Inside the Shocking Killing of Former Bridesmaid Found Handcuffed in Bathtub Years Before Groom’s Arrest

In January 1995, the brutal killing of a beloved schoolteacher in Beaumont, Texas, left her community devastated. 

Mary Catherine Edwards, 31, was found with her hands cuffed behind her back, slouched over a bathtub in her home, according to a Department of Public Safety press release cited by the Beaumont Enterprise. She had been sexually assaulted, police say.

But it would take nearly 30 years before her friends and family would finally see justice.

In June 2021, Clayton Bernard Foreman was indicted on a capital murder charge after police made a breakthrough in the case using decades-old DNA recovered from the original crime scene.

Earlier this year, in March, Foreman was convicted of her murder, 12 News Now, The Houston Chronicle and Beaumont Enterprise reported at the time.

The beloved schoolteacher’s murder and her loved ones’ fight for justice is documented in “Tracking the Killer of Mary Catherine Edwards,” an upcoming episode on CBS News’ 48 Hours airing on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 10 ET/PT. (The show will also stream on Paramount+.)

It took nearly three decades for investigators to pin down Foreman — but once they zeroed in on him, they learned he was trailed by accusations of violence.

In 1982, Edwards was a bridesmaid at her friend Dianna Coe’s wedding. The bride herself had learned a few months prior about a rape accusation against Foreman, but he explained it away as a “misunderstanding,” Coe says in the show. 

Around 1985-86, Foreman allegedly tried to assault another one of Coe’s friends, after the friend let him inside her home when he said he wanted to discuss marital problems he was having. This witness did not testify in the trial. 

Police tell producers of the show they believe this was the same ruse Foreman may have used to enter Edwards’ home in 1992 when he killed her. 

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Following Coe’s murder, the case went cold for decades. But thanks to the advancement of genetic genealogy, police were able to find a hit for the DNA recovered from the crime scene.

Despite Foreman’s denials that he even knew Edwards, the DNA was proof he was lying.

The 48 Hours episode includes interviews with Foreman’s other victims, Edwards’ students and the investigators who never gave up on fighting for her.

48 Hours: Tracking the Killer of Mary Catherine Edwards will air on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 10 ET/PT on CBS, and can be streamed on Paramount+.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.