Shivangi Sinha
Sara Krauseneck was only three and a half years old when she discovered the remains of her mother, Cathleen “Cathy” Krauseneck, in her bed. Later that evening, she told her father, James Krauseneck, that a “bad man” had been in the room. He was the one who found her and called the authorities. In the years that followed, Sara was raised by her father and remained by his side and even defended him when he was arrested in 2019 for the murder. Her story and the emotional toll the crime took on her have been featured in NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Bad Man’ and CBS’s ‘48 Hours: The Brighton Ax Murder.’
Sara Krauseneck Was in the House When Her Mother Was Killed
Sara Krauseneck was born in April 1978 to James and Cathleen Krauseneck, who were then living in Fort Williams, Colorado. The family later moved to Virginia and eventually settled in Brighton, New York, in late 1981. On February 19, 1982, James returned home from work around 5 pm and claimed he noticed the garage door had been broken into and glass scattered on the floor. Upon entering the bedroom, he said he found Cathleen lying on the bed with an axe lodged in her head. He then found Sara in her room, took her to a neighbor’s house, and called the police. According to James’ statements at the time, he said it seemed like his daughter had dressed herself. She was wearing two sweaters, both put on backward. Sara did not have any injuries.
James claimed that she had told him that a “bad man” had been in their bedroom. He also said she spoke about being scared and unsure of how to contact him or where to ride her bike. James refused to allow the police to question Sara, and soon after, he took her and moved to Michigan, where his parents lived. From then on, he raised Sara and remained primarily in his care. She later moved with him to Washington and Arizona, and she got along well with the women James married, especially his fourth wife, Sharon Krauseneck. In 1991, James gave a statement in which he said that Sara was dealing with the loss in her own way, and he thought she knew what happened to Cathleen.
Sara Krauseneck Voiced Her Support For James Krauseneck
In November 2019, when James Krauseneck was arrested for the 1982 murder of his wife, Cathleen Krauseneck, their daughter, Sara, stood by him. She attended all of his court hearings and consistently told Brighton Police Department detectives that she believed her father was innocent. In 2022, when James was convicted of second-degree murder, Sara gave a victim impact statement before his sentencing. She shared that her father had always spoken about her late mother with kindness and expressed her heartbreak at losing both her parents, one to murder and the other to prison, and said she felt as though she had failed.
Since then, it has been reported that Sara moved out of the country and now goes by the name Sara Ann Young. She would be in her 40s today and understandably prefers to lead a private life. As she has chosen to stay away from the public eye, not much is known about her current whereabouts or activities. After the passing of her father in May 2023, the emotional weight of losing both parents under such circumstances must have been deeply difficult for her.
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