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	Hospital Workers Saw Priest near Chapel on Morning of Nun's Death By John Seewer The Associated Press, carried in Beacon Journal May 4, 2006 http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/14500192.htm TOLEDO, Ohio - Three employees at a hospital where a nun was stabbed to death a day before Easter in 1980 say they saw a priest charged with killing her just outside the building's chapel within an hour before her body was found inside. One of the witnesses testified Thursday that she saw the Rev. Gerald Robinson coming out of the chapel doors with a dark duffel bag in his hands. "I nodded, and he nodded," said Grace Jones, who worked in a hospital laboratory. Robinson, a former chaplain at the hospital, is accused of choking and stabbing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. Prosecutors spent the final day of their case trying to cast doubt about what Robinson, 68, told police, including his whereabouts the morning Sister Pahl was killed. The priest has maintained he was in his room until he was called when the nun's body was found. For the first time during the trial, witnesses said they saw Robinson in the vicinity of the chapel. Jones said she was waiting for an elevator when she saw Robinson come out the chapel. She couldn't recall exactly what time she saw him and said he walked toward an exit door and another elevator. Medical technician Leslie Kerner said she saw Robinson by the doors of the chapel about an hour before another nun discovered Sister Pahl's body. "He just had dark clothing on," Kerner said. Defense attorney Alan Konop pointed out that, according to a police report, Kerner told investigators that she looked down the hallway and didn't see anyone. Kerner said she did not tell police she saw Robinson that morning because they only asked if she saw anyone unusual that day. A third former hospital employee, Dr. Jack Baron, said he ran toward the chapel when he heard an emergency call over a hospital speaker. He mistakenly ran past the chapel and saw another man walking toward it wearing black garments and a priest's collar, he said. Baron didn't know whether the man was Robinson, he testified after looking at photos of Robinson from the time. The man in the hallway looked over his shoulder at Baron, he said. "He gave me a stare that went right through me," Baron said. When the doctor turned around and ran back to the chapel, the priest was no longer around and Baron was told that the nun was already dead, he testified. The prosecution rested its case after two investigators talked about their interviews with Robinson. A former Toledo police officer, James Wiegand, said that Robinson told him in 1980 that he was getting dressed when he was called in his room about the murder. Robinson was later shown on tape saying in 2004 that he just woke up and finished showering when he got the call. Tom Ross, an investigator with the Lucas County prosecutor's office, testified that Robinson changed his story about whether or not he locked the door to his room in the hospital. Both sides ended the day by playing recordings of Robinson's interview with Ross just after he was arrested in April 2004. Much of it was inaudible in the courtroom. Jurors will be able to listen to the tapes once the begin deliberations next week. The defense will begin its case Friday and is expected to only take about two days. Robinson worked closely with Sister Pahl, the chapel caretaker. He presided over the funeral of the nun. He was a suspect early on because his living quarters were near the chapel, but he wasn't charged until two years ago when authorities reopened the case. Prosecutors focused their case on Robinson's letter opener, which they say was used to kill Sister Pahl. Investigators say stab wounds on her chest formed an upside-down cross, a symbol that an expert on Roman Catholic law and the occult testified Monday has been used in satanic worship and could have been intended to mock God. The Rev. Jeffrey Grob said only a priest, nun or seminary student would understand the significance of the inverted cross along with other aspects of the crime scene, including a small streak of blood on the nun's forehead that could have been made by someone forming the sign of the cross on her head. DNA tests on the cloth, the letter opener and a stain on Sister Pahl's undergarments did not link Robinson to the scene, according to DNA experts' testimony. Robinson could get life in prison if convicted of murder.
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