Apprentice Monk Admits Killing Nun

MIAMI (AP) – An apprentice monk pleaded guilty Thursday to stabbing and beating a nun to death and got 30 years in prison in a deal with prosecutors, who offered him leniency because of evidence he was molested by two priests.

Mykhaylo Kofel, 22, admitted killing 39-year-old Michelle Lewis, whose nude body was found stabbed more than 90 times in 2001 in her residence at Holy Cross Academy in Miami-Dade County. Kofel had studied at the school for five years.

Kofel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was originally charged with first-degree murder, which could have brought a sentence of life in prison or death.

Kofel, who is Ukrainian, said two priests at the school sexually abused him while he was training with a Byzantine Catholic monastic order. Neither priest has been charged, but prosecutor Gail Levine said she believed Kofel, and that led to the plea bargain.

Levine said an investigation into Kofel’s allegations is continuing. The priests say Kofel is lying.

Holy Cross Academy operated under the Greek Catholic Church, which combines elements of both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox faiths. The church is obedient to the Vatican but practices Orthodox Church rituals and lets priests marry.