Coroner: Eureka, Calif., priest beaten to death with wooden stake, metal gutter pipe
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this May 2012 file photo provided by Lynn Enemark shows the Rev. Eric Freed giving First Communion in St. Bernard Catholic Church in Eureka, Calif. Free was found slain New Year's Day in the rectory of the church. A funeral is planned late Monday morning, Jan. 6, 2014 for Rev. Eric Freed, who was beaten to death in the church rectory last week. A suspect arrested in the slaying, Gary Bullock, is scheduled to be arraigned in the afternoon. (AP Photo/Lynn Enemark, File) NO SALES (The Associated Press)
An autopsy shows that a beloved priest who was killed in the Northern California city of Eureka was beaten to death with a wooden stake and a metal gutter pipe.
Humboldt County Coroner Dave Parris said Monday that investigators don't want to release more details of how the Rev. Eric Freed was beaten, pending further investigation.
But at his arraignment, 44-year-old Gary Lee Bullock was charged with murder with a special allegation of torture. Other counts are burglary, arson and auto theft.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities have said Bullock was released from jail on a disorderly conduct charge several hours before the New Year's Day slaying. The jail is near the church.
Police Chief Andrew Mills says the attacker got into the rectory at St. Bernard Catholic Church by breaking a side window.