Novice Monk Paged Nun Before Stabbing

The novice monk accused of murder at Holy Cross Academy paged his victim from a cellphone before allegedly stabbing her to death, school officials confirmed on Wednesday.

It’s unknown exactly how long before the killing of Sister Michelle Lewis her accused killer beeped her. School officials who found Mykhaylo Kofel’s phone after the stabbing said a scan of previous calls did not indicate the date or time the page originated.

The officials quickly alerted Miami-Dade County homicide detectives of their discovery, said school attorney Peter Miller.

The complete calling history of Kofel’s cellular telephone, which belongs to the monastery, is now part of the investigation.

Detectives are likely checking on who Kofel called and who called him before he allegedly stabbed Lewis 92 times in her bedroom quarters at the West Kendall school on March 25.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed cellphone and beeper records for Kofel, Lewis and the school’s spiritual leader, Father Abbott Gregory Wendt.

Possibly known to detectives by now is whether Lewis returned Kofel’s page. Another mystery that may be harder to solve: If Lewis did return Kofel’s page, what was the topic of conversation between the two and does it have any bearing on why she was killed?

School officials say the conversation between the 18-year-old monk-in-training and Lewis, 39, the school’s bookkeeper, may have been about money or an outstanding bill.

”He was going to college and Sister Lewis would be the person who would cut the checks and pay all the bills,” said school spokeswoman Joanna Wragg said.

”If he needed money, he had to talk to her. She also paid for his cellphone bill,” Wragg added.

Kofel had been making nighttime calls to teenage girls he met at Holy Cross, a private school of about 500 students, school officials said. The Ukrainian student had been at Holy Cross since age 14 on a student visa.

”Those calls were in violation of his vows to lead a monastic life while at Holy Cross, and he would have been reprimanded if school officials had learned of them,” Wragg said.

In his confession to police, Kofel said he killed Sister Michelle because she was verbally abusive to him.

A Miami-Dade medical examiner’s report indicates Lewis was stabbed, battered and kicked.

Kofel’s cellphone was found during a visit to his room at Holy Cross by licensed private investigator Michael Zoovas, along with attorneys Mel Black and Miller, all hired by the school’s insurance company.