Photo taken from screen shot of Gerald Robinson’s TV interview with Paula Zahn, broadcast on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. Photographer said the photo was taken the moment Father Robinson described getting a phone call telling him that Sister Margaret Ann Pahl had been murdered.
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I’ve been waiting for Judge Gene Zmuda’s ruling on the Gerald Robinson case for many months, since the priest appeared in court for a hearing in May, 2010.
It was possible that the judge would grant a new trial, depending on his opinion of the significance of 136 police documents from the 1980 murder investigation that were misfiled and went missing until being discovered by accident in 2009.
From his 11-page ruling, Judge Zmuda clearly did not think the reports contained anything of importance, leagally speaking.
Here is a link to the article.
Had he granted a new trial, it would have an extremely interesting development. But he rejected the appeal so now Father Robinson will have to pursue his case in another court.
There had been hints that the appeals might be over, with one insider citing the priest’s age (he’s 73) and an observation that “he is not uncomfortable where he is,” in a relatively low-security, dorm-like prison environment at Hocking Correctional Facility in southern Ohio.
But yesterday attorney Rick Kerger said he definitely will appeal. Time is a concern, as the full process could take 15 years. If it went that long Fr. Robinson would be 88 by the time he runs out of legal options.
The case of a Toledo Catholic priest being arrested by cold-case detectives and convicted of murdering a nun 26 years earlier continues — at least for now.
Stay tuned.
