BLAIR, Neb. – A Nebraska judge ruled Wednesday in a murder case involving Kierre Williams, 43, who was found on top of a badly wounded priest covered in blood inside the home where the priest lived. The suspect will continue to be held without bond until he enters a plea to the charges he faces next month.
The priest, Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, was fatally stabbed on Dec. 10 inside the rectory for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun. The suspect, Williams, was found lying on top of the priest at the crime scene. Williams complied with commands to show his hands and get off the priest. No connection has been established between Williams and the victim.
Williams had an extensive criminal history with felony convictions in other states. At the time of the killing, he was working in a meatpacking plant in Sioux City, Iowa. It is not clear what brought him to Fort Calhoun. Despite the tragic incident, the Archdiocese of Omaha stated that the church Gutgsell served in Fort Calhoun will now have to share a priest with two other churches in nearby small towns.
As the investigation continues, the Archdiocese spokesman commented that it is still too soon to determine what will happen to the St. John the Baptist rectory. The priest assigned to the three small churches is based in Blair. Gutgsell’s brother thanked the Fort Calhoun congregation for joining with nearly 1,000 other mourners at the priest’s funeral last month. Parishioners of the three small churches will decide in the months ahead how to honor Gutgsell’s memory.
The death of Rev. Stephen Gutgsell came just four months after another seemingly random home invasion killing in the town of 1,100, shaking residents’ confidence in their safety. Prosecutors are yet to decide whether to pursue the death penalty in this case. An autopsy confirmed that the priest died from multiple stab wounds. The suspect, Williams, did not have a weapon at the time of the arrest, but investigators later found a broken knife with a serrated blade at the crime scene.
The judge’s ruling for probable cause suggests that the investigation will continue to move forward in the case against Williams. The small town of Fort Calhoun is left reeling from the tragic loss of the beloved priest, leaves a sense of unease among its residents.