Former monk-in-training pleads guilty in nun’s murder

A former Ukrainian monk-in-training pleaded guilty this morning to the slaying of a nun at Holy Cross Academy in West Kendall in 2001.

Mykhaylo Kofel, 22, will spend the next 30 years in prison for the stabbing and beating death of Michelle Lewis, 39. He pleaded to second-degree murder.

After he finishes serving his sentence, Kofel will be deported.
Kofel had originally been charged with first-degree murder and could have faced the death penalty or life in prison if the case had gone to trial and he was convicted.

Prosecutors agreed to their end of the plea deal because of their belief that Kofel was abused by priests at Holy Cross Academy.

Kofel repeatedly has claimed since the March 25, 2001, killing that two priests at Holy Cross had molested him for the four years he lived at the school. The priests vehemently deny the accusations.

Lead prosecutor Gail Levine told The Herald on Wednesday that she can’t prove the abuse occured and no charges have ever been brought against any priests. Levine said the investigation into the abuse allegations is “ongoing.”