Tributes continue for slain nun, accused murderer in jail

The outpouring of tributes for Sister Marguerite Bartz continues three weeks after her death.

The Diocese of Beaumont honored Bartz during a memorial Mass Nov. 21 at Infant Jesus Catholic Church in Lumberton, Texas.

Bartz spent most of her young years in Beaumont. She was a parishioner of St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica and is a 1963 graduate of Monsignor Kelly High School. She entered the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1966 from Beaumont.

This connection was a reason for the service, Bishop Curtis Guillory said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

"The people of the diocese were saddened by her death," he said.

Bartz was found dead Nov. 1 in her convent at St. Berard Parish in Navajo, N.M. A local resident, Reehahlio Carroll, 18, is accused of her murder.

The 64-year-old nun still has family and friends who live in southeast Texas. In attendance at the Mass were several of Bartz's family members, Guillory said.

"What was very good was that Sister Bartz's mother came out," he said. "She was most appreciative of the memorial Mass and the great number of people who turned out."

During the service, Guillory presented a cross he had blessed to Bartz's mother, Barbara, who did not attend the Nov. 7 funeral service in Gallup due to health concerns.

During the service, Guillory celebrated Bartz's 43 years of service and the unique way she ministered.

"She saw gifts in the different cultures," he said.

On a personal note, Guillory said Bartz taught his younger brothers and sisters in Lawtell, La., when she served a mission there in 1975.

The Mass also provided the diocese and its members an opportunity to pray for Carroll and his family.

"Sister would have wanted that," Guillory said.

Meanwhile, Carroll continues to be in federal custody. He made an initial appearance Nov. 12 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Puglisi in Albuquerque.

At the hearing, Puglisi ruled there is probable cause to hold Carroll with Bartz's murder.

Carroll allegedly killed Bartz during a burglary in the nun's trailer shortly after midnight Nov. 1. Bartz's body was discovered later in the day after she did not show up for church.

Puglisi also denied bail and ordered Carroll to remain in federal custody since he is considered a flight risk and a danger to the community.

The decision was made after the court heard testimony from FBI Agent John Pierson. Pierson testified that shoe imprints were found in the blood in the home and outside a window, and a bloodied flashlight was found in a vehicle that belonged to Bartz's roommate, according to a story by the Associated Press.

That vehicle was reported stolen and was found Nov. 2 in Cottonwood, Ariz.

Carroll was charged with first-degree murder in a Nov. 6 federal criminal complaint after tribal police arrested him Nov. 5 in Navajo for multiple traffic violations involving another vehicle.

He was in tribal jail until Nov. 10, when federal authorities took custody of him.

Tribal Chief Prosecutor Bernadine Martin appeared before Puglisi during the Nov. 12 hearing and claimed the federal government did not follow the Navajo Nation's extradition procedures when they took Carroll into custody.

Martin attempted to quash the federal case, a motion that was denied by Puglisi.

Martin's written request to the court states that the tribe did not receive any paperwork from the U.S. Attorney's Office charging Carroll with a crime to justify handing him over to federal marshals.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Yarbrough told Puglisi that he believes proper procedures were followed and the tribe received a copy of the federal affidavit and complaint, according to the AP report.

No one was available to comment at the U.S. Attorney's Office by press time Tuesday. Carroll's lawyer, Robert Gorence, said federal prosecutors have 30 days to present their case to a grand jury.

The preliminary cause of death, issued by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, was trauma to Bartz's head. The office has not issued a complete autopsy report.

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