There were gasps and some applause in the Ohio courtroom when Father Gerald Robinson’s heard the guilty verdict. He was immediately sentenced to a mandatory jail term of between 15 years and life, and led away in handcuffs. The 68 year old priest remained passive when he heard his fate.
Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was found murdered on a chapel floor in April 1980. She had been strangled, covered in an altar cloth and stabbed 31 times in the shape of an upturned holy cross.
She had been grabbed from behind and choked so violently that the blood vessels in her eyes burst and two bones in her neck broke, prosecutors told the trial. Prosecutor Dean Mantros said that Robinson pushed up the nun's robe and yanked down her pantyhose, girdle and underwear.
Medallion the key
Robinson was an early suspect in the case but has continually denied involvement. He was arrested in 2004, after a woman came forward with claims that she had been sexually abused by a group of priests who performed Satanic rituals and held sadomasochistic orgies.
A spot of blood on a medallion on the priest's letter opener was eventually found to match a bloodstain on the altar cloth that had covered the nun’s body. Prosecutors said this was the key to the conviction.
But the priest pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and was only put on leave during the trial. Supporters put up US$400,000 (A$517,000) in bail so that he could remain free during the hearing.
Sister Margaret Ann Pahl had belonged to the Sisters of Mercy order for 53 years before her murder. President of the order, Sister Marjorie Rudemiller said in a statement: "All of us continue to live with the sorrow of a sudden death, the loss of a loved one, and the belief that Sister Margaret Ann now experiences eternal life. God's grace enables us to forgive the person who caused her death."
“Satanic” rite
Occult expert Father Jeffrey Grob, of the Archdiocese of Chicago, told the trial on Monday that the murder scene had all the markings of a Satanic rite. He said there was deep symbolism in the fact that an altar cloth was placed over the nun’s body before she was stabbed in the shape of an upside down cross, which is an affront to God.
Whoever perpetrated this crime "clearly (had) some kind of knowledge of ritual, certainly a nun, a priest or possibly a seminarian," Father Grob told the jury.
But the prosecutor claimed that the most likely explanation was less dramatic, in his closing argument, Mr Mandros said, "This is about a most common scenario: a man got very angry at a woman and the woman died. The only difference is, the man wore a white (priest's) collar and the woman wore a (nun's) habit."
He said the Priest’s most likely motive was humiliation. Robinson did not like working at the hospital owned and operated by the nuns or the sister's domineering manner. The slaying was a mockery of Roman Catholic ritual, the prosecutor said, calculated to humiliate the nun and declare Robinson's anger.
At a press conference after the verdict, defence attorney John Thebes expressed gratitude to the supporters who had helped the priest. He emphasised that Robinson's health is not good and that the Ohio prison system is a harsh environment. When asked about Robinson’s the defense team said: "He is meek and not confrontational."
The priest has 10 days to decide whether to appeal.