Priest found slain in rectory in Eureka, California

A Roman Catholic priest was found slain in his rectory in Eureka, Calif., when he failed to appear at a Wednesday morning mass, parishioners said. The Rev. Eric Freed was last seen at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday after a mass at St. Bernard Church, the (Eureka) Times-Standard reported. His body was found at around 9 a.m. New Year's morning. Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills released few details about Freed's death or the investigation at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, not even identifying the priest by name as the victim, the newspaper said. Mayor Frank Jager, who talked to local residents at the church, later confirmed Freed had been killed. Winette Treder said Frank Weber, a deacon at the church, went to the rectory when the priest did not appear for the 9 a.m. mass. "He came in and said there was something terribly wrong with Father Eric," Treder said. Freed had been pastor of St. Bernard Church in Eureka, the largest city on the northern California coast, since 2011. He also taught at Humboldt State University and served as director of the Newman Center on campus. Freed lived for 20 years in Japan. He translated haiku by Hiroko Takanashi, a survivor of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, and wrote an introduction to her collection, "The Experience of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima in Poem."