A Nebraska judge said Wednesday that the fact the suspect was discovered lying on top of the badly injured priest, covered in bloodstains last month at the house where the priest resided next to his small town church, suggests that Kierre William was responsible for .

Washington County Judge Edward Matney has ruled that there is probable cause to proceed with the murder trial against Williams. He will remain in jail without bail until his next court appearance, which is scheduled for early next month. At that time he must enter a guilty plea to the murder charges and weapons charges against him. His lawyer has refused to comment on the case.

The prosecutor has said that there does not appear to be a connection between Williams, the Rev. Stephen Gutgsell was fatally knifed on December 10 in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, a tiny Fort Calhoun. Nearly a month later, the one-story house was still covered in crime scene tape.

NEBRASKA PRIEST MURDER DRAWS ATTENSTION TO UNSOLVED CLERGY SLAUGHTER IN WISCONSIN

The death of the priest came only four months after a seemingly random home invasion in the town of 1100 residents, located eight miles north-east of Omaha. It shook resident’s confidence in their own safety.

Erik Petersen, chief deputy Washington County attorney, outlined the main evidence against Williams in court documents he filed last month. Brady Tucker, a deputy sheriff who rushed to the house minutes after the parish priest reported the intruder on Sunday morning, described what he found. A detective also spoke about the findings of the initial investigation.

Tucker testified he discovered Williams lying on Gutgsell’s face, which was covered in blood. Williams obeyed the orders to show his hands, get off Gutgsell and was taken into custody.

Although Williams did not have a weapon at the time of his arrest, investigators found a broken serrated knife in the middle a bloodstain on Gutgsell’s floor.

Williams, who was interviewed in the jail several hours after the 65 year-old Omaha priest had died at a hospital, showed evidence of the assault. The autopsy revealed that the priest died of multiple stab injuries.

Detective Greg Corns stated that “he was wearing ski pants and a coat. He also had on tennis shoes, as well as some sort of winter gear.” There was blood on the outside of the pants and shoes, as well as the shirt. “There’s blood on his bottom shoes, and there is some blood spatter at the top as well.”

SLAIN NEBRASKA PRIEST HAD NO CONNECTION TO ALLEGED KILLER

The prosecution has not yet decided if they will pursue the death sentence in this case.

Williams has a long criminal record, with multiple felony convictions. At the time of his murder, Williams was employed in a meatpacking facility in Sioux City in Iowa. It’s not known what brought him to Fort Calhoun.

The Archdiocese of Omaha announced that the church Gutgsell led in Fort Calhoun would now share a pastor with two other small churches in nearby Blair and Tekamah. The three churches will alternate the daily Mass during the week.

St. John the Baptist has not yet confirmed whether it will use the same rectory in which Gutgsell was stabbed again. The Blair-based priest who is assigned to these three small churches lives in Blair.

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In a message published in the church bulletin, Gutgsell’s brother thanked Fort Calhoun’s congregation for attending the funeral of the priest last month with more than 1,000 others. The Rev. Michael Gutgsell and his siblings said they will continue to pray for St. John the Baptist Church.