Gallup, N.M., Nov 6, 2009 / 19:50 pm
Nineteen-year-old Reehahlio Carroll was charged on Friday in the death of Sr. Margaurite Bartz.
According to the Associated Press, Carroll told investigators that he broke into the sister's trailer home on Halloween night in search of money or valuables.
Caroll was confronted by Sr. Bartz, 64, who hit her intruder with a shoe. The teen reacted by beating Sr. Bartz with a flashlight and kicking her, before returning to search for valuables.
The AP explains that before long, Carroll heard Bartz begin to scream again. The criminal complaint reads:
“In an effort to silence the woman, Reehahlio Carroll took a black shirt that was in the room and, while standing over the woman's body, tied the shirt over the woman's mouth, fastening the shirt with a knot tied at the back of the woman's head.”
The next morning, her body was found by a colleague after she failed to attend Mass.
A Rosary for Sr. Marguerite will be held at the St. Michael Indian School student chapel today, while the funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Her burial will take place at the St. Michael Indian School Sisters’ Cemetery following the funeral Mass.