Father Arul Raj Balaswamy Carasala, 57, was fatally shot on the grounds of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Seneca, Kansas, on the afternoon of Thursday, April 3, 2025. Deputies from the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office found him outside the church rectory at about 2:55 p.m.; he was taken to a local hospital and later died. He had served the parish for 14 years and was remembered by parishioners as generous and caring.

An arrest followed shortly after the shooting. Gary L. Hermesch, 66, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, with ties to the Seneca area, was taken into custody by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Nemaha County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. The Nemaha County Attorney charged Hermesch the next day with one count of first-degree murder alleging the act was intentional and premeditated, and bond was set at $1 million.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive or described any relationship between Father Carasala and the accused. Did anyone in the Seneca area see or hear anything the afternoon of April 3 that might help investigators?