BURKE COUNTY, Ga. – The man accused of killing a St. Augustine priest tried to hang himself in his Burke County, Georgia, jail cell using a bedsheet, Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey said.
Coursey said a couple of other inmates saw him about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and alerted guards. Murray was taken to a hospital to be treated. He was returned to the jail later in the evening.
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“He's been upset because we don't allow him to smoke in the jail. We are a non-smoking jail. He got upset about that,” Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey said. “But he stated he was depressed, so we are in the process of trying to see if he needs some more medication and what we can do about that.”
Coursey said they are considering moving Murray to a jail where he can be monitored more closely.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep them safe and keep him from doing this," Coursey said. "We're going to counsel him and keep him satisfied."
Investigators said Murray kidnapped Father Rene Robert and drove him to northeast Georgia where he shot him. Robert’s body was found in a wooded part of northeast Georgia just over a week after he was last seen in St. Augustine.
Murray, 28, faces the charge of malice murder. Last week, prosecutors notified the court they intend to seek the death penalty.
Murray is being held without bond at the Burke County Jail.