Suspect arrested in nun's death

Associated Press
Published February 20, 2005

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ALTAMIRA, Brazil - A suspect in the killing of an American nun, who spent decades trying to protect the Amazon rain forest and its poor residents from loggers and ranchers, has surrendered to police, authorities said Saturday.

Amair Freijoli da Cunha was taken into custody after turning himself in to police in Altamira, a city about 80 miles from where Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was shot dead Feb. 12, police said.

The search is still on for two gunmen and a rancher accused of ordering the slaying, said police investigator Ana Indira Vaz.