Kansas
Seneca priest killing suspect headed to state hospital
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The man accused of killing a Kansas priest outside a northeast Kansas church is headed to the state’s largest psychiatric facility for evaluation, prosecutors said Friday.
Gary Hermesch is accused of shooting Father Arul Carasala on April 3 outside Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca. Carasala died at a nearby hospital.
Authorities said Hermesch went to the sheriff’s office immediately after the shooting and confessed.
A judge is determining whether Hermesch, of Tulsa, Okla., is competent to stand trial. An evaluation at Larned State Hospital in southwest Kansas will help make that determination, Nemaha County Attorney Brad Lippert said.
A status conference in the case is set for Dec. 18.