Brother receives 24 years to life for killing priest, torching church

Published: 2003-10-13

CLEVELAND (CNS) -- A Franciscan brother has admitted killing a Cleveland priest last December and setting fire to a church rectory to cover up the crime. Brother Daniel Montgomery, 37, was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison Oct. 9 after pleading guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Brother Montgomery told Judge Ann Manen that he shot Father William Gulas, pastor of St. Stanislaus Church in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood, and set the fire which damaged a large part of the parish rectory. With the plea bargain, Brother Montgomery avoided the possibility of a death sentence had he gone to trial and been found guilty of aggravated murder and aggravated arson. Brother Montgomery expressed sorrow to Father Gulas' family. "I sincerely hope that I may be rehabilitated and honor Father Willie's memory in that way," he told the judge.

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