WAYNESBORO, Ga. – The accused killer of Father Rene Robert was denied bond in a Burke County courtroom Friday afternoon.
Steven Murray, 28, faces the charge of malice murder.
About 1:45 p.m. Friday, Murray was brought to the courthouse. The district attorney's office asked for bond to be withheld, saying he's a risk to commit further felonies pending trial and pointing to Murray's criminal history.
"We believe he's a significant risk of fleeing the court's jurisdiction," Assistant District Attorney Joanna Mastney said. “Based on his numerous arrests for simple burglary, while driving the victim’s stolen vehicle, while kidnapping, while locking (him) in the trunk. We believe he’s a risk of committing further felonies, and oppose bond in this case.”
Judge William M. Fleming Jr. agreed.
"The court is going to say no bond, as he poses a threat to both persons and property in the community," Fleming said.
Robert’s body was found in a wooded part of northeast Georgia just over a week after he was last seen in St. Augustine.
Robert’s body was in such bad shape when investigators found it that they had to use dental records to make a positive ID. Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey said Robert was shot multiple times.
At the bond hearing, Mastney shed light on what prosecutors believe happened to Robert, who was trying to help Murray.
Investigators said Robert was last seen about 1 p.m. on April 10. Sometime after that, Mastney said Murray asked for permission, then borrowed Robert’s car and got the priest to ride with him.
Murray finally told Robert they were leaving the state and heading to Murray’s hometown to see his children, Mastney said.
On April 11, investigators said Murray was denied access to his 13-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, who live in Aiken County, South Carolina.
That’s when Murray made Robert get in the trunk of his own car, according to prosecutors.
“While (Robert was) in the trunk, Murray committed multiple burglaries, stealing primarily firearms. Some of the homes he burglarized were people he knew, however, not all of them,” Mastney said.
Eventually, they came to Highway 56, near River Road in Burke County, Georgia, where prosecutors said Murray got Robert out of the trunk, shot him and left him dead on April 11 and then returned to Florida.
Murray is also charged with aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude deputies in St. Johns County after a high-speed chase into Jacksonville on April 12, where police lost Murray. A few days after he was arrested in Aiken County, South Carolina and returned to St. Augustine, investigators said Murray began to cooperate with them, leading them to the priest’s body on April 18.
In Aiken, South Carolina, where police say he crashed Robert’s car, Murray faces charges of grand larceny and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Since his arrest in late April, Murray has been held without bond.
Pat Morgan, with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said Murray has been cooperating with authorities in Georgia.
“I will tell you that he was very relaxed. He spoke with us. He answered our questions. So, that’s basically the best I can describe it,” Morgan said.
Morgan said GBI continues to work on the case with investigators in St. Johns County and in South Carolina.
“We’re still following leads. Any interviews need to be done, we’re doing that. Although he’s in jail and he’s been charged, we still have a lot of work that we’re needing to be completed so that we can get the best case file prepared for the DA’s office,” Morgan said. "We're going to document this investigation, every T crossed, I dotted, to make sure this is the best file prepared, and the case is prepared for prosecution.”