The Eureka, Calif., Police Department has launched a murder investigation, according to the Times-Standard, after Fr. Eric Freed, a St. Bernard Church priest, was found dead Wednesday after failing to show up to Mass.
Police Chief Andrew Mills declined to identify the victim in the case, but Mayor Frank Jager confirmed that Freed was found dead in the rectory building on the church property shortly after 9 a.m.
Mills said no suspects or persons of interest have been identified in the case and released few details about the slaying. But Mills assured the public during a press conference in front of the church Wednesday that the police department will expend every resource to conduct a complete and thorough investigation.