Friends, colleagues to remember slain Mississippi nuns

The heartbroken nephew of a nun from Stoneham who police say was killed in a double murder in MS says news that authorities there have arrested a 46-year-old man in connection with her death won’t bring back his loving aunt, who would have been quick to forgive her attacker.

Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Jordan, director of MBI, said: “Sanders was developed as a person of interest early on in the investigation”.

When authorities arrived at their home in Durant, 13 miles away from the clinic, they saw evidence of a break-in and found their bodies, she said.

Sanders is being held in a detention center while he awaits his first court appearance, police say.

In the poverty-stricken MS county where the two nuns were slain, many people were still mourning their loss.

Plata said he does not think people at the church knew Sanders.

Speaking from his home in Stonham, Mass., Merrill said he’s “not as strong” as his aunt. The sheriff said the investigation is ongoing.

As ABC News previously reported, Strain said Sanders is “not quite homeless”, but is “nomadic”.

“He probably knew they were good decent people and would help people and that what lead them there or he was passing by and saw opportunity”, said March.

He said Merrill would want him to forgive whoever killed the women, but he hopes the perpetrator is arrested, convicted and executed.

Jonell Payton, a Durant alderwoman, lives across the street and a few doors down from Held and Merrill’s house.

The Kentucky-based order where one of two slain nuns belonged says the order is establishing a memorial fund to continue her work.

Dr. Elias Abboud, the physician who oversees the clinic, says he called the office manager after he saw there was an arrest made to check if Rodney Earl Sanders had been a patient at the clinic but he was not. Sisters Paula Merrill and Margaret Held were both nurses who had spent about 30 years helping people in Mississippi. “I came here because of a dream and a cause but I stayed here because of the people”, she said.

We wish to offer our deepest appreciation to the MS state and local law enforcement teams and to the many other public servants who have worked tirelessly the past two days, under extremely hard circumstances, to investigate the sisters’ deaths and gather evidence.

“We always considered Margaret just part of the family”, he said.

Sample said the two nuns lived in a tidy home on Castalian Springs Road, where they tended to an herb garden and blueberry bushes in their backyard. He is accused of killing Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68.

“They are probably two of the most attractive people I’ve ever known in my life”, she added.

“Plata said both nuns” religious communities have asked that people pray for the killer or killers. Authorities do not anticipate making any other arrests. The capital murder charges mean he could face the death penalty.

In a statement, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann praised the women for their faithful and tireless work to make their community a better place to live.