Jury selection begins in nun murder case

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Jury selection has begun in the federal trial of a suspected nun killer.

Reehahlio Carroll is accused of murdering Sister Marguerite Bartz in Navajo, just north of Gallup on Halloween night 2009.

The 64-year-old was living alone in her convent home in Navajo, when she was beat with her own flashlight after confronting a burglar.

Investigators say Carroll, 18, was looking for money to buy drugs and booze and that he knew a parish had cash from collections and fundraisers because he admitted robbing the parish a few weeks earlier.

Carroll's defense asked a judge to bar any mention of the fact Bartz was a nun or that the murder took place at a parish, the judge denied that request.

The prosecution could call as many as 54 witnesses in the case.

The prosecution's case will state that Carroll knew exactly what he was doing at the time of murder.

Also that he eluded police by stealing not one but two vehicles and at one point also escaping from authorities.

The defense's case is that the location of the crime did not matter that Carroll's state of mind was a junkie just looking for money for his next fix.

When a jury is picked, each side gets 30 minutes for opening statements.

If convicted Carroll could face up to life in prison.

He was eligible for the death penatly, but because the crime was committed on Indian land, the Navajo Nation had the choice of whether to make this a death penalty case or not.