Posted on 04/24/2004 1:18:10 PM PDT by freepatriot32
TOLEDO, Ohio (April 24) - A Roman Catholic priest charged in the 1980 strangling and stabbing of a nun whose body was found in a hospital chapel had always been a suspect in the killing.
Police never could gather enough evidence, though, until they reopened the case about five months ago. On Friday, police arrested the Rev. Gerald Robinson, who performed the funeral for the 71-year-old nun.
Police Chief Mike Navarre would only say that "new technology" led them back to Robinson, 66, who was charged with murder. Navarre would not talk about evidence or a motive.
Robinson and Sister Margaret Ann Pahl worked together at Mercy Hospital, where he was chaplain.
Pahl was strangled and stabbed about 30 times on April 5, 1980. Her body was found surrounded by lit candles with her arms folded across her chest in the chapel, where she was the caretaker.
It was described by some investigators as a "ritualistic" killing.
The victim's sister, Catherine Flegal, said Saturday she was shocked to hear of an arrest more than 24 years after the crime.
"I thought it was very sad to think anyone could do such a thing, worse yet it was a priest," she said. "I think that man must have been very sick. Lord only knows what possessed him."
Police never suspected robbery as a motive because they found Pahl's purse and several gold crucifixes near her body.
"It is about the most outrageous thing I can think of," said Ray Vetter, a retired deputy police chief who investigated the killing. "It was even more galling that we didn't make an arrest. It must've aged me 10 years."
Robinson, whose office was steps from the chapel, remained a primary suspect because he was near the chapel at the time of the killing, Vetter said Saturday.
"He was a suspect, but he wasn't the only suspect," Vetter said.
There was some evidence but not enough to get a conviction against anyone, he said.
Robinson stayed at the hospital until 1981, when he was appointed pastor at three parishes in Toledo. He moved to a church in suburban Toledo in 1989 and five years later became chaplain at a nursing home.
He is no longer assigned to a position within the diocese and has been performing pastoral care at nursing homes and hospitals in the Toledo area, said Sally Oberski, a diocese spokeswoman.
He was being held in the Lucas County jail. It was unclear if he had legal representation or when he would be arraigned.
Police restarted the cold case based on a tip provided to the county prosecutor's office.
The Rev. Michael Billian, spokesman for the Diocese of Toledo, said church officials will cooperate with police. "It certainly saddens the diocese," he said.
04-24-04 1542EDT
we will only know the truth if/when we get to heaven......
You will change your opinion about Fr. Robinson upon getting to know a few facts,
Allegations renew nun's death case
You will love the continued updates.
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