Two decades ago, on a calm, dark Miami night, a nun was stabbed nearly 100 times on the grounds of a prestigious private academy and monastery, by Mykhaylo Kofel. As investigators started asking questions around this Byzantine Catholic School and the gruesome murder, they found more than just her killer. In a search for answers that stretches into some of the most remote villages of Eastern Europe, they uncovered allegations of sexual abuse, secret letters to the Vatican and other mysteries of faith. Sacred Scandal unravels the fuller picture that came to light in the wake of this crime. Led by a former student, told by those who lived through the aftermath, and Kofel himself, the show pieces together a complicated narrative that, twenty years later, still has those closest to it questioning what they truly believe... including a man who’s spent half his life in prison for the crime: “It’s so unbelievable. It definitely wasn’t me. I’m not a killer. No way. That’s not me.†— Mykhaylo Kofel, 2021
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A hundred and fifty years ago, the Osage Nation bought a stretch of prairie the size of Delaware, in what's now Oklahoma. The Osage owned the land and everything beneath it. Today, much of present-day Osage County has left Osage hands. In some cases, appropriation was swift and brutal: Dozens of Osages were murdered for their share of lucrative mineral rights to this oil-rich land, a period often referred to as the Reign of Terror. But other transfers of wealth played out more subtly—dollar by dollar and acre by acre, over decades—helped along by policies created by the US government. Listen to In Trust on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-in-trust-101274258/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Melanie and Paula answer questions from listeners, review updates from the war in Ukraine, and discuss stories and interviews that didn't make it to the series. If you want to get in touch, email us on hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com. And for behind-the-scenes photos and videos follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal To help support the people of Ukraine at this time, visit https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-relief-fund/ If you're concerned about or have experienced abuse in your own place of worship contact the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) https://www.snapnetwork.org/. If you liked the original music from this series, you can listen to it on Spotify or Apple Music Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Melanie and Paula look back on their conversation at the monastery and, as new theories emerge, they try to piece together the truth about what happened at Holy Cross. If you want to get in touch, email us on hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com. And for behind-the-scenes photos and videos follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal To help support the people of Ukraine at this time, visit https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-relief-fund/ If you're concerned about or have experienced abuse in your own place of worship contact the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) https://www.snapnetwork.org/ If you liked the original music from this series, you can listen to it on Spotify or Apple Music. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
With a Russian invasion looming over Ukraine, Melanie and Paula drive to a monastery in the Carpathian Mountains to speak with a priest whose silence has echoed for more than twenty years. Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. To help support the people of Ukraine, visit https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-relief-fund/ Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Determined to speak to the priests from Holy Cross, Paula and Melanie go on a 5,000-mile mission to find them. Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Nearly four years after the murder of Sister Michelle Lewis, Mykhaylo Kofel's fate is finally decided. And all of the investigations take their toll on Holy Cross Academy, but not before the priests find a new place to call home. Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
After the priests of Holy Cross Academy refused to cooperate with the murder and sexual abuse investigations, lawyers started to dig into the school's past on their own. What they found was that years before Sister Michelle's death, another investigation into Holy Cross already started — and it stretched all the way to the very top of the Catholic Church. Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Mykhaylo Kofel's accusations against the priests of Holy Cross Academy turned what appeared to be an open-and-shut murder case on it's head. Those allegations would send both the prosecution and defence teams halfway around the world looking for the truth, and put the monastery on high alert. Hosted by Paula Barros and Melanie Bartley A Production of EXILE Content Studio Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Now in Miami, the monastic candidates of Holy Cross Academy start to realise that life there isn't exactly what the priests promised. And one of those monks reveals how a dark secret kept inside the monastery put him on a path to prison. Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
In the mid-1990s, a devoutly religious Ukrainian teenager is offered the chance to escape a violent household, for a life-changing opportunity at a Florida monastery. But swapping the hardships of his rural mountain village, for the promise of a better future in America, ends up far worse than his expectations. Wanna get in touch? Email us at hello@sacredscandalpodcast.com or follow us on Instagram @SacredScandal. Hosted by Paula Barros and Melanie Bartley A Production of EXILE Content Studios Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
As detectives start to narrow in on the murder suspect, an unexpected guest arrives at the homicide office. And starling allegations against the monastery change the course of the investigation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Twenty years before the murder at Holy Cross Academy, two struggling priests find one another in South Florida. As they build out their utopia, some are awed by their vision, while others start to question their methods. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
At a monastery in Miami, a nun is found dead in her room just before Sunday Mass. With more than 90 stab wounds, the search for her brutal killer begins. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
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