A man accused of beating a nun to death with a flashlight is scheduled for a change of plea hearing in federal court in Albuquerque Friday.
Reehahlio Carroll has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and burglary charges in the 2009 death of 64-year-old Sister Marguerite Bartz, who served at St. Berard Catholic Church in Navajo.
Federal prosecutors allege the then 18-year-old Carroll broke into the nun's trailer home on the Navajo nation in northwestern New Mexico and attacked her when she confronted him. Prosecutors accuse Carroll of beating Bartz with a flashlight, hitting her on the head as many as six times and then kicking her. Authorities allege Carroll tied a black shirt over the nun's mouth to stop her from screaming.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.