TOLEDO, Ohio — A jury in this heavily Catholic community convicted a priest Thursday of murdering a nun 26 years ago in the sacristy of a hospital chapel.

The panel deliberated six hours before finding the Rev. Gerald Robinson guilty of a single count of murder in the Easter eve killing of Sr. Margaret Ann Pahl. Judge Thomas Osowik of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas immediately sentenced Robinson, 68, to a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

Supporters of the priest, including friends and relatives who put their homes up to secure his bail, gasped when Osowik read the verdict to a packed courtroom. The defendant showed no emotion, standing between his lawyers in a Roman collar and black suit that had become noticeably looser over the course of the three-week trial.

The jurors, who included three practicing Catholics, looked away from the priest as they filed into court and answered quickly when the judge asked each to affirm their verdict.

The 12 jurors opted not to speak to the media or be photographed.

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Prosecutors exiting the courtroom were met with a smattering of applause, prompting assistant county prosecutor Dean Mandross to shake his head. Later, he explained, "We're dealing with a homicide case ... I don't see it as a reason to celebrate."

Prosecutors contend Robinson murdered the 71-year-old nun because he was frustrated with his assignment at the hospital, which was run by her order, and disliked what the priest called her "dominant personality." She was stabbed 31 times, including nine times through an altar cloth in the shape of an inverted cross.

The defense maintained the prosecutors had weak, contradictory evidence and were fixated on Robinson to the exclusion of other suspects.

Robinson, the hospital chaplain, had always been the prime suspect in the stabbing and strangulation of Sr. Margaret Ann, but prosecutors were not able to develop enough evidence against him to press charges.  

The Rev. Gerald Robinson was led away in handcuffs after being sentenced to life in prison.

In 2004, a cold case squad detective noticed similarities between stains on an altar cloth at the crime scene and a dagger-like letter opener the priest kept in his drawer. Experts in bloodstain pattern analysis, a forensic science not available to the original detectives, found additional similarities, including a dime-sized bloody imprint of the U.S. Capitol on the cloth that mirrored a medallion on the letter opener.

After they arrested Robinson on the strength of the forensic evidence, three witnesses came forward to say they had seen a priest in the area of the chapel where the murder occurred. Robinson maintained he was in his room showering at the time. One woman, a lab technician, told authorities her boss had discouraged her from telling police, saying she would be fired for saying anything negative about a priest. A doctor said he gave his account to police, but they did not write it down.

In a press conference after the verdict, Mandross credited the three witnesses and the medallion with the conviction.

"The emblem on that letter opener is clearly visible on that altar cloth so that had to be the murder weapon," he said.

During the course of the investigation, prosecutors clashed with the Toledo diocese. When authorities asked for Robinson's personnel file, diocesan officials gave them just three pieces of paper, prompting them to get a search warrant and seize a thick file of additional documents.

Asked if she would pursue obstruction charges against the diocese, county prosecutor Julia Bates refused to answer the question.

"This case is not about that ... It's about anger and the death of a virginal servant of the Lord," she said.