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SENECA, Kan. (KMBC) — The criminal case against the man accused of fatally shooting a Catholic priest in Kansas is set to take another step forward.
A Nemaha County judge has scheduled a competency hearing for Sept. 3 at the Nemaha County Courthouse in Seneca to determine whether Gary Lee Hermesch is competent to stand trial.
The court first ordered Hermesch to undergo a competency evaluation through Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center on Nov. 7, 2025.
After reviewing that evaluation, the court ordered Hermesch transferred to Larned State Security Hospital on Dec. 4, 2025, for additional evaluation and assistance with his defense.
Hermesch is charged in the April 3, 2025, fatal shooting of Father Arul Carasala outside the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church rectory in Seneca.
Hermesch, according to an affidavit released in the case, drove to the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office shortly after the shooting and told an undersheriff he had just shot Carasala and needed to be arrested.
Carasala was found bleeding outside the rectory and later died at a hospital.
Court documents said the suspected murder weapon was recovered from Hermesch’s vehicle.
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