A person accused of killing a priest in a small Nebraska city pleaded not responsible to first-degree murder and different prices on Thursday.

Kierre Williams, 43, of Sioux Metropolis, Iowa, is also accused of utilizing a lethal weapon to commit a felony, housebreaking and possession of a weapon by a prohibited individual. His subsequent courtroom date is March 5, KETV-TV reported.

Prosecutors have stated there doesn’t look like any connection between Williams and the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, who was fatally stabbed on Dec. 10 contained in the rectory for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska.

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This reserving photograph launched by the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace exhibits Kierre L. Williams on Dec. 10, 2023. Williams was arrested within the stabbing loss of life of a Catholic priest in a small Nebraska group who was attacked in a church rectory, authorities stated. (Washington County Sheriffs Workplace by way of AP)

Williams’ legal professional has declined to debate the case.

The priest’s loss of life got here 4 months after one other seemingly random residence invasion killing in the city of 1,100 and shook residents’ confidence of their security.

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At a listening to final month, Washington County Deputy Brady Tucker testified that he discovered Williams mendacity crossways on prime of Gutgsell, whose face was lined with blood. Williams didn’t have a weapon, however investigators later discovered a damaged knife with a serrated blade mendacity in a blood stain on the ground of Gutgsell’s bed room, authorities stated.

Williams has a number of felony convictions in different states.