Billings woman charged in nun assault

Police have charged a Billings woman for allegedly taking part in a robbery in which two elderly nuns were badly beaten at their residence.

Bonnie Fern Archambeau, 48, made an initial appearance in Justice Court via video from the Yellowstone County jail on a felony charge of robbery by accountability, The Billings Gazette reported.

Archambeau didn’t enter a plea during Wednesday’s hearing. Justice of the Peace David Carter set bond at $25,000 and ordered her to appear in District Court on Dec. 5.

Cigarettes found outside the nuns’ residence contained the DNA of Christopher Pine, who has been charged, as well as the DNA of Archambeau and another man, according to prosecutors.

Investigators said Archambeau told police Pine offered to pay her to assist in the August, 2013, break-in. Pine used a crowbar to break into the garage, Archambeau told investigators. She said she followed Pine inside, and he gave her a purse he found. Pine pushed one woman to the ground, beat her with a baseball bat, punched her and pushed her into a chair, Archambeau told investigators.

She said she left the house, returned and saw a second woman, then left with the purse Pine had given her. When she looked in the purse it contained items that made her realize the victims were nuns, court records said.