Priest killed in California rectory was beaten to death with a wooden stake and a metal gutter pipe

A beloved priest who was murdered in his Northern California rectory last week was brutally beaten with a wooden stake and a metal gutter according to autopsy results revealed Monday as hundreds gathered for the cleric's funeral.
It is yet another startling revelation after parishioners of Eureka's St. Bernard Catholic Church were first horrified to learn Reverend Eric Freed was found killed at the hands of an intruder on New Year's Day.
The plot only thickened once authorities nabbed their suspect, 44-year-old Gary Lee Bullock. The known criminal was stopped by police while lurking near the church with a stake in his hands just hours before the slaying but was allowed to go free.

Murdered: Beloved Reverend Eric Freed, seen here giving a First Communion in St. Bernard Catholic Church in Eureka, California, was found brutally slain New Year's Day in the rectory of the church

Terrible: Police say Bullock had been in and out of custody in the hours before Freed died and was questioned near the church as he held a wooden stake in the hours before the slaying but was not detained

Grieving: Hundreds gathered for the celebrated priest's last rites on Monday. Here, Laura Martinez, center, prays at the interment at the St. Bernard's Cemetery in Eureka

Bullock was charged with murder with a special allegation of torture. He is also charged with burglary, arson and auto theft.
Bullock pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $1.2 million, according to court records.
Amid the horrifying new details of the friar's slaying comes one nagging question: why would Bullock have done it?
'I don't think we have a clear motive we are willing to speak about at this point,' said Police Chief Andrew Mills. 'There was significant evidence at the scene to suggest he tried to set the house on fire.'

Unthinkable: A group pays its last respects to the beloved priest. Authorities say 44-year-old Gary Lee Bullock brutally beat Freed to death early New Year's Day with a wooden stake and a drain pipe before stealing his car

Trying to heal: Stanley and Martha Fosnaugh release doves at the Interment of Father Eric Freed at the St. Bernard's Cemetery in Eureka

Startling discovery: The casket of Father Eric Freed is moved after the funeral service. Freed's body was discovered by church staff when he didn't show up to say Mass the morning of New Year's Day.

Authorities declined to give a more detailed description of Freed's murder but did reveal that there was evidence Bullock tried setting fire to the rectory

Authorities have said Bullock was released from jail on a disorderly conduct charge several hours before Freed was killed in the rectory at St. Bernard Catholic Church. The jail is near the church.
Mills said Bullock was visible on surveillance video from outside the church and rectory, and the attacker got inside the rectory by breaking a side window.
The slaying occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, Parris said. A more precise time of death must await further analysis of the evidence.
A passing security guard saw Bullock on church grounds at about 2 a.m. New Year's Day and called police. An officer confronted Bullock in front of the rectory, checked his jail papers, did a field sobriety test, and determined he was mentally competent to be in public, then directed him to a shelter several blocks away.
Humboldt County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Knight said with no serious criminal behavior to hold him, and no evidence of a psychiatric problem, police had no reason to apprehend Bullock.

Well-regarded: Father Freed was remembered by his friends and colleagues as a genuine and warm person who was easy to talk to and made God accessible for congregants

Caught: Gary Lee Bullock (left) has been arrested in the killing of Father Eric Freed (right), who was found slain in the rectory of St Bernard Church in Humboldt County

Nabbed: Bullock has a history of arrests in Humboldt County but not of violent offenses. He was arrested Thursday by sheriffs while his stepfather was driving to turn himself in to police

‘This was standard practice,’ Knight said. ‘It was truly a tragic, tragic event that this happened after the fact. Unfortunately, we release people from our jail because we have to, and they go commit other crimes. There was no indication of anything unusual here.’
Freed's body was discovered when he didn't show up to say Mass the morning of New Year's Day.
Bullock was arrested Thursday by sheriff's deputies outside Garberville. Deputies said his stepfather was driving him to Garberville to turn himself in.
Bullock was well-known to authorities in Humboldt County, the heart of the Northern California marijuana growing region known as the Emerald Triangle.

He was on probation for misdemeanor convictions for cocaine possession and had no record of violent crime.
Bullock was arrested for investigation of disorderly conduct at 1.27pm on New Year's Eve at his home town of Redway after a mobile home park resident noticed him hiding in bushes and ‘acting bizarre,’ said Knight.
Because he was on parole, Bullock was taken to jail in Eureka. On the way, Bullock tried to kick out the patrol car windows, said Knight.
When he calmed down enough for the jail nurse to examine him, his heart was racing - too high to be admitted to the jail. So two deputies took him to the emergency room at St. Joseph Hospital, where doctors pronounced him fit for jail.
Police said he was held for eight hours - twice the normal time for a disorderly conduct allegation - before being released 42 minutes after midnight. He was not given a psychiatric exam.

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