Family of Murdered Nun 'Thankful' Suspect Arrested and 'Off The Streets'

A wake is scheduled for Sunday in Mississippi.

ByABC News
August 28, 2016, 6:02 AM
Sister Paula Merrill and Sister Margaret Held, two nuns who worked as nurses and helped the poor in rural Mississippi, were found slain in their home and there were signs of a break-in and their vehicle was missing, officials said on Aug. 25, 2016.
Sister Paula Merrill and Sister Margaret Held, two nuns who worked as nurses and helped the poor in rural Mississippi, were found slain in their home and there were signs of a break-in and their vehicle was missing, officials said on Aug. 25, 2016.
AP Photo

— -- Following the arrest of a man in connection with the killing of two nuns in Mississippi last week, the nephew of one of the nuns says the family is "thankful that he's off the streets."

David Merrill, whose aunt Paula Merrill was found dead Thursday along with Margaret Held in their home in Durant, told The AP he agrees with the idea of forgiveness, but he's not sure if he's "capable of completely forgiving."

Speaking from his home in Stonham, Mass., Merrill said he's "not as strong" as his aunt. But if the man -- Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, who has been charged with two counts of capital murder -- is convicted, he would not support the death penalty. The capital murder charges mean he could face the death penalty.

PHOTO: Rodney Earl Sanders was charged on August 26, 2016, with two counts of capital murder in connection with the killing of two nuns in Mississippi.
Rodney Earl Sanders was charged on August 26, 2016, with two counts of capital murder in connection with the killing of two nuns in Mississippi.

A wake for the nuns is scheduled for Sunday at the St. Thomas Catholic Church in Lexington where the women led Bible study. A memorial Mass is scheduled Monday at the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle in Jackson.

Father Greg Plata, who pastors at the church, told the The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson that? Held will be buried in Wisconsin and Merrill will be buried at her congregation's headquarters in Nazareth, Kentucky.

PHOTO: Police crime scene tape surrounds the residence of two Catholic nuns who worked as nurses and helped the poor in rural Mississippi, and were found slain in their Durant, Miss., home on Aug. 25, 2016.
Police crime scene tape surrounds the residence of two Catholic nuns who worked as nurses and helped the poor in rural Mississippi, and were found slain in their Durant, Miss., home on Aug. 25, 2016.

Sanders was arrested Friday evening and is being held at an undisclosed location while he waits for a court appearance to be set. Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said he does not know whether Sanders is represented by an attorney. Police have not yet released a motive for the killings.

Sanders' past is also now coming to light: Grace Simmons Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections, told The AP he has a criminal record and is currently on probation.

Sanders was convicted of a felony DUI in Attala County and sentenced on Feb. 23, 2015. He was released from prison and is on probation.

Prior to that, he was convicted of armed robbery in Holmes County and served six years. He was sentenced Oct. 17, 1986 for that conviction.

As ABC News previously reported, Strain said Sanders is "not quite homeless," but is "nomadic."

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