Bio

Mykhaylo “Mike” Kofel was born in Ukraine in 1982. He spent his early childhood enduring severe hardships in his native Ukraine before his relocation to the United States. He grew up in Verkhovyna-Bystra, a remote, impoverished rural mountain village in western Ukraine.

In the mid-1990s, Kofel was recruited as a young teenager by Abbot Gregory F.G. Wendt, who was associated with Holy Cross Academy and its monastic order. Kofel later said he believed the move to the United States would give him a religious education and a chance to pursue monastic life. After arriving in Florida, he lived under the authority of the Holy Cross community while studying and training as a monk-in-progress.

Kofel later alleged that, during his years at Holy Cross, he was sexually abused by senior clerics and subjected to mistreatment inside the institution. The accused clerics denied his allegations through attorneys and representatives. Prosecutors later stated that they believed there was evidence supporting Kofel’s abuse claims, and those claims became a major factor in the 2005 plea agreement that reduced his charge from first-degree murder to second-degree murder.

By March 2001, Kofel was 18 years old and still connected to Holy Cross Academy. Sister Michelle Lewis, a 39-year-old Byzantine Catholic nun and teacher at the school, also lived on the campus. On March 25, 2001, Kofel killed Sister Michelle inside her residence, leading to his arrest the next day and the criminal case that followed.

Murder Story

On March 25, 2001, Sister Michelle Lewis was found dead inside her residence at Holy Cross Academy in Miami-Dade County, Florida. She was 39 years old. Her body was discovered after she failed to appear for a religious service. Investigators determined that she had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly inside the residence where she lived on the campus.

The attack was extremely violent. Later reports stated that Sister Michelle had been stabbed more than 90 times. Police recovered evidence from the scene, including a knife, and quickly focused their investigation on Mykhaylo Kofel, an 18-year-old monk-in-training who lived and studied at Holy Cross.

Kofel was arrested the next day, March 26, 2001. Police said he confessed to killing Sister Michelle. He was initially charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary with assault or battery. Prosecutors later announced that they would seek the death penalty against him. At his arraignment in April 2001, Kofel pleaded not guilty and was held without bond.

During the early investigation, Kofel claimed that he had been abused during his years at Holy Cross. He accused Abbot Gregory Wendt and Father Damian Gibault of sexually abusing him. He also claimed that Sister Michelle had verbally mistreated him. The accused clerics denied the allegations. The allegations became a major part of the case because prosecutors and defense attorneys examined whether Kofel’s experiences at Holy Cross affected the legal resolution.

Investigators also searched a Holy Cross-owned house near Barry University where Kofel and other monastic students had stayed while taking classes. During that search, detectives seized three steak knives, a bloody sheet, and a computer. Police stated that the knives matched the type of knife found at the murder scene.

The case remained pending for nearly four years. Kofel had originally faced the possibility of a death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder. On February 10, 2005, he accepted a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed burglary in connection with Sister Michelle Lewis’s death.

As part of the plea, prosecutors agreed to a reduced sentence. Assistant State Attorney Gail Levine said the decision was influenced by evidence supporting Kofel’s claim that he had been abused. Kofel was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

At the sentencing hearing, Kofel apologized in court and accepted responsibility for killing Sister Michelle. He said that murder was wrong and that he wished he could give his life for hers. Sister Michelle’s mother, Bev Lewis-Mercury, addressed the court and described the harm caused by her daughter’s murder. The judge called the sentence lenient but accepted the plea agreement.

Holy Cross Academy later closed. The murder, the abuse allegations, and the legal proceedings surrounding the case became part of the school’s public history.