LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say a 25-year-old man being held in a Michigan jail is the suspect in the killing in Nevada of a defrocked Roman Catholic priest who faced what the church called credible accusations of sexual abuse in New Jersey.
Court documents say Derrick Mitchell Decoste met and exchanged messages with 70-year-old John Capparelli for several weeks after answering an internet ad for male wrestlers.
Police say Decoste owned the gun used to shoot Capparelli dead in his Henderson home.
A police report suggests robbery was the motive for the killing.
It says Dacoste's girlfriend turned over to police a bag containing items belonging to Capparelli, including a distinctive Newark Teachers Union wristwatch.
Capparelli was named in February among 180 priests listed by five New Jersey dioceses as alleged sex abusers.