The murder of Suzie Knuth will be featured on a new episode of Swamp Murders on Investigation Discovery . Swamp Murders’ new season began last week with an episode detailing the murder of a mother of four who was found dead in the French Broad River.
Tonight’s episode will chronicle the murder of Suzanne Knuth, aka Suzie Knuth, a 23-year-old woman who vanished and was later found buried on a beach in Texas. Chester Wicker was convicted and sentenced to death for her brutal murder. The Swamp Murders episode, entitled “Good Friday, Deadly Friday,” will tell the tragic story through interviews with a family member, police officials, and others connected to the case.
The case of Suzie Knuth made headlines in 1980, when she vanished into thin air. Knuth had been traveling with her husband, Calvin Knuth, to the home of a friend for a dinner engagement. Things took a tragic turn when their car broke down, leading Calvin to leave on foot to look for help. Suzanne Knuth tried to catch up to her husband on foot, but the two never saw each other again. According to Calvin, he came back with the car and couldn’t find his wife. Gripped with fear, he went back to the Beaumont Shopping Center Mall to look for her, but was unable to find her.
The frantic husband, who was once an Air Force officer, went to the homes of several friends to look for her. Witnesses say that the young man was absolutely desperate to find out what happened to his wife. The answer wouldn’t become apparent for 18 days, until the killer finally confessed and showed police where her body was buried.
According to court documents, Chester Lee Wicker borrowed his mother’s car on Good Friday and abducted Suzie Knuth when he saw her walking alone. He drove her out to an isolated location in Galveston Beach County, near Crystal Beach, where she was assaulted and choked before he buried her in a shallow grave. Chester Wicker didn’t know the woman was still alive. A couple of witness remembered seeing a dark haired woman fighting with a man before he picked her up and threw her in the car. One witnesses told investigators that it was her husband, Calvin. Calvin was immediately cleared by police, but locals believed that he was the man who killed her, before Wicker’s confession.
For her death, Chester Wicker was put to death in 1986 at the age of 37. His last meal was lettuce and tomatoes, according to the book Texas Death Row by Bill Crawford. According to the Movies Based On True Stories Archives, the murder of Suzie Knuth, which also spelled incorrectly as Kruth, is most likely the basis for the 1993 movie entitled The Vanishing, starring Sandra Bullock.
Tune in to Investigation Discovery tonight at 7 p.m. central for Swamp Murders .
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