Allegations renew nun's death case

Toledo Blade ^ | 25 april 2004 | David Yonke

[csvset]

Toledo police detective Steve Forrester, left, and Tom Ross, an investigator with the Lucas County prosecutor's office, and formerly of the Toledo police, talk about the Robinson case.

Allegations made last year by a Toledo woman that she was sexually and physically abused as a child by Catholic priests during Satanic and sadomasochistic rituals led to the reopening of the 1980 case of a nun's murder for which the Rev. Gerald J. Robinson was arrested Friday, authorities said.

[Ciexyz]

This is just bizarre. I find it hard to believe.

[heyheyhey]

Something just occurred to me; it's a little conspiracy theory.

The original article from link posted in #1 says the following,

When investigators took the old evidence out of storage in December, "we noticed something that was startling and apparent to us," Detective Forrester said.

The discovery involved "blood transfer patterns" that, the detectives said, conclusively placed the murder weapon at the scene of the homicide.

[...]

"Blood transfer patterns" is a rarely used technology that analyzes the patterns made when a weapon or other object is laid down, they said.

Detective Terry Cousino, who works in the police scientific unit and draws composite sketches, was able to spot the pattern because "he has an artist's eye," Mr. Ross said.

Investigators contacted "one of the most renowned experts in the country" on blood transfer patterns "and that expert has supported our theory in this case," Detective Forrester said.

So, "we noticed something that was startling and apparent to us" but it wasn't startling and apparent 24 years ago when it was new???

Maybe it didn't exist at all in 1980?

The most recent article Murder in the chapel says something interesting about a retired police officer Dave Davison,

He has spent 24 years trying to make sure the case does not die.

To Davison, Pahl deserves more dignity than she has got ten in this sleazy, cable TV- style caper. "If I am doing it for anybody, I am doing it for the dead nun," he said.

[...]

"The evidence was always there," said Davison, who in 1995 mounted a letter-writing campaign to the diocese, the Vatican, the U.S. Justice Department and even "Unsolved Mysteries" in an attempt to reopen the case. "I hate that they sat on it for whatever reason. It just wasn't fair to her."

Could it be that officer Davison had access to the evidence storage locker and wanted to "help" to solve the murder case in the style of LA Det. Mark Fuhrman (OJ's bloody glove)?

I think, this conspiracy theory is much more probable than the story about a group of Catholic priests feeding little girl with an eyeball, and it should be checked by the defense.

If so, then Davison would most likely use paint or animal blood to stamp the image of Fr. Robinson's letter opener on the bloody altar cloth. It is rather unlikely that he would use human blood, in any situation, the "fixed" stain wouldn't be done with Sr. Pahl's or Fr. Robinson's blood.

In our age of Pentiums and flights to the moon it should be easy to determine what the stains are made of.

The original 1980 police photos of the bloody cloth should reveal the difference, if there is any.

[madison10]

Not really BS. There were some Satanic incidents in Hillsdale county, Michigan around that time (well the 80's anyway). The police stumbled upon alot of stuff. I want to say some high mucky-mucks were involved, but maybe that was a movie I saw once. LOL

[madison10]

Thing is one cannot always trust the Toledo Blade either.

[madison10]

Might as well add to the list of posts:

The Toledo Police Department is one of the worst around. Not surprised at the 24 year wait on this...they are d*** slow about responding to ANYTHING.

[heyheyhey]

Thing is one cannot always trust the Toledo Blade either.

Thing is NO AMERICAN MEDIA SOURCE would ever lie in favor of the Catholic Church. That's why the latest report by Toledo Blade debunking the "ritualistic candles" around the corpse (post #130) and the report by WTOL, OH "emphasizing none of the new victims are accusing Fr. Robinson of anything" (post #125) are most trustworthy.

Lies against the Catholic Church? - YES SIR! Big time! They have great difficulty to report the truth, but to lie in favor of the Church? Never-ever!

Please, keep it in mind.

[heyheyhey]

A little addition to my "conspiracy theory" on the possibility of fixing the evidence against Fr. Robinson.

NBC4 Columbus.com, OH reported on April 27, 2004,

Weapon Reportedly Connects Priest To Nun's Murder

UPDATED: 12:44 PM EDT April 27, 2004

TOLEDO, Ohio [...] they concluded that the murder weapon [...] was "in the control of the suspect," said police detective Steve Forrester. "Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes allows you to begin making connections," Cook said.

The conspiracy question that came to my mind is this: was it really "a fresh set of eyes" or rather a fresh set of bloodstains?

[saradippity]

There is just so much more here than meets the eye. I think your last comment "a frest set of eyes,or a fresh set of bllodstains"?,is a question that needs answering.

So many of the initial stories carried the new information that: "new techniques have conclusively placed the murder weapon at the site of the homicide".Well,if that's not a "duh". By definition the murder weapon,of course,was at the site of the homicide.

The question is how did they establish what the murder weapon was to begin with if it wasn't found on the scene? There is a reason that the heat is on right now and it's much bigger than just trying to solve an old murder case.IMO.

"The past laid plans of mice and men oft go astray". Let's hope that this will lead to the real "perp". That's why we need to pray for Fr. Robinson,in any case.

[nmh]

Very strange story. I glossed through it and noticed something about a snake being used on the woman ... well a snake will not go in there ... I wonder about the valididty of these allegations.

[heyheyhey]

Some of the news reports said,

[...] investigators took a letter opener with a unique medallion from the room of the Rev. Gerald Robinson in the days after the nun's slaying [...]

A letter opener with a "unique medallion" could look like this,

or this...

There was a photo of a sharp thin pointy knife (post #87) in the news, I assumed, it was the letter opener seized in 1980 from Fr. Robinson.

A "unique medallion" soaked in blood would definitely stamp a unique stain on a white cloth. To tell that much one doesn't really need any "new technology." And for all the "new technology" talk, it appears from the reports that what they saw upon reexamining the old evidence was described as "something that was startling and apparent to us" (post #142). My question is, why wasn't it startling and apparent in the first place, when the murder was investigated in 1980??? Did it exist back then?

Officer Davison seems definitely overzealous about the case compared to the rest who concluded long ago that there was no sufficient evidence. His suggestion that the investigators were Catholic and therefore didn't want to investigate a murder of a nun is pure BS.

Davison is saying things like, “Everybody I talked to - and I talked to dozens - said either Father Robinson or that they didn't know his name, they said it was a priest,” Davison told co-anchor Harry Smith. “I mean, there was no other name mentioned.” (CBS/AP report in post #81)

- Why would EVERYBODY, Davison talked to, say it was the priest??? Did they give a motive, or witnessed anything?

With the load of the additional "ritualistic" ¢®@þ attached to the stories by "fair and balanced" media it all literally stinks to high heaven, I tell ya.

[Zeroisanumber]

Ehhh... There might actually be something to it, I'm not privy to the information that the police have and I haven't done any research on the murder. It's just that every time I read about some "satanic cult activity" in the media I start humming the scary satan-music from The Omen

Sanctus....Dominus...Sanctus...Dominus.

[heyheyhey]

Sit back, relax and enjoy the spin.

The Advocate, OH on Sunday, May 2, 2004,

Officer remembers chaos that followed nun's death

By Advocate Staff Report

TOLEDO (AP) -- Dave Davison and another police officer were eating breakfast in Mercy Hospital's cafeteria before their day shift on Easter weekend in 1980.

Suddenly, the quiet conversation was broken by shouting.

"There's a dead nun!" a nurse yelled.

The two ran to the hospital's chapel where three doctors, eight nurses and a roomful of Roman Catholic nuns were trying to revive the woman on the floor.

It was too late.

Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, had been strangled and stabbed in the chest and neck about 30 times. An altar cloth had covered her body before she was found. After help arrived, someone threw a different cloth over her face. Hospital chaplain Rev. Jerome Swiatecki performed last rites.

Now 24 years later, a priest who was the hospital's other chaplain is charged with murder in a ritualistic slaying that has the Toledo Diocese looking into claims of satanic sex abuse by priests.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson, whose attorney said he will plead innocent, is in jail on $200,000 bond. Prosecutors on Monday will announce whether a Lucas County grand jury decided to indict Robinson.

He was arrested after investigators analyzed blood patterns and concluded the murder weapon was "in the control of the suspect," police have said.

Soon after the nun's body was found, hospital employees were told to lock their doors and stairwells. Word began spreading that Sister Pahl had died a horrible death.

Davison and his partner staked out a bus station.

"At first, we didn't know if there was a monster, a mad man running around town," he said.

Before leaving, he had written down the names of everyone who had rushed into the chapel. When he began talking to them about who could have done such a thing, he said he heard the same answer repeatedly -- "Father Robinson" or "the priest."

"This is no secret," Davison said. "From day one, they said he did it."

He believes that high-ranking police bosses, who were Roman Catholic, did not allow investigators to aggressively pursue the case.

Ray Vetter, in charge of the detectives and is now retired, said there was never enough evidence to get a conviction. "It could've been the pope, and we wouldn't have let it stop us from investigating."

Vetter said Robinson always was a suspect because he was near the chapel at the time of the killing. His office was close by, and police collected several items from there.

A Toledo police detective who joined the homicide unit a few years after the murder said Vetter once asked him if he had any ideas on the case.

"That indicated to me that this bothered him, and he wanted to come up with more answers," John Tharp said. "When people talk about cover-up, that's ridiculous."

Police today say a woman who alleges she had been physically and sexually abused as a child by several priests, including Robinson, spurred them to take another look at the nun's slaying.

Investigators reopened the murder case in December after the county prosecutor's office received a letter, prosecutors said.

Following Robinson's arrest on April 23, three other people have come forward and say that they too were abused by priests in rituals years ago.

Detectives who investigated the nun's murder say that some type of ceremony had taken place, and that Robinson acted alone.

Those who worked at the hospital say Sister Pahl was always smiling and soft spoken. She spent most of her time in the chapel, a quiet place employees would visit after a bad day.

Sister Pahl rose before dawn on April 5, 1980, to prepare for services in the chapel. She ate breakfast in the cafeteria and then returned to chapel. Within little over an hour, a group nuns found her body.

She would have been 72 the next day.

She grew up with eight brothers and sisters on a farm near Edgerton, a small town near the Indiana state line. She told family members she always wanted to be a nun.

For several years, Robinson and Sister Pahl worked closely. He was the hospital chaplain and she was the chapel's caretaker.

Robinson celebrated her funeral Mass, but he didn't deliver the eulogy.

The victim's sister, Catherine Flegal, said she never spoke to Robinson and did not notice anything unusual about his demeanor during the funeral. He never mentioned his co-worker during the Mass, she remembered.

But something did happen that still leaves her at a loss.

"Right during the mass we had a storm go through and the wind blew so hard, everything just rattled," she said. "We thought the roof was going to come off.

"When we walked back out, we could see the whole west sky was just scarlet. I never experienced anything like that. It was just eerie. I really wondered what was going on."

[heyheyhey]

Even more "fair and balanced" (if that's ever possible) version of the "news" from FOX,

Priest Indicted in Nun's 'Ritualistic' Slaying

Monday, May 03, 2004

TOLEDO, Ohio — A Roman Catholic priest has been indicted on an aggravated murder charge in the slaying of a nun 24 years ago.

[...]

The nun's body was discovered in a chapel at Mercy Hospital, covered by an altar cloth. Investigators have described it as "ritualistic" slaying that has the Toledo Diocese looking into claims of satanic sex abuse by priests.

Robinson was released from jail Monday after supporters put together enough property to post a $400,000 property bond to cover his $200,000 bail. He said nothing before getting into a sport utility vehicle that was waiting for him.

[...]

Detectives have said the nun's death involved some type of ceremony and that they believe Robinson acted alone.

Robinson was arrested after investigators analyzed blood patterns and concluded that the murder weapon was in his "control." They have not identified the weapon or who owned it.

Investigators began to review the slaying after a woman contacted them alleging she was physically and sexually abused as a child by several priests, including Robinson, police said.

Three other people came forward after Robinson's arrest claiming they were abused by priests in rituals years ago. [...]

Note, how they CAN'T get rid of the "ritualistic" part - it sounds so good. More Americans trust Fox news than any other news.

[narses]

Catholic priest faces trial over ritual slaying
May 4, 2004 - 9:36AM

A Roman Catholic priest in the US will face trial for the murder of a nun 24 years ago in what's been described as a ritualistic slaying.

A grand jury met on Friday to consider the charge against the Reverend Gerald Robinson, but its decision to indict him for aggravated murder was not announced until today.

Robinson has been in jail since his arrest April 23 in the strangling and stabbing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl during Easter weekend in 1980. He was long a suspect in her death.

The nun's body was discovered in a chapel at Mercy Hospital, covered by an altar cloth.

Investigators have described it as "ritualistic" slaying that has the Toledo Diocese looking into claims of satanic sex abuse by priests.

Robinson's lawyer, Alan Konop, said his client will plead not guilty. He cannot face the death penalty because it was not in effect at the time of the killing.

Konop said he expected Robinson to be released today because supporters have put together enough property to post a $US400,000 ($A555,700) property bond to cover his $US200,000 bail.

Detectives have said the nun's death involved some type of ceremony and that they believe Robinson acted alone.

Robinson was arrested after investigators analysed blood patterns and concluded that the murder weapon was in his "control". They have not identified the weapon or who owned it.

Investigators began to review the slaying after a woman contacted them alleging she was physically and sexually abused as a child by several priests, including Robinson, police said.

Three other people came forward after Robinson's arrest claiming they were abused by priests in rituals years ago.

Authorities reopened the murder case in December based on information in a letter sent to prosecutors, but they would not say who sent the letter or what it contained.

- AP

[ultima ratio]

Part of the Vatican II springtime? "By their fruits you will know them..."

[ultima ratio]

Before everybody piles on--I admit my last post was a cheap shot.

[heyheyhey]

I admit my last post was a cheap shot.

This case generates very peculiar first reactions in most people, that's why I classify it as blatant media manipulation.

I never knew personally this particular priest, Fr. Robinson of Toledo, OH. All credible accounts about him show that he spent the last 40 years of his life as a good, faithful and quiet priest. Very much loved by all who knew him.

To connect the ridiculous murder accusation with queasy accusation of satanic sexual abuse and "satanic rituals" is truly satanic work of the media.

I pray, that Sister Pahl looks from her heavenly place and doesn't let her tragic death cause injustice to her good friend of many years and a holy priest.

[heyheyhey]

It appears that anything can happen with things stored in the Evidence Storage rooms. I have found a good number of instances, across the nation, where items like guns, cash and drugs were stolen from evidence lockers by bad cops. It confirms the possibility of the scenario of my conspiracy theory that officer Dave Davison wanted to solve the case so badly that he could have taken the evidence (bloody cloth) out of storage and tinker with it (make the "needed" bloody knife imprint) before returning it back to the storage and raising hell about a "Catholic cover-up."

A thorough examination of the critical stain is of greatest importance in this case.

The "newly discovered" stain may be made with tomato sauce or animal blood - what else would a stupid bad cop use? He had 23 years to do whatever, if my theory is true.

For all the skeptics of my "conspiracy theory" and all believers in police impeccability I dedicate the following stories from police evidence storage facilities,

National Review on 10/03/2000
Exploring the Murky Depths of the LAPD

[...] In the New York Times Magazine article, "One Bad Cop," Cannon focuses on Rafael Perez, the jailed ex-cop at the center of the Rampart Scandal. Perez was arrested after an internal-affairs investigation revealed he had stolen eight pounds of cocaine from an evidence-storage facility, which he apparently then sold on the street. After his first trial deadlocked 8-4 for conviction, investigators uncovered additional evidence that would have sealed his fate in a retrial. Faced with a lengthy prison sentence, Perez did what criminals often do when backed into a corner: He rolled over on his friends. [...]

Iowa Department of Public Safety
For immediate release
Des Moines, Iowa
Wednesday, July 03, 2002
ALTOONA MAN ARRESTED IN LAB THEFT

[...] McGinnis an employee of the Iowa Communications Network, admitted to agents that he had stolen contraband and tampered with evidence while working on communication wiring in the DCI crime laboratory evidence room located in the Wallace State Office Building. On June 21, 2002, laboratory personnel discovered that evidence was missing from the evidence room. [...] McGinnis provided a statement to investigators admitting he acted alone in the theft and led investigators to the missing cocaine evidence, which he was repackaging for sale. McGinnis signed in and entered the storage area for repair work on six separate occasions between May 1, 2002 and June 10, 2002. [...]

Daily News, Volusia, FL on February 6, 2004
SHERIFF JOHNSON REQUESTS OUTSIDE EVIDENCE AUDIT

[...] The Sheriff’s Office launched the investigation last month after discovering substantial amounts of cocaine and marijuana missing from the agency’s evidence compound. Two days into its own investigation, the Sheriff’s Office uncovered indications of possible criminal activity and asked FDLE to conduct a criminal probe. The State Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office also are involved in the investigation. The stolen drugs were connected to six criminal cases – two closed and four that are still open. [...]

Daily News, Volusia, FL on February 11, 2004 EVIDENCE MANAGER CHARGED WITH THEFT OF DRUGS

Fired last week from his job as evidence manager for the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Timothy Wallace was arrested Wednesday morning on charges that he stole nearly $500,000 worth of drugs from the department’s evidence facility. [...]

There is one International Association for Property and Evidence, its website features HUNDREDS of instances of theft from evidence storage rooms.

I.A.P.E. on May 17, 2001 $38,000 stolen from court evidence room

NEW ORLEANS - About $38,000 in cash has been stolen from an evidence storage room at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, including about $20,000 that prosecutors planned to use in a major drug trial.

[...]

On Tuesday, prosecutors planned to present $19,824 they said was confiscated from a drug dealer. Instead, a deputy clerk had to testify that the money was logged into the evidence room and later disappeared.

Lombard said about $38,000 is unaccounted for in several pending prosecutions, although the amount could change following an audit.

[...]

There were no signs of a break-in, detectives suspect an inside theft, he said.

[...]

The last serious theft from the evidence room was in 1991, when 81 guns were stolen. A deputy clerk was charged with burglary, but acquitted.

I.A.P.E. on April 9, 2003 PLEA OK'D IN CUSTOMS THEFT CASE

A former U.S. Customs Service supervisor who stole $95,290 from a government evidence locker could be sentenced to up to 18 months in prison under a plea deal reached Tuesday in federal court. [...]

Officer Davison was suspiciously overzealous in this case, he wrote the letters to the Vatican, Unsolved Mysteries and the DoJ, and announced that everybody he talked to had said Fr. Robinson killed Sister Pahl.

Even now it appears that he is the one who gives most of the interviews to the press. His zeal in accusing Fr. Robinson without a cause needs to be checked out - the never seen before bloody stain...

[heyheyhey]

Toledo Blade reported on Sunday, May 2, 2004,

A coroner's investigator would say she believed the sister had been strangled from behind by someone with large hands.

That's NOT Fr. Robinson's hands.

[heyheyhey]

"...Investigators began to review the slaying after a woman contacted them alleging she was physically and sexually abused as a child by several priests...",

It appears they dropped for good the casket with cockroaches, human eyeball, killing kids, mutilating dogs and penetration with a snake by a group of Catholic priests.

That was the best part of the "news" and I'm gonna miss it.

;-D