Agents from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, along with deputies from the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office, are investigating the murder of a Catholic priest.

 

Law enforcement was called to the location of the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in the City of Seneca – about 60 miles north of Topeka – yesterday afternoon for reports of shots fired. Deputies from the N-C-S-O and officers from the Seneca Police Department arrived at the scene to find 57-year-old Father Arul Carasala outside his residence, suffering from a gunshot wound. Carasala was taken to the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca, where he later died from his wounds.

 

Authorities located a suspect in the crime – 66-year-old Gary Hermesch of Tulsa – and placed him under arrest. Hermesch was booked into the Nemaha County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder.

 

The investigation remains ongoing.