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RELIGION

Slain nuns leave void in Mississippi community they served

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Durant Police Chief John Haynes, left, and assistant Police Chief James Lee reassure Lexington Medical Clinic employees Lisa Dew, right, and Viola Turner, seated, that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was giving the home of two slain Catholic nuns who worked as nurses at the clinic a through crime scene investigation, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Durant. The clinic office manager and a Durant police officer discovered their bodies inside the house after both nuns did not report for work. Authorities said there were signs of a break-in and their vehicle was missing. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) (The Associated Press)

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    Two Mississippi Bureau of Investigation agents inspect a car in the garage of the Durant, Miss., home of two slain Catholic nuns who worked as nurses at the Lexington Medical Clinic, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. The clinic office manager and a Durant police officer discovered their bodies inside the house after both nuns did not report for work. Authorities said their were signs of a break-in and their vehicle was missing. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) (The Associated Press)

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    "Sister Paula was an angel," says Joe Morgan Jr., of Lexington, Miss., Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, standing at a businesses adjacent to the Lexington Medical Clinic where he was a patient of Sister Paula Merrill, one of two nurse practitioners who were found slain Thursday in their Durant, Miss., home, a few miles away. Merrill and Sister Margaret Held, were known for their kindness and community involvement in the mostly rural Mississippi Delta towns. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) (The Associated Press)

DURANT, Miss. – Friends say two nuns who were found slain in their Mississippi home "would do anything for anybody."

Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill were found dead Thursday morning when they didn't report to work at the nearby clinic where they provided flu shots, insulin and other medical care for children and adults who couldn't afford it.

Dr. Elias Abboud, who worked with the sisters for years and helped build the Lexington Medical Clinic, says he's not sure what will happen to the facility in light of their deaths.

Authorities didn't release a cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the nuns were stabbed. Their bodies were taken to a state crime lab for autopsies.

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