A sense of safety is one of the biggest perks of living in small-town Mississippi. However, every once in a while, something happens that shakes that sense of safety to the core. For the small town of Durant, that “something” took place last summer.

On Thursday, August 25, 2016, shockwaves were sent through Durant when news spread that two of its residents were brutally stabbed to death.
Magnolia677/Wikimedia
The bodies of Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68, were found when colleagues grew worried after the pair failed to show up for work. After being notified, authorities went to the women's home and made the gruesome discovery.
scnfamily.org
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Sister Paula Merrill moved to the South with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
gofundme.com
Sister Margaret Held, who was with the School Sisters of St. Francis, began her career as a teacher in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She eventually moved into health care.
gofundme.com

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Both licensed nurses, the pious pair spent their time working at Lexington Medical Clinic, which "often treated poor and uninsured patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions."
gofundme.com
Since Sister Merrill and Sister Held's untimely deaths, the clinic they loved so much has suffered greatly. A Go Fund Me account has since been created. Click here for more information.
Authorities arrested Rodney Earl Sanders, a convicted felon from Kosciusko, just one day after the murders.
Chillin662/Wikimedia
According to reports, Sanders had been living in a shed just a few miles from the women’s home.
Holmes County Herald/Facebook
He allegedly slept in the shed for three nights, before breaking in through the back door of the house. After committing his senseless slayings, Sanders stole the women’s car, which was later found abandoned.
On October 18, 2017, Sanders entered a plea of not guilty at the Holmes County Courthouse in Lexington, Mississippi. His trial is set to begin February 12, 2018, at 9 a.m.
holmes.msghn.org
Though friends, family, and colleagues want justice, they are hoping Sanders isn’t sentenced to death, as both Sister Merrill and Sister Held were avidly opposed to the death penalty. This sentiment is reiterated on the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth website, which states:

"We two Congregations ask that we move forward together in a prayerful and healing manner, focusing on the lives of Sisters Paula Merrill and Margaret Held, two compassionate, faith-filled women. We want to reiterate our beliefs as women of faith, that we value life. For years now the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the School Sisters of St. Francis have worked to abolish the death penalty, even as we seek justice and truth."

Watch one of the initial reports of the murders in the video below:

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth has set up a memorial fund in honor of Sister Paula Merrill. For more information or to make a donation, click here. To donate to the memorial fund created for Sister Margaret Held by the School Sisters of St Francis, click here.

This isn’t the only crime to shock the state. Learn about others in “8 Unsolved Mississippi Mysteries That Still Baffle People To This Day.“

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