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	Catholic Expert on Rituals Set to Testify By David Yonke Toledo Blade May 1, 2006 http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20060501/NEWS02/605010340 A Catholic priest known for his expertise in rituals and a retired Toledo detective who led the original investigation into the 1980 slaying of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl are expected to testify today in the Rev. Gerald Robinson's murder trial in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. Father Robinson's defense team, meanwhile, is continuing to press for reasonable doubt with the state's case, based on circumstantial evidence in a murder that happened 26 years ago. They plan to call witnesses later this week or early next week. The 68-year-old priest maintains his innocence. The Rev. Jeffrey Grob of the Chicago archdiocese is nationally known for his knowledge of Catholic rituals, both official church liturgy and rituals of the unofficial kind - he wrote his doctoral dissertation on exorcism. The murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl on Holy Saturday, 1980, in the sacristy of St. Joseph's Chapel in Mercy Hospital has been described by police as part of a "ritual," but they have offered no further explanation. Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor Dean Mandros said in his opening statement on April 21 that the sacristy becomes an especially sacred space between Good Friday, the day Christians observe Jesus' death on a cross, and Easter Sunday, when they celebrate his resurrection. On Good Friday, the Holy Eucharist - which Roman Catholic doctrine teaches is the very body of Christ - is removed from the chapel and placed temporarily in a tabernacle in the sacristy until Easter, when it is returned to the chapel. Sister Margaret Ann was slain in the room where the Holy Eucharist was kept. The Sister of Mercy nun was choked to the verge of death, after which the killer laid her body on the floor, draped an altar cloth over her, and stabbed her nine times over the heart in the shape of an inverted cross. A detective testified last week that the cross-shaped stab wounds were so precise that he believes the killer put an actual upside-down cross on top of Sister Margaret Ann's body and then stabbed around the edges, using the cross as a "template." After that, the killer removed the altar cloth and stabbed the nun 22 more times. Although Father Grob will be interviewed for his expertise on ritual, no one involved in the case is saying whether the questions in court today will delve into the dark side of religion to bring up aspects of exorcism, Satanic rituals, or demonology. Detective Art Marx was the lead detective in the 1980 investigation and interrogated Father Robinson late into the night on April 18, 1980. According to previous testimony by retired Toledo Police Detective William Kina, toward the end of that night of questioning, Father Robinson told police that somebody else had confessed to him about killing Sister Margaret Ann. When the detectives pressed him about the confession, Father Robinson "admitted it was a lie," Detective Kina said. Last week, the prosecution team brought 22 witnesses to the stand in five days of testimony, including renowned forensics expert Henry Lee of Connecticut, blood-pattern transfer expert Paulette Sutton of Memphis, and Dr. Diane Barnett, a deputy Lucas County coroner. They also interviewed a number of workers at the former Mercy Hospital, now a college, about the events of April 5, 1980, the day before Sister Margaret Ann would have turned 72. There were more than 90 people on the prosecution's witness list, but they only plan to call 30 to 40 witnesses. The defense listed 28 witnesses but plans to call fewer than 10. Among their experts is Kathleen Reichs, a forensic anthropologist from Charlotte, N.C., whose writings inspired the FOX-TV crime drama Bones. Contact David Yonke at: dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154. RECENT RELATED ARTICLES • Cold-Case Detective Tells Why Priest Was Suspect • Nun's Killer Used Occult Symbols, Church Expert in Rituals Testifies • Priest's Decision to Shorten Mass Upset Slain Nun, Woman Testifies • Victim's Nephew Watches Testimony 'Hoping for Justice' • Forensic Expert Says Letter Opener Could Have Been Used to Stab Nun • Experts Testify on Bloodstain Patterns, DNA • Weapon Linked to Nun's Death; Coroner Says Letter Opener Fit Jaw Wound
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