A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to the deadly shooting of a Florida priest in east Georgia, according to a prosecutor’s spokeswoman, which will allow him to avoid the death penalty.
Steven Murray, 30, made the plea in Burke County Superior Court, according to Natalie Paine of the Augusta Judicial Circuit. The Waynesboro courthouse is near where Murray said he shot to death the Rev. Rene Robert, 71, of St. Augustine, Fla., in April 2016.
Prosecutors had said they would seek the death penalty if Murray was convicted.
Murray was sentenced to life without parole, Paine said. He pleaded guilty to malice murder, two counts of felony murder, possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Murray told the Florida Times-Union last year that Robert, who spent his retirement ministering to the poor and misfits, was one of the few men who was good to him.
Murray abducted Robert in the priest’s car, locking him in the trunk, during a trip to see family in South Carolina on April 10. He said he marched Robert into the woods in Burke County and shot him because he was afraid of going back to prison.
Murray was taken into custody a few days later, according to reports. On April 18, Murray led officers to Robert’s body, the Augusta Chronicle reported.
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