Retired Priest Is Convicted In '80 Slaying Of Ohio Nun

TOLEDO, May 11 -- A Roman Catholic priest was convicted Thursday of murder in the slaying of a nun who was found stabbed 26 years ago in a hospital chapel, her forehead "anointed" with a smudge of blood, her wounds forming an upside-down cross on her chest.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson, 68, was sentenced to the mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison and led away in handcuffs after a trial in which forensic experts matched the victim's wounds to a distinctive, sword-shaped letter opener found in the priest's room.

The jury took six hours to reach a verdict. Robinson's friends and family gasped when it was read; he showed no reaction.

Robinson, who had worked with Sister Margaret Ann Pahl as the hospital chaplain and presided at her funeral Mass, was a suspect early on but was not charged until two years ago. Prosecutors took a closer look at the slaying after he was anonymously accused of molestation. Those allegations have not been substantiated.

Prosecutors suggested that Robinson's relationship with the nun was strained and had reached a breaking point. According to testimony, Pahl was a taskmaster as the caretaker of the chapel and was upset over Good Friday worship services being shortened.

Pahl, 71, was killed while preparing the Mercy Hospital chapel for Easter services April 5, 1980. She was choked and stabbed 31 times, the blade plunged through an altar cloth that was left over her body in what prosecutors said looked like a ritual slaying.

Prosecutor Dean Mandros said Robinson inflicted the stab wounds in the shape of an upside-down cross, anointed Pahl with her own blood in a macabre version of the last rites and stripped off her underwear "to degrade her, to mock her, to humiliate her."

Defense attorney John Thebes said he and his client will appeal.

Bishop Leonard Blair of the Toledo Diocese issued a statement noting that Robinson is a retired priest barred from any public ministry.

The case hinged largely on the letter opener, which had a diamond-shaped cross-section and a dime-sized medallion with an image of the U.S. Capitol. Forensic experts said the blade was used to inflict the wounds, the medallion appeared to be the source of a faint stain on the altar cloth.

Robinson was a popular priest in this city of 300,000, where a quarter of the residents are Catholic. He was transferred from the hospital a year after the stabbing and became pastor at three parishes in Toledo.