In 2016, a man who had stolen the host from St. Pius X Catholic Church in St. John’s, Newfoundland, has finally been arrested, reports CBC News. The arrested criminal, Robert Newell, has been arrested with more than 100 charges. Newell had broken into the Church, leaving a juice box container outside. The priest, Fr. Bolton upon his arrival, noticed it and picked it up. He then entered the Church, and heard some noise. When he turned the lights on he caught the man rushing out of the sacristy. When the priest inquired about what the man was doing there, the man claimed he was using the washroom. Unknowingly, Newell’s forgotten juice box was picked up by the priest. Newell quickly left the Church, taking the consecrated host and a duffel bag with him.
With Robert Newell’s DNA on the juice box, investigators were able to positively identify him as the perpetrator of 8 different crimes, ranging from Ontario to Clarenville and St. John’s. Previously in 2006, Newell’s juice box being left at the scene of the crime had been more than circumstantial.