A man accused of stabbing a Nebraska priest to death in December 2023 pleaded guilty to murder Oct. 28, and now faces a sentence of life imprisonment.
AP News reported that Kierre Williams additionally pled guilty to burglary and weapons charges in connection with Father Stephen Gutgsell’s murder, which occurred inside the rectory of St. John the Baptist in Fort Calhoun. Williams also has several felony convictions in other states.
As CatholicVote reported at the time of the murder, no anti-Catholic motivation was found for the stabbing, and Williams was known to police “as a repeat offender against seemingly random targets.” AP News reported that since the incident, investigators have not been able to discover a connection between Williams and Fr. Gutgsell.
Prosecutors in the case had decided not to pursue the death penalty, the outlet reported last year. Pleading guilty to first-degree murder carries a sentence of life in prison without parole if the death penalty is not pursued. Williams will be sentenced Nov. 12.
CatholicVote reported that after the attack, Fr. Gutsgell was transported to the hospital, where he died of his injuries. His murder was the 100th attack on a Catholic church that year, according to CatholicVote’s tracker of violence against Catholic churches and properties.
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According to a news release from the Archdiocese of Omaha, Fr. Gutsgell was ordained in 1984 and served as a pastor at several parishes across the archdiocese. He also taught at a Catholic school and served as a hospital chaplain at various times in his priestly ministry.
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