For Father Robinson's Persistent Cadre

Last week, I sat down for an interview with NBC 24 in Toledo's anchorman, Jim Blue, Emmy-award winning journalist, voted by his peers the Best Anchorman in Ohio last year. Mr. Blue and his news team are preparing a story for broadcast. I was asked questions about the possibility that Coral Eugene Watts, the Detroit serial killer named as a suspect in the case in 1982, may have committed this murder. I was also asked questions about the mystery male DNA found on the victim.

With some new information I've gathered, I've updated this post about the similarities between Watts' crimes and the Pahl murder, as well as some dissimilarities.

Meanwhile, I found this to be compelling reasoning as well. Are we entering into a new wave of Satanic ritual hysteria? Alert the day care centers, and the oh-so-skeptical FBI.

A story of other unsolved murders in Toledo in 1980 also caught my eye. The Toledo Blade recently ran a piece about the murder of a couple in Flint, Michigan; their bodies were dumped in Toledo. While Watts was not named in the article, the sketch of the suspect looked somewhat familar to me.

Left: the suspect in the murders of Fred and Louise Tucker. Right: photo of Coral Watts. Seems to me that Watts' DNA may well clear up a number of mysteries....

Comments

[Fred Rosen]

Dear Laura:

Father Robinson has no idea how lucky he is having you in his corner. In fact, I am not quite sure he even realizes how much his case has stirred interest beyond Ohio's borders.

I would commend to the attention of those who follow the case the work of reporter Mark Reiter for the Toledo Blade. Mark is the court reporter in Lucas County. He works in this strange room behind a pebbled glass door in the Lucas County Courthouse. The room looks like something out of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, with ducts going this way and that down a narrow corridor that bends to the right into no where.

Mark's reporting post conviction gives an incredible amount of insight, more than I possibly could in my book (obvious plug for The Priest, the Nun and the Rabbi]. Regarding Mr. Watts, don't waste your time. It is too valuable. He's not the bad guy.

What mystery DNA are you referring to and where on Margaret Ann Pahl? I'll go back and look in both autopsy reports in the meanwhile.

Oh, that is an absolutely great observation regarding a new period of Satanic reports. I wrote about the Salem Witch Hunt Murders in the Historical Atlas of American Crime (second obvious, and last plug).

Hope things are well.

Regards,
Fred

PS: Anna Nicole who?

[holytoledo]

Laura -

I'm glad that Matt Z. from NBC 24 has successfully lobbied Tim L. (one of the executive producers) to delve further into the Robinson case.

As I understand it, Matt has long been a strong supporter of Robinson because of their connection through his neighborhood and even childhood boy scouting. Matt was even interviewed for a BLADE story saying that he remembered seeing Robinson mowing his lawn the evening before his arrest.

My biggest concern is that these connections, didn't cloud Matt's professional objectivity re: who is responsible for this brutal slaying of a catholic nun.

Myself, I think that whoever killed Sister Pahl knew about catholic ritual. Annointing her on the forehead and covering her with the altar cloth like a pahl covers a casket in a catholic burial are all religious rituals that another catholic would recognize.

I don't think that Coral Eugene Watts is the guilty party here.

What I think is this . . .

The only people who know what really happened are either dead or not talking.

Sr. Margaret - RIP

Fr. Swiatecki - RIP (publicly accused Robinson of the murder to police investigators)

Msgr. Schmit - RIP (with the help of devout catholic Assistant Deputy Chief Ray Vetter stopped the 1980 interrogation by police homicide detectives of Robinson.)

Fr. Gerald Robinson - not talking

Fr. Chet Warren (investigated by the TPD and on the prosecution's witness list) - not talking

Fr. Michael Billian (keeper of the church's secret archives and implicated by search warrant documents in obstructing justice regarding the murder investigation) -- definitely not talking

I get that the news media wants to advance this story, but none of them have the ability to get to the real players in this mess.

None of the REAL PLAYERS are talking.

But, there is so much politicing in this case that I don't think we'll ever find out the whole truth on this murder.

Take the Lucas County Prosecuting Attorney Julia Bates for instance. Search warrant documents implicate Fr. Michael Billian in obstructing justice and tampering with evidence in this case.

Yet, the prosecutor's office doesn't go after Fr. Billian and the rest of those records called sub secreto archives? Why?

Sure, it would be a ballsy move that might antagonize catholic voters in Lucas County but no more so than prosecuting a catholic priest for murder in the first place.

What I think is that there is a strong possibility that what is contained in those secret archives implicates the actual murderer and that Robinson (if he was involved at all) was a secondary player in the whole thing -- possibly stumbled on to the murder when it was happenening or in a worse case scenario was a lookout or something.

The prosecutor doesn't want to go after that evidence because it might indicate that they have the wrong person rotting in a prison cell.

The church isn't offering it to anyone because it may actually implicate them and this Fr. Michael Billian character in covering up for the real murderer and letting Robinson go down for the slaying.

The real story is that no one who really knows what happened is going to be talking to NBC 24.

PREDICTION: At some point, the newscaster will read a statement that says . . . "Officials from the Diocese of Toledo declined our offers to participate in this investigation."

[miriam]

Laura,

Let me just say thank you so much, too, for caring about that sinister case ... that unbelievable, stomach-turning example of utter injustice. I followed the case on the Net, and was totally crushed at the outcome. Since I'm no American, I didn't know what to do about it, and feeling so helpless, it's good to see that a courageous, caring, justice-loving person like you has taken up the fight. Please let me know if there's anything I can do.

miriam

P.S. I don't see why things that may recall catholic rituals in the murder of Sister Pahl should prove the killer was catholic. There are hundreds of ways a non-catholic can come by such knowledge.

[holytoledo]

You may already know this, but according to the docket. The transcription was completed.