Man arrested in shocking killings of 2 Mississippi nuns
DURANT, Miss.—A man suspected in the slayings of two nuns found dead in their Mississippi home has been arrested and charged with capital murder in the shocking killing that rocked the small town communities where the women served, authorities said.
Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, was charged in the deaths of Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said late Friday. Both women were 68.
People who knew the nuns, known for their generosity and commitment to improving health care for the poor, have been grappling with why anyone would want to kill them.
Dr. Elias Abboud, the physician who oversees the clinic in Lexington where the nuns worked, said Saturday that Sanders was not a patient there.
Sanders was also not known to the small congregation where Held and
Merrill led Bible study for years.
The Rev. Greg Plata, sacramental minister at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington, said Saturday that he does not think people at the church knew Sanders.
The women’s bodies were discovered Thursday after they failed to show up for work in Lexington, about 10 miles from where they lived.
“Sanders was developed as a person of interest early on in the investigation,” Lt. Colonel Jimmy Jordan said in the statement.
Authorities said Sanders was being held in an undisclosed detention center pending a court appearance. They have not given any details on why they think Sanders killed the women or whether he knew them.
Strain said Saturday he does not know whether Sanders has an attorney. Authorities do not anticipate making any other arrests. Strain said “investigators believe Sanders acted alone.”
Merrill’s nephew, David Merrill, speaking by telephone from Stoneham, Massachusetts, said Saturday the family was “thankful” Sanders is off the streets.
“Nobody else is threatened by this individual. So there’s some relief there,” he said.
But the family still has to deal with the loss.
Merrill said he agrees with the idea of forgiveness and that is something his aunt would want for whoever killed her but it’s not that easy.
“I’m not as strong as my aunt. I don’t know if I’m capable of completely forgiving. I can have sympathy,” he said.
Merrill said he would not support the death penalty if Sanders were to be convicted but that decision will ultimately be made by the people in Mississippi. The capital murder charge leaves open the possibility Sanders would face the death penalty but that determination would be made by prosecutors later.