May 12, 2006

Priest Found Guilty of Nun's 1980 Murder

OHIO
The New York Times

By CHRISTOPHER MAAG
Published: May 12, 2006
CLEVELAND, May 11 — A priest was found guilty on Thursday of murdering a nun 26 years ago in what another priest testified was a ritual intended to defile the nun.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson, 68, was sentenced to 15 years to life.
The defendant, the Rev. Gerald Robinson, 68, showed no emotion as the jury verdict was read in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Toledo. Judge Thomas J. Osowik sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison.

Father Robinson's lawyer said he would appeal the verdict, which the jury handed up after seven hours of deliberations.

The body of the nun, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, was found on April 5, 1980, in the chapel at Mercy Hospital in Toledo. She had been preparing the Eucharist for Easter services. Her killer laid an altar cloth across her body before stabbing her 31 times. Nine stab wounds to the chest were in the shape of an upside-down cross.

Posted by kshaw at May 12, 2006 07:02 AM