Funeral services held for slain nun

GALLUP, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico nun murdered in cold blood was laid to rest Saturday.

Hundreds of mourners came to the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup to pay their respects to Sister Marguerite Bartz.

Sister Bartz was murdered Halloween weekend inside her Navajo convent home.

Reehahlio Carroll, 18, has been charged with the murder.

Investigators said Sister Bartz confronted him when he was burglarizing her home.

Carroll told police he was looking for money to buy alcohol and drugs.

At Saturday’s funeral mass, the eulogy described Bartz as a gracious and giving spirit who spent her life following Jesus.

Before and after the service, long lines of mourners gathered outside to greet and support one another.

No cameras were allowed inside for the Saturday morning service.

Seats inside the cathedral filled up quickly and many mourners had to stand against the walls, while others watched the service from the vestibule.

Father Gilbert Schneider, who gave the eulogy, said Bartz was a teacher who had a passion for God and spreading the word of God.

After the service, Bartz’s casket was taken to St. Michael Indian School Sisters’ Cemetery in Arizona to be buried.

“I believe the legacy she leaves is the one she received from Christ,” Bishop James Wall of the Diocese of Gallup said. “That is a legacy of peace, of justice, of love, and of forgiveness. I think that's a hard one at this time.”

Bartz was a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament for 43 years.

News 13 has learned that Carroll may have tried to commit suicide Saturday morning in his cell at a Window Rock jail.

Authorities in Arizona will not confirm or deny the suicide attempt. They will not be able to comment until Monday.

Carroll appeared in court in Window Rock on Friday on unrelated auto theft charges and charges related to the theft of the nun's vehicle.

The FBI is still waiting to take him into custody for the murder of Bartz.