Suspect in priest's beach house murder returns to Miss.
(CBS/AP) JACKSON, Miss. - Jeremy Wayne Manieri, a Mississippi man accused of killing a Catholic priest and stealing his car and money before fleeing to Florida, has been returned to Mississippi and is expected in court on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Manieri is accused in the shooting death and robbery of the Rev. Edward E. Everitt, a parish priest from Hammond, La. The 70-year-old Everitt's body was found July 11 at a beachfront home in Waveland, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Florida authorities Manieri the next day at a hotel near Winter Haven. Officers said he'd bought passes to the Walt Disney World theme park but was captured before getting there.
Manieri was returned Tuesday night and was taken to the Hancock County jail after booking.
"I only want the truth to come out, even if the truth is that my brother killed this man. You can't move on without the truth, and you can't have peace without it," said Manieri's sister, JoEllen Manieri Maslow.
Manieri had troubles with the law before. Records show he served time for forgery and child molestation, and was known to use drugs. But the latest allegations stunned the people who knew him, and left them wondering if he was capable of shooting a priest.
Authorities said Everitt, better known to parishioners in Louisiana as Father Ed, used the cleric's own .380 caliber pistol in the killing at a beach house priests used as a retreat. They say Manieri then picked up his ex-wife and kids in Everitt's car and set out for the Disney vacation.
Maslow said Manieri's family didn't know he was working at the beach house where Everitt's body was found, and she's not sure how he met the priest. Authorities say the house is registered to Holy Ghost Dominican Fathers Inc., a nonprofit corporation registered in Louisiana. Everitt is listed as a registered agent, along with two other priests and a lawyer.
Everitt was a pastor at Holy Ghost Church in Hammond, La., and Our Lady of Pompeii Church in nearby Tickfaw. The church is a member of the Dominican Order and also operates a school in the community about 50 miles northwest of New Orleans.
Everitt, a native of Houston, had been with the order since 1962 and a priest since 1968. Hundreds of people turned out Saturday for his funeral Mass.
Manieri pleaded guilty to molesting a child in 2006. Maslow said her family has had serious doubts about the validity of the sex abuse accusations, and the judge and prosecutor involved also said there were problems with the case. Manieri took a plea deal and was sentenced to two years, with one year suspended.
That sentence has been criticized as too lenient by many people, including Waveland Police Chief James Varnell, and some people believe Everitt would still be alive if Manieri had gotten stiffer sentences for his past crimes.
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July 14, 2011 - Man arrested in murder of La. priest was on his way to visit Disney, cops say