Bardstown Elementary School, Paula Bowling recalled that "Kathy was an energetic teacher." and that "She put a lot of energy into helping her kids and was very passionate about what she did."
Kathy had a Master of Special Education from Campbellsville University, Master of Vocational Rehabilitation and Masters of Family Studies from the University of Kentucky.
Kathy's passion was Special Education. In 2014, Kathy had been a Special Education Teacher for seven years at Bardstown Elementary School. She worked primarily with fifth graders but was known to help out however she could. She participated in many extracurricular events: such as volunteering and donating to the Special Olympics. The principal of Bardstown Elementary School, Paula Bowling recalled that "Kathy was an energetic teacher." and that "She put a lot of energy into helping her kids and was very passionate about what she did."
She was also a member of KEA and Parkway Baptist Church. She attended Parkway Baptist Church every Sunday along with her husband, Robert Netherland and their two daughters.
Sadly, after 25 years of marriage, Bob passed away on Saturday, July 13th, 2013, at Flaget Memorial Hospital after a valiant battle with colon cancer. He was a loving father, husband, and friend.
Kathy's pride and joy were her kids.
Sammi loved hanging out with friends, playing video games, and headbanging to 80's hair metal. According to her older sister, Sammi could identify each Def Leppard song from its opening guitar riffs.
Sammi also loved animals and spent many weekends volunteering at her local animal society. She dreamed of being a marine biologist and hoped to work at a place like the Newport Aquarium, which she had visited in 2013 and fell in love with.
Sammi was also passionate about school. In 2014, she was a Sophomore at Bardstown High School and was highly regarded as being one of the best students in her class. She was a member of the Academic Team, Honors Chorus, Women in Science, Adventure Club, in the Young Leaders Program and the district 2014 19 Governor's Cup Arts and Humanities Champion. She had been accepted into the Gatton Academy Program at Western KY. University. Her mom told a reporter with the Kentucky Standard that she was very excited for Sammi for being accepted into the Gatton Academy Program. And that "This was her goal and her dream and despite everything that has happened over the past year with the loss of her father, she did this on her own. I couldn't be prouder of her."
Sammi was excited about going to her first high school prom. She would send her older sister pictures of dresses asking for help picking out the right one.
According to a Facebook post made by Kathy on April 20th, 2014 "Bob would love this dress. Blue was his favorite color. It's a midnight blue with sparkles. It really reminds me of a starry night. Sam looks beautiful in it."
Sadly, Sammi would not get to attend the prom the following weekend...
Tuesday, April 22nd, Kathy and Sammi failed to show up to school. When the two schools contacted each other, they realized something major was wrong. Sammi was a very punctual student and Kathy was never even late without a phone call.
School officials began reaching out to Kathy and Sammi's family, eventually making contact with Kathy's father Norris, who then tried to reach the pair on their cell phones to no avail. He then began contacting other family members.
Kathy's eldest daughter was away at college when she got the phone call from her aunt saying that Kathy and Sammi were missing, and no one could seem to get a hold of them. Kathy's eldest daughter couldn't get a hold of them either, so Norris stopped by Kathy and Sammi's house. When he pulled up, he noticed that Kathy's car was still in the driveway and so he made the decision to go inside the house. When Norris stepped inside, he was met with a horrific scene. Kathy and Sammi been brutally murdered. Kathy had been shot multiple times and Sammi had been bludgeoned in the head. Both had knife wounds to their necks. Norris stepped outside and called the police.
Kathy's sister arrived at the scene a short time later to find cop cars lining the streets, police tape wrapped around the entire house and her father in apparent distress. She then called Kathy's eldest daughter to relay the heartbreaking news. Kathy's eldest daughter was now an orphan. Upon hearing the news, she fell of her bed screaming and crying.
The funeral for Kathy and Sammi were held on April 28th, at Parkway Baptist Church. Sammi was in the dress she never got to wear to her prom. Two days later, they were laid to rest right next to Bob in the local Bardstown City Cemetery.
On May 2nd, a memorial was held, in which fellow staff members, students, colleagues and loved ones released purple balloons for Kathy and baby blue balloons for Sammi into the sky in tribute, while Sammi's favorite Def Leppard song played.
The investigation was overseen by the Kentucky State Police who believe that police believed that the murders had unfolded at around sunset on April 21st, which was around 8p.m. It was believed that the mother and daughter had been in separate rooms when they were murdered. Nothing of value seemed to be missing from the home and Kathy and Sammi seemed beloved by all. Investigators were stumped as to what the motive could be. Detectives also theorized that the crimes had unfolded over just ten or so minutes and had likely been planned it out ahead of time.
Something bizarre happened at Kathy and Sammi's house on the New Year's Eve before their murder, which she detailed in a Facebook post:
"Earlier this afternoon we heard a noise. I thought one [of] our two cats had knocked over something. We didn't find anything disturbed so we thought it was nothing. Boy, were we wrong. A little while ago Holly opens our front door to go outside to pick up the mail and finds both glass panes in our screen door shattered. We have taken pics and I have carefully removed loose pieces of glass and the glass frames. All the shattered glass pieces have been swept up off the front porch. Guess I'll be heading to Lowes tomorrow to find replacements. Crazy how unexpected events happen."
In another post Kathy theorized a rogue gust of wind was behind this event, even though there were no reported gusts of wind on the day this incident was reported. In the Bardstown area the recorded wind patterns were actually well below the monthly average, making it a less windy day than normal.
In an Oxygen docuseries called Bardstown: the disappearance of Crystal Rogers, reporter Stephanie Bauer spoke with an anonymous prison inmate who claimed that Kathy and Sammi were killed as part of a gang initiation, stating:
"Well, I know they was tortured. I know that they were tied to their chairs. I know that one of 'em had her throat slit. They were stabbed, and one was shot. I know that trinkets were taken as trophies."
This anonymous inmate also claimed that a cellphone-jammer had been used to kill all the signal in the house and that their murders were a gang initiation.
In the docuseries, Kathy's eldest daughter said this about the chairs:
"I have been asked by the police about the relative location of chairs. This is one of those things that I'm not comfortable talking about. How they died is not one of the main things I want to think about."
She also stated that the cellphone jammer made sense because Kathy and Sammi had their cellphones with them at all times and neither had made a call for help.
Seven months after their deaths, the Kathy and Sammi's home was sold at an auction for $41,000. A new playground was also dedicated to Kathy the next year.
Kathy's eldest daughter put her entire inheritance towards the reward for information leading to resolving the murders. The reward is currently $50,000.
Anyone with information the case is asked to contact authorities at (270)-766-5078.
For updates to the case, you can go to Justice for Kathy And Samantha Facebook Page