Priest, nun get life term for murdering Indian novice nun Convicted pair were accused of murdering Sister Abhaya to cover up their sex act Father Thomas Kottoor being taken to jail on Dec. 22 after a court convicted him and a nun of murdering a novice nun some 28 years ago. (Photo supplied) A court in southern India has sentenced a Catholic priest and a nun to life imprisonment for murdering a 19-year-old novice nun and dumping her body in a well more than 28 years ago. The convicts, 71-year-old Father Thomas Kottoor of Kottayam Archdiocese and 57-year-old Sister Sephy, were present in the special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a federal agency, when the sentence was announced on Dec. 23 in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state.