Nebraska priest stabbed to death in church rectory

A Catholic priest in Nebraska is dead after authorities say a man broke into the church rectory and stabbed him early Sunday.

Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies in Fort Calhoun, about a 20-minute drive north of Omaha, arrived at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church around 5 a.m., six minutes after they received a 911 call reporting a break-in.

Inside, they found Rev. Stephen Gutgsell bleeding out, as well as his 43-year-old suspected attacker, Kierre Williams.

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Gutgsell, 65, succumbed to his injuries at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, according to the sheriff’s office.

Williams, from Sioux City, Iowa, was being held at the Washington County Jail on charges of homicide and use of a weapon to commit a felony. 

Gutgsell’s brother, Michael Gutgsell, is also a priest in the Archdiocese of Omaha. Both priests had pleaded guilty in separate theft cases.

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Stephen Gutgsell, the murder victim, was convicted of embezzling $127,000 from another church in 2007, according to The Associated Press. His brother pleaded guilty in June to swiping more than $154,000 from a fellow priest and making loans to a homeless man whom he thought would pay it back, according to The Pillar.

However, authorities said they do not believe the thefts had anything to do with Sunday’s attack.

“The Archdiocese of Omaha is praying for Father Stephen Gutgsell, who was assaulted during an invasion at the rectory of St. John the Baptist parish in Fort Calhoun early Sunday morning,” the archdiocese said in a statement. “Father Gutgsell was transported to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, where he died of his injuries. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, and there are no further details at this time. Please join Archbishop George Lucas in prayer for the repose of Father Gutgsell, for his family and for the St. John the Baptist parish community in this tragic time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.