The accused killer of Sister Marguerite Bartz is facing three charges after being indicted by a federal grand jury Dec. 3 in Albuquerque.
Reehahlio Carroll, 18, from Navajo, N.M., is accused of killing Bartz, 64, while burglarizing her home last month. Bartz was a nun serving at St. Berard Parish in Navajo.
During the hearing in U.S. District Court, Carroll was charged with first-degree murder, burglary and transportation of a stolen vehicle.
Carroll was charged with first-degree murder because the alleged killing happened at the time of another felony, which is the burglary, U.S. attorney's office spokesman Norman Cairns said.
The indictment says Carroll transported a Honda CR-V across state lines, knowing the vehicle was stolen. That vehicle was in Bartz's possession at the time of her death.
The vehicle was reported stolen and authorities later found it near Cottonwood, Ariz.
If convicted of all three charges, Carroll faces an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole, Cairns said.
An arraignment on the indictment is scheduled for today (Dec. 10).
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