Since Murray was taken into custody, Shoar said he led detectives to several locations including where Robert’s body was found. He added that although all evidence indicates the remains belong to Robert, a positive identification will still need to be made by Georgia authorities.
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AUGUSTINE Police are still looking for a missing 71-year-old priest, but have called off a large-scale search of a rural area in northeast Florida.
Investigators are choosing not to reveal how Father Robert was killed, but believed he died on Sunday, April 10th.
Murray was arrested in SC on Wednesday while driving Father Robert’s vehicle. He was extradited and faces charges of aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement. “Because of the condition of the body, dental records will be needed to confirm the identity and we are working to get the needed records from Florida expedited so the lab can positively identify the victim”. On Wednesday, a Burke County judge denied bond for Steven Murray.
Robert was known within the Gainesville Catholic community, having visited for Rev. Roland Julien’s 50th anniversary celebration past year.
Murray, who was described by Shoar as a “career criminal”, had been out of jail just four days when Robert disappeared.
The bishop of St. Augustine mourned the death of Father Rene Robert, a priest of the diocese who was found dead in Georgia and was believed murdered. St. Johns County investigators spotted Murray in Robert’s Toyota Corolla late the same day and chased him from the Florida 207 area into Jacksonville, where he was lost in traffic at Butler Boulevard and Interstate 95. Authorities were led to the spot by the man who was arrested while driving Robert’s auto.
“I’ve been doing good on my own and I really don’t want to worry about him honestly”, said Wilson.
His brother and sister have come to Florida from NY to aid in the search, and attended a prayer vigil for him on Saturday.
“Mr. Murray is a large component in this case as to the disappearance of Father Rene”, Mulligan said. Investigators have not yet determined the motive in Robert’s killing or how many trips Murray took to Aiken before he was captured.
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“Right now he’s being interviewed in Thompson at the GBI headquarters and we will go from there, see what the charges are”, Sheriff Coursey says about the near future of the case.
