Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Murder Nebraska Catholic Priest

Kierre Williams, a 45-year-old man from Sioux City, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and related felony charges in the December 2023 stabbing death of Father Stephen Gutgsell at the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Initially pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, Williams changed his plea during a pretrial hearing and faces sentencing on November 12 with a recommendation of life imprisonment without parole. Prosecutors decided against pursuing the death penalty, and investigations revealed no prior connection between Williams and the priest. On the day of the attack, Father Gutgsell had called 911 reporting a break-in and was found by deputies with severe stab wounds, later dying in the hospital. Authorities found a bloody knife at the scene, and Williams, who had multiple past felony convictions, was working at a meatpacking plant in Sioux City at the time. The killing deeply affected the small community near Omaha, compounding fears following another unsolved killing earlier that year.