JACKSON, Miss. — A man accused of killing a Roman Catholic priest and taking the victim’s car on a family vacation to Walt Disney World was found dead early Thursday in a prison cell with a sheet wrapped around his neck.
Jeremy Wayne Manieri, 33, was charged with shooting the Rev. Ed Everitt of Hammond, La., in July 2011 at a beach house in Waveland, Miss.
Manieri’s attorney, Brian Alexander, said he was told that Manieri was found in his cell at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County, east of Jackson.
Rankin County Coroner Jimmy Roberts said an autopsy was being performed Thursday. Prison officials called it a “possible suicide” and wouldn’t comment further.
Manieri was being held in the sprawling prison on a five-year sentence for a probation violation related to a sex offense. Prosecutors had been expected to present evidence in Everitt’s death to a grand jury this year.
Hancock County District Attorney Joel Smith said in a statement that he would have preferred for justice to be served through the court system, “but that is no longer an option.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Father Ed, hi…………… continues on Huffington Post
