Suspect in priest’s homicide discovered on him in form of cross

The person accused of stabbing to demise a small-town Nebraska priest was discovered mendacity throughout him within the form of a human cross, court docket paperwork present.

Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, a priest at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, was discovered mortally wounded in his rectory early Sunday after calling 911 to report an intruder with a knife, an affidavit confirmed.

The dispatcher heard a battle, and when an officer arrived, a person yelled, “I’m right here” — after which “Assist me!,” the paperwork say.

The 65-year-old priest was discovered mendacity close to the kitchen bleeding profusely from wounds on his face, fingers and again.

The suspect — recognized as Kierre Williams, 43 — was mendacity perpendicularly on high of a bloodied Gutgsell, together with his again on high of the priest’s chest, the charging docs say.

A bloody knife was discovered later subsequent to a big pool of blood in a bed room within the rectory, which is subsequent door to the Catholic church.

The priest later died at an Omaha hospital.

The paperwork didn’t element any motive for the assault besides to say the killing occurred throughout a housebreaking. There isn’t a point out of any prior connection between Williams and the 65-year-old priest, and the responding officer stated that Gutgsell had shouted on the market was “an intruder” with him.

Williams faces first-degree homicide, housebreaking, and weapons prices.

He has been convicted of crimes throughout a number of states, together with a drug possession case in Texas and over a dozen instances in Florida. Most just lately, he was charged with misdemeanor assault for a soup kitchen combat in Sioux Metropolis, Iowa in July.

Gutgsell additionally had a prison historical past. In 2007, the priest pleaded responsible to theft by deception for embezzling $127,000 from an space church. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution earlier than being reassigned to a special church.

Church leaders forgave Gutsell, saying he discovered his lesson, admitted wrongdoing and sought forgiveness.

Earlier this 12 months, his brother Rev. Michael Gutgsell additionally pled responsible to theft prices. His brother advised WOWT-TV that authorities didn’t consider his brother’s demise was associated to his prison historical past.

Gutgsell’s stabbing was the second slaying in Fort Calhoun this 12 months, each of which occurred throughout break-ins, authorities stated.

With Put up wires.