Texas Pastor Shoots And Kills Nephew In Church Parking Lot

A Texas pastor is accused of shooting and killing his nephew outside a church Sunday.

Pastor Luther Jones of Belgrade Baptist Church was being held on a murder charge after killing his nephew, 34-year-old Curtis Jones, around 10:30 am. Initial reports claimed that Jones was shot as he entered the church, but his sister, Juanita, said her brother was on his way to a different church when he was signaled to pull into the Belgrade Baptist parking lot. Pastor Jones then approached the car and shot at his nephew at least three times through the passenger side window.

Witnesses said Curtis Jones, who was slumped over the steering wheel, hit the gas and accelerated across the highway into a field before hitting a tree.

Juanita Jones said there had been a long-standing feud between her brother and Pastor Jones, but officials have not released a motive. Family members said that Curtis Jones had been released from prison recently, and that he was attending his uncle’s church in order to get his life back on track.

Luther Jones isn’t the only pastor to be charged with murder recently. In November 2012, Pastor John D. White — an ex-convict — confessed that he had murdered 24-year-old Rebekah Gay in her trailer in central Michigan. White was engaged to Gay’s mother, and was reportedly fulfilling a fantasy of beating and strangling the victim. He admitted to using a zip tie to strangle her and beating her with a mallet before taking off her clothes and dragging her into the woods.

White had been released from prison in 2007 after serving a 12-year sentence for the manslaughter of a 26-year-old woman. Christ Community Fellowship Church, where White worked, was aware of the pastor’s criminal past when he was hired.

What sentence do you think Pastor Luther Jones should get for killing his nephew?