Sheriff: Suspect in Florida priest slaying attempts hanging

Published June 01, 2016

A Georgia sheriff says an inmate accused of killing a 71-year-old Florida priest tried to hang himself with a bed sheet in jail.

Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey says 28-year-old Steven James Murray survived the Tuesday evening suicide attempt, was taken to a medical center and then was returned to the jail.

Coursey tells The Augusta Chronicle (bit.ly/20SUooR) Murray had been upset that smoking isn't allowed in the jail.

In April, a weeklong search for the Rev. Rene Wayne Robert of St. Augustine, Florida, ended in east Georgia, when the priest's body was found in a wooded area.

Murray was arrested in South Carolina after a manhunt. Authorities say Murray drove back and forth between Florida and South Carolina in the priest's car. Investigators believe Robert was killed April 10.

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Information from: The Augusta Chronicle , http://www.augustachronicle.com

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