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.

[Palladin]

TOLEDO BLADE Article published Friday, August 6, 2004 Trial date set for priest accused of killing nun Rev. Gerald Robinson The Rev. Gerald Robinson will go on trial for aggravated murder Feb. 22. Judge Foley set the date after discussing the progress made by prosecutors in giving discovery evidence to the priest's team of defense attorneys.

"As far as I am concerned, that is a firm date," Judge Foley said.

Father Robinson, 66, who was not present for the hearing, has pleaded not guilty of choking to death and stabbing Sister Margaret Ann in the hospital.

Her body was found April 5, 1980, in the sacristy of a chapel. She was strangled, then stabbed up to 32 times in what investigators called a ceremonial killing.

A semiretired Toledo diocesan priest, Father Robinson was arrested in April. He pleaded innocent and is out of jail on a $400,000 property bond.

"It's an appropriate trial date considering the facts and circumstances," Gary Cook, an assistant prosecutor, said after the hearing.

The trial is expected to last at least three weeks. Jury selection and the presentation of prosecution witnesses would take about two weeks, with the defense witnesses filling out the remaining week.

Mr. Cook told Judge Foley that results of DNA testing of certain evidence will be completed in about six weeks and given to Father Robinson's attorneys.

[csvset]

Thanks for the update.

[Palladin]

Granted, I am just an armchair detective, but here is my take on the DNA evidence:

In a frenzied stabbing murder like this one, the stabber often cuts himself, and his blood (DNA) intermingles with that of the victim.

I'm guessing more intricate and thorough DNA testing has been done on the linen through which Sister Margaret was stabbed. DNA tests have improved significantly in the past 24 years, and more information can be extracted from miniscule samples.

The letter-opener (presumed weapon) is not the key here.

We shall see, as the trial unfolds.

[Palladin]

I'm curious. You posted about the size of Father Robinson's hands. This indicates that you know him personally. How tall is he?

[heyheyhey]

I am checking the news about Fr. Robinson almost daily. The curious thing is that since August 6, 2004 there is NO NEWS whatsoever. How could such an exciting hot topic expire so rapidly???

Maybe the DNA tests showed something the media would be too embarrassed of itself to report?

[heyheyhey]

You posted about the size of Father Robinson's hands.

I did not.

[Palladin]

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.

159 posted on 05/04/2004 12:44:21 AM EDT by heyheyhey

Sorry, I must have misinterpreted this post.

[heyheyhey]

I do not know Fr. Robinson personally. I wrote, it couldn't be him "with large hands," because on the many pictures linked here before he appeared a rather small man.

The motive constitutes clue nr 1 to solving a murder. The media gave "ritual killing" as a possible motive. Only a complete moron who watched one too many horror movies could've come up with such motive for a good, loved and faithful Catholic priest of many decades.

[heyheyhey]

How could such an exciting hot topic expire so rapidly???

Checking the news about Fr. Robinson on November 11, 2004 again.

Nothing, nada, niente, nichts, diddley squat.

[narses]

Ping.

[Palladin]

Timeline review of the case, for those who may have forgotten details:

http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2004/04/27/in_depth_us/timeline614020_0_main.shtml

[Palladin]

Last news item I can find is from May 4. Robinson is out on bail, secured by bonds on his house, his brother's house, and the houses of friends. A banquet was held in his honor when he was bailed out. He is awaiting trial in February.


Protest At Priest's Bail Party

TOLEDO, Ohio, May 4, 2004



Priest Behind Nun Murder?

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.

(CBS/AP) Rev. Gerald Robinson, 66, is in a lot of trouble but he isn't without friends.

The semi-retired Toledo, Ohio, priest - accused of murdering a nun on Easter weekend 24 years ago - was arrested last week and is now out on bail.

Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, was strangled and stabbed 32 times on April 5, 1980, in what police said appeared to be a ritualistic murder. Robinson was long a suspect in her death and on Friday was indicted on a charge of aggravated murder.

Pahl's body was found with her arms folded, covered by an altar cloth, surrounded by lit candles, in a chapel at Mercy Hospital - where Robinson reportedly was a chaplain at the time. Details of the case have prompted the Toledo Diocese to begin an investigation of claims of satanic sex abuse by priests.

Robinson, who could be arraigned as soon as this week, is expected to enter a not guilty plea.

The Toledo Blade reports Robinson posted a $400,000 property bond Monday by putting up a house he owns with his brother, his brother's house, and the homes of two friends.

Robinson, who was arrested on April 26, did not talk to reporters as he exited the back door of the jail.

Some 70 of his supporters then held a banquet to celebrate his release, according to The Blade, which reports the event also attracted a protestor: a woman carrying a nun doll, yelling "Justice for Sister Margaret!"

The woman reportedly became enraged when one of the priest's supporters failed to hold a door open for her, and according to the paper, she allegedly began hitting him with the nun doll, which he grabbed, at which point she ripped his shirt and knocked off his glasses.

Robinson, who reportedly has three lawyers on his defense team, 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.

Regardless of the outcome of the trial, Robinson is not subject to the death penalty because it was not in effect in Ohio at the time of the killing.

A conviction could mean life in prison with eligibility for parole after 20 years.

[heyheyhey]

Last news item I can find is from May 4.

The last "news" item is dated August 5, 2004. Click the link posted in #179 - it's still alive.

As of today (November 29, 2004) there is no other "news" about Father Robinson's murder charges.

It's been nearly four months without "news." ;-D

[heyheyhey]

For the record,

Fr. Gerald Robinson's arrest was briefly mentioned in Sheila Parkhill's e-mail letter to Andrew Greeley on May 6, 2004.

In light of the arrest of Father Gerald Robinson of Toledo [see www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=1891776 - *"news" item of May 24, 2004], isn't it time you do something about the Chicago Boys Club

Details are here, Attorney Challenges Renegade Priest-Author to Expose "Ring of Predators"

[heyheyhey]

Today's update,

Toledo Blade, December 10, 2004,

Toledo's Bishop Blair reflects on a year of crises in diocese

By David Yonke
Blade Religion Editor

It's been an eventful year for Bishop Leonard Paul Blair, who was installed as the seventh bishop of the Toledo Catholic Diocese on Dec. 4, 2003.

Since that solemn ceremony at Rosary Cathedral, the new bishop has faced a number of serious crises, including the arrest of one of his priests for the 1980 murder of a nun; the recommendation to close or merge 33 parishes; $1.19 million in settlements paid to 23 victims of clerical sexual abuse, and a highly publicized dispute over moving the historic Lathrop House in Sylvania.

A Detroit native who was ordained a priest in 1976, Bishop Blair, 55, said yesterday that he would "defer to others" rather than grade himself on his first year in Toledo.

But in an interview in his spartan fourth-floor office overlooking the city's downtown, the bespectacled, gray-haired bishop acknowledged that he has been through some difficult times as leader of the 314,000 Roman Catholics in the 19-county Toledo diocese.

"The toughest things I think you know," he said in response to a question. "That would include the abuse cases and the [murder] allegations against Father [Gerald] Robinson."

Father Robinson, a longtime diocesan priest, was arrested in April on charges that he stabbed Sister Margaret Ann Pahl to death in the chapel of the former Mercy Hospital in 1980. Father Robinson awaits a trial and remains free on a $400,000 property bond.

Bishop Blair said he also has struggled with a diocesan panel's recommendations to close 17 of the 157 parishes in the diocese and to merge 16 others in creating six new churches.

"Certainly, it's not in that same category [as the sexual abuse and murder cases], and I don't see it in terms of gloom and doom," he said. But the proposed closings have been difficult for the bishop.

"Those are the big things," he said...

[...]

Bishop Blair, who holds a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, said he believes the priest shortage in the Toledo diocese and nationally reflects changes in society, not just in the church.

"There was a time when there was a strong Catholic identity and a sense of community and many young men stepped forward for the priesthood without even being asked," he said. "Those days are pretty much over."

The Toledo diocese ordained one priest this year.

Statistics show that people are postponing marriage until later in life, Bishop Blair said, and the same fear of making a lifelong commitment to a spouse is apparent in some people's hesitancy to enter the priesthood.

[...]

[heyheyhey]

Update,

Toledo Blade, December 25, 2004,

2004: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Religion on minds of many people in secular United States

By David Yonke
Blade Religion Editor

[...]

On a somber note, another national news story emanating from Toledo was the April arrest of a Toledo priest in the 1980 murder of a Catholic nun. The world's attention was riveted on Toledo when cold-case detectives arrested the Rev. Gerald Robinson and charged him with murdering Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in a hospital chapel 24 years ago. Father Robinson is free on property bond, awaiting a trial.

[...]

[heyheyhey]

Update,

Toledo Blade, December 26, 2004,

Politics, tragedy shaped regional news landscape in 2004

By Tad Vezner
Blade Staff Writer

[...]

Cold-case rekindled
In May, the bloody, ritualistic killing of a Toledo nun returned to the spotlight after decades in the cold-case bin when charges were lodged against the Toledo Catholic priest who presided at the woman's funeral service.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson was charged with the suspected ceremonial killing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, whose body was found strangled and stabbed about 30 times in the sacristy of a Mercy Hospital chapel over Easter weekend in 1980.

After the killing, police focused their investigation on Father Robinson, who was a chaplain at the hospital and whose office was around the corner from the scene of the killing, but lacked enough evidence to charge him.

The case was reopened after a woman told the Diocesan Review Board last year that she had been sexually and physically abused during her childhood by a number of catholic priests, including Father Robinson.

Since the case’s reopening, the cold-case squad said it found something "startling" after taking a new look at the physical evidence.

Father Robinson, who was placed on leave by the Diocese of Toledo, was released on $200,000 bond after some supporters put their homes up as collateral. A trial is expected in 2005.

[...]

Note that the above "news" item by Tad Vezner of Toledo Blade repeats again two of the already debunked falsehoods; one of which is that the killing of Sr. Pahl was a ritualistic killing and/or a ceremonial killing, and the other lie is that Father Robinson was involved in sexual abuse of a girl.

Fair and balanced "news," we report you decide.
Obviously, Tad Vezner never reads his own paper.

[heyheyhey]

Update,

Toledo Blade, January 29, 2005,

Accused priest has new judge, trial date

By Mark Reiter
Blade Staff Writer

A Toledo priest accused in the slaying of a nun nearly 25 years ago has a new judge and a new trial date. Newly elected Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik yesterday pushed back the trial of the Rev. Gerald Robinson to Oct. 17. It was set to begin Feb. 22.

Father Robinson, 66, who did not appear with his attorneys at the hearing, is charged with aggravated murder in the 1980 stabbing and strangulation death of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in the sacristy of a chapel in the former Mercy Hospital.

Judge Patrick Foley was assigned to handle the case when the semiretired Roman Catholic priest was indicted in April. However, Judge Foley lost his seat in the November election to Gary Cook, a Lucas County prosecutor.

As Judge Foley's successor, Judge Cook normally would have inherited the case. But because he was on the prosecution team that investigated the murder, it was assigned to Judge Osowik.

The hearing was delayed about 20 minutes while the priest's attorneys, Jack Callahan, John Thebes, and Alan Konop, and assistant prosecutors J. Christopher Anderson and Dean Mandros huddled in a conference room with Judge Osowik.

Judge Osowik took office earlier this month. He was a Toledo Municipal Court judge since 1991.

The new trial date was needed, Judge Osowik said, so the priest's defense team would have appropriate time to review and analyze information that prosecutors must provide them.

Judge Osowik said the information is of a "complex nature," and there are still some remaining items to be shared.

Under Ohio law, prosecutors must disclose evidence investigators have collected in the case, including witness statements, police reports, coroner findings, photographs, and scientific and physical evidence.

Sister Margaret Ann, 71, was strangled and then stabbed up to 32 times April 5, 1980.

Father Robinson is free on a $400,000 property bond.

Judge Osowik also continued a gag order that prevents those involved in the case from discussing it outside the courtroom.

Mr. Mandros said he could not comment on the matters discussed in the hearing because of the gag order, but he said the prosecution is treating the new trial date as a firm one. "We will be ready to go to trial," he said.

Contact Mark Reiter at:
markreiter@theblade.com
or 419-213-2134

[heyheyhey]

Recent release of additional old documents to the press caused an avalanche of local "news" reports about Father Robinson. The Toledo Blade seems to be the most informative source so far, depending on the particular author.

Other sources spin it away, and spin it good. Most obviously, they are desperate for sensationalism rather than for the truth. That's why you find in the "news" plenty of talk about "satanic rituals" and sexual abuse of young girls. These accusations primarily come from an emotionally unstable 41-year-old woman and could not be substantiated in any way, neither by the police nor by the diocese of Toledo. But that little annoyance doesn't stop the presstitutes from intertwining facts with fiction.

The "ritualism" of the 1980 killing took a new twist recently. Now the newest suspicion is that the many stabbing wounds formed a pattern of a cross on the dead nun's back, so our brave investigators of 2005 are looking for the cross - the killer, according to this new theory placed the cross like a template on the nun's back and did the thrusts accordingly. (Every "expert" knows that this is the usual way Catholic priests kill their victims - it was in some movie or something ;)).

What will happen now is that they will be checking out all crosses in Fr. Robinson's home, until they seize one or two that fit their theory. And the prosecution will have a "hard evidence" for the courtroom.

On Sunday, February 20, 2005 the Toledo Blade reported in "Dark allegations arise amid probe of nun's slaying" by Michael D. Sallah and Mitch Weiss,

"Prosecutors said police have not linked any ritual abuse to Father Robinson. So far, the murder case revolves around the physical evidence from the crime scene and anything new they discover about the priest."

And one "newly" discovered thing is that Fr. Robinson was subject to two polygraph (lie-detector) tests back in 1980. Polygraphs, by the way, have been banned from judicial procedures as unreliable in all civilianized nations, except in the US of course.

Fr. Robinson failed one polygraph test and passed the second. Which gave a wonderful opportunity for local ABC to report yesterday, 2/28/2005:

Priest Fails Polygraph
Father Robinson accused in nun's death failed polygraph

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest accused of strangling and stabbing a nun in 1980 failed one of two lie detector tests in the days after the killing, according to court documents released Monday.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson's failed test indicated he was involved with the nun's death, according to a document filed by investigators. But Robinson then passed a second polygraph test, clouding the results. (snip)

Please, note in the report that the results were "clear" and only the pesky second test caused "clouding the results." Note also, that even though the tests happened 25 years ago the title of the report is in the simple present tense: Priest Fails Polygraph as if it just happened now, and the fact that he had passed the second test only "clouded" a perfectly clear picture. It makes me wanna French-kiss a "news" reporter.

---

I ask all people of good will, Christian or not, to pray that the truth in this case would prevail. Whether you think Fr. Robinson is guilty or not, please pray and search for truth and due justice.

It is not beneficial for the world, for the country and for anyone at all to convict an innocent person.

And convicting a perfectly innocent Catholic priest in the USA apparently became a child's play thank to our spineless presstitutes and our weak Catholic Bishops.

[heyheyhey]

You may find out many interesting things about "lie-detectors." Just enter polygraph and unreliable in Google. Have fun!