Advertisement 2 nuns found slain in Durant Reward up to $22,500 in Durant nun murders case Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A $22,500 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction of whomever killed two nuns in Durant, state officials said Friday.Sister Paula Merrill, a nurse practitioner with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, in Kentucky, and Sister Margaret Held, a nurse practitioner with the School Sisters of St. Francis, in Milwaukee, were found stabbed to death Thursday in their Durant home.Autopsies were expected to be performed, authorities said.The Mississippi Department of Public Safety added $20,000 to Crime Stoppers' $2,500 reward, authorities said.The Catholic Diocese of Jackson said the nuns ran the Lexington Medical Clinic. When the sisters failed to show up for work, police checked their home on Castalian Springs Road and found the bodies.Sister Paula Merrill, a nurse practitioner with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, in Kentucky, and Sister Margaret Held, a nurse practitioner with the School Sisters of St. Francis, in Milwaukee, were stabbed to death, authorities said. A Toyota Corolla stolen from the home was found Thursday night on Mill Street, which is about a mile from the crime scene, authorities said. The car was taken to a crime lab in Batesville, investigators said."They were very intelligent ladies. They were very outspoken. They walked up and down this neighborhood and laughed and talked," neighbor Eloise Luckett said.Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain didn't release a motive, and it wasn't clear if their religious work had anything to do with the slayings.In a video from Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Merrill said she and Held worked together for many years in Holmes County."We just see patients and do what needs to be done," Merrill said in the video. Dr. Elias Abboud, who worked with the sisters for years and helped build the Lexington Medical Clinic, said he's not sure what will happen to the facility in light of their deaths.Father Greg Plata said Friday that the sisters had led Bible study for years at St. Thomas Catholic Church. He said Held will be buried in Wisconsin and Merrill will be buried at her congregation's headquarters in Nazareth, Kentucky.A wake service for Held and Merrill will take place at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at St. Thomas Church in Lexington.A memorial mass for both women is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle in Jackson.Parking is available in the Regions Garage for a small fee.22758298