A Catholic priest was fatally stabbed early Sunday, December 10, in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. At around 5:05 a.m., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an attempted break-in at the church. Arriving deputies discovered Father Stephen Gutgsell with stab injuries and the attacker on-site.
Kierre L. Williams, 43, from Sioux City, Iowa, was detained at the scene. Williams was subsequently arrested on homicide and felony weapon use charges. Father Gutgsell, aged 65, was taken to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, situated about 17 miles from the church, where he later died from his injuries.
Father Gutgsell had been an associate pastor with the Archdiocese of Omaha, serving both the Fort Calhoun parish and St. Francis Borgia in Blair. Following the incident, Archbishop George Lucas led a service at St. Francis Borgia and spoke to the parishioners about the event.
This incident has reignited interest in Father Gutgsell’s past. In 2007, he was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to embezzling $127,000 from another parish. He was then reassigned to another church. In 2021, Father Gutgsell’s brother, Michael, also a priest, admitted to stealing from a retired priest’s estate.
Sheriff Mike Robinson of Washington County has stated that Father Gutgsell’s death does not appear to be linked to his previous offenses.
The investigation into the stabbing and its circumstances is ongoing, with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office yet to disclose more details.
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is currently not holding services, with parishioners directed to St. Francis Borgia.
Parishioner Mike Fitzgerald remembered Father Gutgsell as a devout and influential figure in both the community and the church.