By The Associated Press

Published: Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 9:16 a.m.
Updated: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A coroner says a Franciscan friar who committed suicide after accusations emerged that he molested students at schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania had stabbed himself in the heart after leaving a note apologizing for his actions.

Blair County Coroner Patricia Ross tells the Altoona Mirror that Brother Stephen Baker's note was “not addressed to anyone specific” but amounted to “an apology for his behavior.” Ross did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Baker was named earlier this month when the Youngstown, Ohio, diocese announced 11 legal settlements stemming from his alleged abuse of students at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio three decades ago.

Since then, more former students from the Ohio school and some from Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown have come forward to accuse the friar.

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