Officials to Seek Death Penalty in Nun Slaying Case in Florida
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MIAMI — Florida officials will seek the death penalty against an 18-year-old aspiring monk charged in the slaying last month of a nun at a church-affiliated school, a prosecutor said Friday.
Assistant State Atty. Gail Levine also said she will subpoena witnesses from Holy Cross Academy, which prompted the school to hire six lawyers, one for each potential witness.
Mykhaylo Kofel, a Ukrainian in training with the Byzantine Monastic Order of the Eastern Orthodox Church, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and burglary at his arraignment Thursday. He was being held without bond.
At the time of his March 26 arrest, police said Kofel confessed to the slaying of Sister Michelle Lewis, 39. Her nude body was found in her residence at the school, where she taught, after she failed to show up at a service.
Kofel turned down the school’s offer to hire an attorney for him. A public defender was appointed instead.
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