Suspect sought in murders of two nuns who worked at Mississippi clinic

Sr. Margaret Held, 68, and Sr. Paula Merrill, 68, are pictured in undated photos. (CNS/School Sisters of St. Francis and Sisters of Charity of Nazareth)
Sr. Margaret Held, 68, and Sr. Paula Merrill, 68, are pictured in undated photos. (CNS/School Sisters of St. Francis and Sisters of Charity of Nazareth)

by Catholic News Service

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Police continued to search for the killer of two sisters who spent years caring for poor people as nurse practitioners in central Mississippi.

Sr. Margaret Held, 68, a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee, and Sr. Paula Merrill, 68, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky, were found stabbed to death Thursday in their Durant, Mississippi, home, police said.

The sisters had worked at the Lexington Medical Clinic in Lexington, about 10 miles from the house they shared.

Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said police discovered a car missing from the sisters' home Thursday evening on a secluded street late about a mile from where the women were found dead.

Police officers discovered the women's bodies after co-workers called asking to check on them after they failed to report for work at the clinic.

Read the full story at Global Sisters Report.

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