BURKE COUNTY, Ga. – The man accused of killing a St. Augustine priest in April pleaded not guilty Friday to malice murder in Burke County, Georgia.
Prosecutors have filed notice that they will seek the death penalty against Steven Murray in the death of Father Rene Robert.
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Motions hearings in the case will begin Dec. 2, but the District Attorney's Office said it doesn't expect a trial for at least two years.
Murray, 28, led deputies to Robert's body in April in a wooded area of Burke County on State Road 56, after the priest had been missing for a week.
Investigators said Murray kidnapped Robert, who had been helping Murray after his release from prison, and drove the priest to northeast Georgia, where he shot him.
Robert, 71, was last seen April 10 and was reported missing after a funeral the next day. His car was found crashed into a tree in Aiken, South Carolina, and Murray was arrested nearby. He was extradited to St. Johns County on charges of aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement.
He was sent back to Georgia after the malice murder charge was filed against him.
Priest was against death penalty
Those closest to Robert said the death penalty is not what the priest would have wanted for Murray.
He even wrote a letter 20 years ago addressing this exact situation.
“Father Rene was strongly opposed to capital punishment and left in his files, written 20 some years ago, the important letter in which he says that if anyone should do me harm in the future and that person is facing judgment, I do not want in my name, the capital punishment death sentence," said Father John Gillespie of San Sebastian Catholic Church.
Gillespie, who served with Robert in St. Augustine, said that doesn’t mean Murray shouldn’t be punished, just that his life shouldn’t be taken in Robert's name.
Amy Law, one of the people who alerted police to Robert's disappearance, said she wants justice for Robert.
“(Murray) will get what he deserves. Hopefully, he will get what he deserves," Law said.
Murray moved around
Murray has been moved to several jails because of suicide attempts and damage he caused to a jail.
Murray was initially moved to Jefferson County after he tried to hang himself using a bed sheet, Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey said.
Coursey told WRDW that Murray was put on suicide watch and Jefferson County Jail’s facilities are better prepared for suicidal inmates.
While he was in the Jefferson County Jail, Murray damaged a sprinkler head, flooding his holding cell, Coursey said in a statement released Monday. WRDW reports that the damage was less than $150 and will be covered by Jefferson County.
Murray also pulled a metal drain pipe connected to the toilet loose, Coursey said.
The Georgia Sheriff's Association told WRDW that after Murray was returned to its jail, Burke County called asking for help to find another facility for him.
GSA suggested Clayton County and Sheriff Victor Hill agreed to the transfer.
While in the Clayton County Jail, Murray again attempted suicide by trying to hang himself, according to a report from WRDW.