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ROBINSON-PAHL (UPDATED) May-11-2006 (580 words) With photo. xxxn
Ohio priest convicted, sentenced to life in 1980 murder of nun
By Catholic News Service
TOLEDO, Ohio (CNS) -- Father Gerald Robinson, a retired priest of the Diocese of Toledo, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison May 11 for the murder more than 26 years earlier of Mercy Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
Father Robinson, 68, was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs after the verdict was announced and Common Pleas Judge Thomas Osowik sentenced him. He could be eligible for parole in 15 years.
The jury deliberated for six hours and 25 minutes before handing down the verdict.
"This is a sad day for the Diocese of Toledo," Bishop Leonard P. Blair said in a statement. He called for prayers for Sister Margaret Ann, her family and the Sisters of Mercy; the judge, jury, attorneys and witnesses in the trial; and Father Robinson.
"Let us hope that the conclusion of the trial will bring some measure of healing for all those affected by the case as well as for our local church," the bishop added. "The diocese has remained steadfast in the work of the church and its ministries throughout this trial, and will continue to do so."
Bishop Blair said Father Robinson, who was suspended from all public activity as a priest in April 2004 after his arrest and retired two months later, remains barred from any public ministry.
Sister Margaret Ann, 71, was strangled and then stabbed 31 times in the chapel at the now-closed Toledo Mercy Hospital, where she and Father Robinson both worked at the time.
Prosecutors said the fact that the murder occurred on Holy Saturday and some elements of the crime -- such as stab wounds in the shape of an upside-down cross, an "anointing" in blood on the nun's forehead and the use of an altar cloth in the murder -- indicated that the killing had a ritualistic or Satanic nature.
Father Robinson was not charged in Sister Margaret Ann's murder until 2004 after a woman accused him and others of sexual abuse, Satanic activity and other crimes. The jury did not hear testimony about those accusations, however.
Attorneys for the state also presented evidence linking a letter opener in Father Robinson's room at the hospital to the nun's wounds, and two witnesses testified that they had seen the priest near the hospital chapel on the morning of the murder, although he told police he had not left his room during that time.
Defense attorneys criticized the prosecution for failing to establish a motive in the case and showed that the DNA found in the nun's underwear and under her fingernails did not match Father Robinson's.
A witness for the prosecution said, however, that because DNA was not commonly used as evidence in trials in 1980, it was not protected from contamination and the sample could have come from medical personnel or others who came near the nun's body after her death.
Nationally known forensic anthropologist and mystery author Kathleen Reichs, whose career inspired the Fox television show "Bones," testified for the defense that efforts to link a wound in Sister Margaret Ann's jawbone to the priest's letter opener may have damaged the bone and thus compromised evidence.
Bishop Blair said it was up to Father Robinson and his attorneys "to determine the course of any future legal proceedings they may wish to pursue."
"The Diocese of Toledo will continue to cooperate with the civil authorities regarding any required future court proceedings," he added.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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