Man charged in slaying of 2 nuns, 1 from Milwaukee

Authorities in Mississippi have charged a man with capital murder in the killings this week of two nuns, one of them from Milwaukee.

Law enforcement officials said late Friday night that Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, was developed as a suspect after "an exhaustive interview Friday evening."

Sanders is charged in the deaths of Sister Margaret Held, a nurse practitioner with the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee, and Sister Paula Merrill, a nurse practitioner with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky. They were found dead Thursday in their home on Castalian Springs Road in Durant, a town of roughly 2,600 people, about 60 miles north of Jackson.

Investigators have said robbery could be a motive but it was premature to make a definitive conclusion. Sanders lived in Kosciusko, a city about 15 miles east of Durant.

The two women were stabbed, coroner Dexter Howard said, but a cause of death won't be determined until the autopsies are complete. Howard called the homicide scene "one of the worst I've seen."

Held grew up in Slinger, where she attended St. Peter's Catholic School, said her cousin Irene Wolf.

"She worked in a poor area of Mississippi," Wolf said. "She always seemed happy and enjoyed the work she was doing."

Held was a teacher at St. Joseph’s High School in Kenosha in the 1970s before heading south, said Michael O'Loughlin, spokesman for the School Sisters of St. Francis. In Mississippi, Held treated thousands of patients at a medical clinic.

Held returned to Milwaukee a couple times a year to visit family and attend events, and never expressed any fear or concern for her safety, O'Loughlin said.

Milwaukee nun one of two slain in Mississippi

In a statement Saturday, School Sisters of St. Francis leaders said law enforcement officers in Mississippi are keeping them up to date about developments, but "there is still much we do not know about the suspect and the circumstances that led to this brutal and senseless crime."

"They have been unfailingly kind and courteous to our congregation as they have kept us informed of their progress," the statement read. "We are most grateful for the care, consideration and dedication with which they have carried out their work."

The school's leaders also said hundreds of people and organizations have reached out since the homicides, offering prayers and support.

During an interview with Sanders, agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation obtained enough information to charge him.

MBI Director Lt. Col. Jimmy Jordan said Sanders was a person of interest early in the investigation. Authorities have not released information on how he was implicated or what his connection to Merrill and Held might have been.

“With the cooperation of the Durant and Kosciusko police departments, Holmes County Sheriff’s Department and the (state) Attorney General Office this heinous crime has been resolved,” read a statement from Jordan.

Sanders is being held in an undisclosed detention center awaiting his initial court appearance.

MBI Spokesman Warren Strain said further details won't be released because there is still evidence being processed by the crime lab.

"Right now there's really still a long way to go," Strain said. "We're holding off on saying anything else tonight. We just wanted everyone to know that he's off the street."

In a statement, Diane Curtis, spokeswoman for the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, said her congregation "would like to express gratitude for all working so hard on this investigation."

"We continue to pray for everyone involved in this tragedy." Curtis said.

Curtis said Merrill had been in Kentucky all weekend and left on Monday. The Motherhouse at Nazareth was her home, Curtis said, adding that she missioned in Mississippi but came back to Kentucky for prayer, celebrations and meetings frequently.

Jacob Carpenter of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.