HAMMOND, La. – Parishioners of a Northshore Catholic community are reeling after the murder of one of their priests at a beach house in Mississippi.* The suspect was picked by police a day later in Florida.
Monday afternoon, the body of Rev. Edward Everitt, 70, was found by a caretaker inside the Dominican Retreat in Waveland, Miss.* The priest for Holy Ghost Parish in Hammond, La. had been shot to the head and was pronounced dead on the scene.*
A day later, police caught up with a suspect in the murder several hundred miles away from Waveland. Early Tuesday, a maintenance man for the retreat, Jeremy Wayne Manieri, 31, of Waveland, was arrested just outside of Orlando, Fla.* in Polk County.
According to Waveland Police, Manieri was driving Everitt’s SUV, which was missing from the Mississippi beach house.* Police used OnStar, a vehicle tracking device on Everitt's SUV to catch the suspect at a hotel in Florida.
When Manieri was apprehended at a Days Inn hotel in Florida, he was with his ex-wife, the couple’s 10-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter, according to the Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.* They were planning on heading to Disney World.
The priest and the suspect had met about two weeks earlier and had discussed Manieri doing construction work for Father Everitt. On Sunday, apparently the two had a disagreement, according to Judd.
Judd also said that authorities believe that the murder weapon that was used to shoot Everitt two times was the priest's semi-automatic handgun. Judd said that Manieri confessed to the crime.
Robbery is believed to be the motive for murder. Waveland Police Chief Jimmy Varnell told WLOX that Everitt's wallet was missing from the beach house.
Manieri has a criminal history in the state of Mississippi.* He is a convicted sex offender.* In 2006, he was convicted of "Touching of a child or a mentally defective, incapacitated or physically helpless person for lustful purposes," according to the Mississippi Sex Offender Registry.
The murder of Everitt rocked the followers of Holy Ghost.
“I was in shock,” said A.J. Collura parish council president for Holy Ghost, adding that it took nearly 30 minutes for the news to register that Everitt had been murdered. “Unbelievable. Totally unbelievable. I could never even imagine something like that ever happening to such a wonderful person.”
Charlie Durand, also a member of the church’s council, spoke of Everitt’s close relationship with the Northshore community.* “He has got tremendous ties to Hammond. A great man, he will be missed by everybody.”
The church is planning a remembrance mass at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Holy Ghost.*
So sad. I wonder if his ex wife was wondering were the new SUV came from?!?! Or if she knew about it?
Prayers....it's hard enough when a priest is transferred to another parish let alone something like this. I hope your parish and extended community can find some peace as you remember Fr. Ed.
