- Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty for only one of two men accused of committing gruesome murders in or near Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, last year.
- Kierle Williams, who is accused of killing the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell in his church parsonage, has been spared the possibility of the death penalty. William Collins is currently facing the death penalty for allegedly killing an elderly woman with a crossbow and slashing her throat after breaking into her home.
- Lawyers argue that while the aggravating factors necessary for the death penalty are clearly present in Collins’ case, they are conspicuously absent in Williams’ case.
Nebraska prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty in the December murder of a Catholic priest inside his home, but four months earlier, a retiree was brutally murdered in a break-in in the same small town. The plan is to seek the death penalty in the case.
Hours before Kierre Williams was scheduled to lead Mass on Dec. 10, he stabbed to death the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell, 65, after breaking into the parsonage next door to St. John the Baptist Church in Fort Calhoun. was indicted for the crime.
Meanwhile, William Collins shot 71-year-old Linda Childers three times in the back, neck and face with a crossbow and slit her throat after breaking into her isolated home about a mile north of the community in August. He has been charged with a crime.
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Although investigators have not found any connection between the suspects and victims in either case, this has left the roughly 1,100 residents of this town, located just 13 miles north of Omaha and near the Missouri River, in a very frightened state. This is part of the reason why it’s bothering me.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to murder, robbery and weapons charges. Collins is also charged with assault and theft, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Both men are expected to appear in court again next Tuesday to ask a judge to order prosecutors to reveal details of the charges.
A booking photo provided by the Washington County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office shows murder suspect William Collins. (Washington County Sheriff’s Office, via Associated Press)
Collins’ attorney did not immediately respond to messages about his case Tuesday and had previously declined to discuss the case outside of court. Judge Brian Meismer said earlier this month that it was too early to tell whether the death penalty was being applied fairly, as the court had ruled in other cases that Nebraska’s death penalty was constitutional. , rejected a motion in Collins’ case to remove the death penalty as unconstitutional.
Williams’ attorney, Brian Craig, said the charges against him do not include any requirements for a death sentence under state law. Sheriff’s deputies responding to the priest’s 911 call found Williams, 43, sprawled on top of Gutgsell, bleeding profusely.
“Based on the allegations, there are no aggravating circumstances as previously stated…that would support a finding of aggravating circumstances that would impose the death penalty on Mr. Williams.” said Craig, a close aide. The Nebraska Public Defender Commission serves as public defenders in many murder cases throughout the state.
In the indictment against Collins, prosecutors detailed three more egregious circumstances they plan to prove to justify the death penalty if Collins is convicted. They argue that Childers’ murder was particularly heinous and cruel, and that she was partially killed to hide Collins’ identity or another crime.
The day after Childers was killed, his family found his body in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
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Authorities said Collins fled to Texas with his car, wallet and shotgun, and was arrested about two weeks later.
