The Murder of Andrew ‘Drew’ Cato IV

For this case I watched an episode of Living A Nightmare. It’s season 1 episode 5, titled ‘A Son’s Last Kiss.’

A young father disappears after going to meet his ex-girlfriend.

Background

Andrew ‘Drew’ Cato IV was born on May 16, 1989. He grew up in a tight knit family, and had been living with his mom Ravonna at the time of his disappearance.

Andrew or Drew as he is sometimes called, was a loving father of two: Allie and Hayden. He was described as a happy person and hard worker. He worked at FireTech, a company that fixes and installs sprinklers. Drew’s dad said the job was perfect for him, he loved to take things apart, and put them back together.

The Disappearance

On May 5, 2018, Drew’s sister Morgan texted Drew around 8am, and told him that they were getting ready to return home from their vacation in Florida. Drew had been watching their dog, and had borrowed Morgan’s car for the week. Morgan said Drew didn’t respond, but she figured he was probably still sleeping.

Later that afternoon, Morgan returned back to Augusta, Georgia, and texted her brother once again. Drew still didn’t answer, so Morgan called their mom. Ravonna said that Drew wasn’t home, and that he left around 11pm the previous night to go out. The rest of the family hadn’t heard from his since the night before either.

Drew still hadn’t been in contact with anyone by that Sunday evening, and his family said they knew something was wrong. The Cato family filed a missing persons report on May 7, with the Richmond County Sheriff’s office.

The Search for Drew

The police began their investigation by talking to Ravonna. As far as they knew, she was the last one to see her son. Ravonna said that Drew worked on Saturday, and was at home until about 11pm, when he told her he was going out to fix a leak at a job site.

The investigators put out a BOLO (be on the lookout) for Morgan’s 2011 Ford Focus, which Drew was still in possession of.

Next, they went to speak to Larry Diaz, Drew’s boss. They asked him if it was normal for his employees to go out to fix a leak that late at night. Larry told them no, Drew wouldn’t have done that.

The police believed Drew had gone out to meet someone that he didn’t want his family to know about. They obtained Drew’s phone records, and discovered he had been texting with his ex-girlfriend Blaeke Wolfe, who was also the mother of Hayden. They now believed Blaeke had been the last one who saw Drew that night.

The Ex-Girlfriend

By this point, Drew had been missing for about 42 hours. They contacted Blaeke, and asked her about her relationship with Drew.

Blaeke and Drew met at a bar through a mutual friend. They were very smitten with each other, and she had lived with him and Morgan for awhile. The relationship was happy in the beginning, but Blaeke said they broke up before she found out she was pregnant. They stayed in contact for the sake of their son.

The police asked Blaeke if she saw Drew that night, and she said yes. Drew came over, and they hooked up in his car. They had also talked about getting back together, and this resulted in the breakup of Drew and his current girlfriend Cassandra.

Blaeke said she snuck out of her mom’s house, and that she was with Drew until about 12:45am. Her mom called her to come back inside, and she watched Drew drive away.

A Love Triangle Gone Wrong?

The police learned of a possible motive after their conversation with Blaeke. Drew had been in a relationship with a woman named Cassandra, but had cheated on her with Blaeke.

The police contacted Cassandra, and it was very apparent that she was emotional about Drew’s disappearance. They asked her about her relationship with him, and she said they had broken up the day he went missing. She had discovered his infidelity, and she called him while he was at work. Cassandra said the last thing text he sent her was “don’t text me anymore.”

Cassandra was ruled out. She had been at home all night with her kids.

A Discovery

Four days after Drew disappeared, the investigators received a tip. Someone said they saw someone that looked like Drew at an auto parts store two days after Drew disappeared. The police went to the store, and spoke to the manager. He confirmed this, and said the man had driven up in a Ford Focus.

The day after the tip came in, the car was located in Dogwood Terrace, a high crime area. The police looked inside the car. There was no sign of any kind of a struggle, but a blanket and pillow was found in the backseat. This confirmed Blaeke’s story that they had fooled around.

Unfortunately, Drew wasn’t located, but the police did find a fingerprint on the car. It came back to a man named Lonnell Davis. Lonnell lived with his grandmother, just a few feet away from where the car was found.

While trying to locate Lonnell, the police received another tip about Drew being alive. This time, the tipster said a man matching Drew’s description had come into a pharmacy with a unidentified black male. This turned out to be a false lead, the man wasn’t Drew.

Lonnell also came into the police station on his own. He told the police that he had been with friends on Saturday, because his grandma kicked him out. Lonnell said his friend Malik had shown him a picture of a missing man and the car that was seen in the parking lot. Lonnell said his DNA was on the car because he saw a blanket and pillow in the backseat and thought it was a body. Malik confirmed Lonnell’s story, and they were both ruled out.

A Premeditated Plan

Drew had now been missing for 19 days, and the attention turned back to his ex-girlfriend Blaeke. The police learned from the GPS on Drew’s phone put him at Blaeke’s house on Winter Rd., after the time that she said he had left.

The police brought Blaeke into the station, and they said they knew Blaeke had something to do with it when they saw the look on her face. Blaeke said Drew had been verbally abusive over the past month, because she didn’t have a job or a drivers license. She also said Drew was on drugs and suicidal. Blaeke said she confided in her childhood friend Devin Stringfield.

Blaeke said that she and Devin talked about “talking some sense” into Drew. Blaeke claims that she was surprised when Devin showed up on that Saturday night. He told her that he had dragged Drew out of the car, and fought him. Blaeke said she thought that a fight had occurred, and that was it.

When Devin was brought in, he denied it at first. He said he didn’t remember anything because he had been on a lot of drugs and medication. The police told Devin that his phone put him on Winter Rd., on the night Drew went missing.

Devin then admitted to driving over to Blaeke’s, and dragging Drew out of the car. Devin said he told Drew to “shut the f*** up,” and that Drew started to fight him. Devin said he wasn’t very good at fighting, so he pulled out his gun and shot him. He then put Drew into his toolbox on the back of his truck, and disposed of him.

The police knew that there was more to the story, and Blaeke eventually broke down. She said that she believed Drew was going to take her to court, so that he could get full custody of their son. Blaeke said she didn’t want to lose her child, so she created a plan with Devin. She lured Drew over for sex, but believed that Devin was just going to beat him up, not kill him.

Devin’s brother told the police that he saw his brother cleaning out his toolbox a week before the murder, which proved it was premeditation.

Arrest and Convictions

Blaeke Wolfe and Devin Stringfield were both arrested.

Drew’s body was located in McCormick County over Memorial Day weekend. His remains were badly decomposed due to the elements.

Blaeke and Devin pleaded guilty to malice murder, second degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. They were both sentenced to life without parole.

Blaeke’s mom Virginia was also arrested and charged with concealment of a death. Blaeke had told her about the next day. She was granted a bond of $7,500.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Again, there are SO many cases like this. Blaeke was manipulative, and was able to talk her childhood friend, who admitted to having a crush on her, to do her dirty work. Devin most likely knew that Blaeke was using him, but he had hopes that they would get together after he did this. Instead, they took a innocent man’s life and ruined their lives in the process. Two young children were robbed of a life with their father, and now Hayden lost both parents. It’s heartbreaking for Drew’s family. They searched for Drew for many days, and Blaeke knew what happened all along. I hope she thinks about what she did to Drew and to her son while she’s rotting in prison.

Sources

https://thecinemaholic.com/andrew-drew-cato-murder/

https://heavy.com/entertainment/blaeke-wolfe-devin-stringfield-sentence-trial-update-now-2020/

https://www.augustachronicle.com/news/20191031/two-plead-guilty-in-andrew-cato-homicide

https://www.wjbf.com/top-stories/drew-cato-murder-suspects-sentenced-to-life-with-parole/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/205011403566508/