Sex Offender Arrested for Priest's Murder

[LuvNewcastle]

http://www.wlox.com/story/15067123/suspect-in-priests-murder-a-convicted-sex-offender

WAVELAND, MS (WLOX) -
Authorities say the auto tracking system OnStar led them to the convicted sex offender now under arrest for the murder of a priest in Waveland.

Jeremy Wayne Manieri, 31, of Waveland was arrested overnight in Polk County, Florida. That's south of Orlando. Police say Manieri was driving the victim's SUV which was equipped with OnStar and used the GPS feature on the device to locate the vehicle at a hotel.

Father Edward Everitt, 70, of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Hammond, Louisiana was sound shot to death Monday afternoon at a home on South Beach Boulevard in Waveland.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, Waveland Police Chief Jimmy Varnell told WLOX News it appears robbery was the motive for the shooting. Varnell said the priests wallet was missing from the home.

[dimbear]

1. Tho I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil

Everitt's .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol was found in the stolen car by Polk County deputies.


We're all saddened by the death of this priest, especially by his own gun, which only adds insult to injury. OTOH, keep in mind that there is a ubiquitous power which protects or avenges even beyond the pale of the grave: OnStar.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. This is an odd case.

I guess we can all be glad that the perp is just as dumb as he is evil.

[LAGC]

3. I wonder if robbery was the real motive here.

There's been too many cases of victims of sexually abusive priests seeking out revenge lately, as the scandal becomes more well-known and widespread, brings back many painful memories for lots of folks.

Maybe it doesn't matter since "dead is dead", but then again, why did the news make an issue out of the perp being a convicted sex offender?

[LuvNewcastle]

4. I wondered the same thing.

Not only is the killer a sex offender, but he's been working for the people who run the Catholic retreat where the priest was staying. Did they know he was a sex offender? The first thing that ran across my mind was that maybe this guy was procuring kids for these priests on retreat.

There's was more on the story in today's news. When the police caught up with him, the guy had a woman and two kids with him and they were on their way to Disneyworld. When he was brought before the judge in FL, he didn't fight extradition here to MS.

I've been thinking that this case might open a big can of worms. I didn't want to let on about what I thought because I wanted to see if anyone else was making these connections. I'll be keeping up with it in the local news and if I find out more info, I'll post it.

[LuvNewcastle]

5. 'Glitch' let priest's suspected killer free

http://www.wlox.com/story/15118031/glitch-left-suspect-in-priests-death-free

WAVELAND, MS (AP) -
A man accused of murdering a Catholic priest at a Waveland beach house might have been in jail at the time of the killing if it weren't for a mixup between the state's prisons and court systems.

Records show Jeremy Wayne Manieri was placed on probation earlier this year for failing to register as a sex offender and never reported to his probation officer when he got out. That could have had him back in jail this month when a 70-year-old Louisiana priest was shot at a retreat in Waveland.

Manieri was caught near Disney World the day after the Rev. Edward E. Everitt's body was found.

Mississippi prisons spokeswoman Tara Booth said Wednesday that a computer glitch kept Manieri's probation officer from getting the right paperwork.


Added by me:

On the news today, a Waveland official said that "everybody makes mistakes." I guess that's sort of like when they get your order wrong at the pizza place. So far we know that the suspect was released by mistake, he never registered as a sex offender (oh, that was on the news as well), and the suspect was hired by the priest retreat after he was released. Whether or not the retreat new about the suspect's crime and his time in prison has not been released.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. "There's much more to the story" on priest's death

http://www.wlox.com/story/15122613/attorney-on-priests-death-theres-much-more-to-this-story

Alexander knows Manieri reportedly confessed to killing Father Ed Everitt after his arrest at a Florida hotel. But Alexander told reporters, don't focus on that confession.

"Admitting you did an action is one thing. Whether or not you had proper motivation to do that is the real question."

Alexander said Manieri had not known Father Everitt very long and didn't even know he was a priest.

"There's much more to this than y'all are aware of. I know that's why y'all are here, and I'm not trying to taunt you with that. I'm sort of limited to what I can say."

[dimbear]

7. Setting the stage for a defense of temporary insanity induced by

improper sexual advances.

That isn't going to explain stealing all his stuff and going to Disneyland.

Lawyers don't always have it so easy.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. I've wondered if the lawyer is going to try

a 'gay panic' defense. I don't think that defense is even allowed in certain states, but this is Mississippi we're talking about here. I do think there's more to this story and my sense is that the priest wasn't blameless, but the chances that the suspect was forced to kill the victim are pretty slim. The police didn't say that there was any evidence of a struggle and in my mind, that would be the only true reason for a death in this case. I'm thinking that the defense will say that the priest found out about the suspect's past and was blackmailing him somehow. At any rate, this is going to be interesting. There should be more info soon.