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Man faces 2 capital murder charges in Mississippi nun deaths

A man has been arrested in the stabbing deaths of two nuns whose bodies were found in their home in rural MS, authorities said.

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A man was arrested in connection to the murder of two nuns in Mississippi.

The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) confirmed the deaths of the two nuns, who worked at a medical clinic, and named them as Sister Paula Merrill, of the SCN in Kentucky, and Sister Margaret Held, with the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee.

MBI Director Lt. Colonel Jimmy Jordan said the suspect was a person of interest early in the investigation. He is being held i n an undisclosed detention center awaiting his initial court appearance. “Folks in Holmes County don’t realize the impact it will have without them being here”, Sample said.

The two were found dead in their Durant home Thursday on Castalian Springs Road.

The abandoned Toyota Corolla was found undamaged late Thursday barely a mile from the home and was being towed to the state crime lab near Jackson, according to Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, said August 25 in a statement that the sisters “leave a legacy of dedication to their consecrated life and deep compassion for those they served”.

Bridget Young, the association’s chief operating officer, worked with Held and said she was committed to helping people receive medical care and any other assistance they needed.

“I wish I could just say who they were, how gentle and peaceful and loving”, she said.

Their brutal murder is sending shock waves through the local community and all the way to Held’s childhood home in Wisconsin, where her family and friends now mourn.

“They would treat them for free”, he said.

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki said whoever killed Held “robbed not only the School Sisters of St. Francis, but also the entire Church of a woman whose life was spent in service”. “You need somebody with that passion to love the people and work in the underserved area”, Abboud said. The women were nurses who were found in their home Thursday when they didn’t show up for work at a clinic that helps poor people.

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Father Greg Plata said Friday that the nuns, Sister Paula Merrill and Sister Margaret Held, had led Bible study for years at St. Thomas Catholic Church.

Rodney Earl Sanders