Minoriteeburg
11-05-2006, 19:22
Priest convicted of murdering nun
The Rev. Gerald Robinson faces a mandatory life sentence for the killing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl
Thursday, May 11, 2006; Posted: 12:57 p.m. EDT (16:57 GMT)
The Rev. Gerald Robinson faces a mandatory life sentence for the killing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A priest was convicted Thursday of stabbing a Roman Catholic nun to death as she prepared for Easter services at a hospital 26 years ago, a murder prosecutors say was steeped in religious ritual.
Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was stabbed 31 times through an altar cloth, with the punctures forming an upside down cross. Her killer then anointed her with a smudge of her blood on the forehead to humiliate her in death, prosecutors said.
The Rev. Gerald Robinson, now 68, had worked closely with Sister Pahl at the Mercy Hospital chapel, where her body was discovered on April 5, 1980.
He had been early suspect, but he wasn't charged until two years ago. His attorneys argued that the nun's underwear and fingernails had traces of DNA that that wasn't from Robinson, and that there were no witnesses to place Robinson at the crime.
Prosecutors suggested that Robinson had a strained relationship with the nun, a strict taskmaster, and that he had reached a breaking point with her that day.
The jury deliberated for six hours before finding him guilty of murder, and Judge Thomas Osowik immediately sentenced him to the mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison.
Robinson, who wore his priest's collar throughout the trial, had no visible reaction as the verdict was read.
Afterward, a courtroom deputy handcuffed him behind his back and lead him away.
"Let us hope that the conclusion of the trial will bring some measure of healing for all those affected by the case as well as for our local church," Leonard Blair, bishop of the Toledo Diocese, said in a statement. "The diocese has remained steadfast in the work of the Church and its ministries throughout this trial, and will continue to do so."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/11/nun.slaying.ap/index.html
Holy shit! (no puns intended) that was one pissed off priest.
31 times, what in the hell drives a person to stab someone expecially a nun 31 times???
The Rev. Gerald Robinson faces a mandatory life sentence for the killing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl
Thursday, May 11, 2006; Posted: 12:57 p.m. EDT (16:57 GMT)
The Rev. Gerald Robinson faces a mandatory life sentence for the killing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A priest was convicted Thursday of stabbing a Roman Catholic nun to death as she prepared for Easter services at a hospital 26 years ago, a murder prosecutors say was steeped in religious ritual.
Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was stabbed 31 times through an altar cloth, with the punctures forming an upside down cross. Her killer then anointed her with a smudge of her blood on the forehead to humiliate her in death, prosecutors said.
The Rev. Gerald Robinson, now 68, had worked closely with Sister Pahl at the Mercy Hospital chapel, where her body was discovered on April 5, 1980.
He had been early suspect, but he wasn't charged until two years ago. His attorneys argued that the nun's underwear and fingernails had traces of DNA that that wasn't from Robinson, and that there were no witnesses to place Robinson at the crime.
Prosecutors suggested that Robinson had a strained relationship with the nun, a strict taskmaster, and that he had reached a breaking point with her that day.
The jury deliberated for six hours before finding him guilty of murder, and Judge Thomas Osowik immediately sentenced him to the mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison.
Robinson, who wore his priest's collar throughout the trial, had no visible reaction as the verdict was read.
Afterward, a courtroom deputy handcuffed him behind his back and lead him away.
"Let us hope that the conclusion of the trial will bring some measure of healing for all those affected by the case as well as for our local church," Leonard Blair, bishop of the Toledo Diocese, said in a statement. "The diocese has remained steadfast in the work of the Church and its ministries throughout this trial, and will continue to do so."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/11/nun.slaying.ap/index.html
Holy shit! (no puns intended) that was one pissed off priest.
31 times, what in the hell drives a person to stab someone expecially a nun 31 times???