LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Kentucky authorities Sunday were looking for the killer of a priest convicted of sexually abusing alter boys, found beaten to death at his Lexington home.
Joseph J. Pilger, 78, a retired Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to abusing four young boys in 1995, was found dead Friday, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Sunday.
Investigators were being tight-lipped about the case and would only say Pilger died of blunt-force trauma, the newspaper said.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington issued a statement Saturday expressing shock at the death.
"I am deeply saddened by the tragic and apparently violent death of Father Pilger," Lexington Bishop Ronald Gainer said in the statement. "We will pray for the repose of his soul."
Neighbors told the newspaper a young man had been staying with Pilger in recent weeks. One neighbor said the older man's car was gone.
Police, however, refused to confirm or deny the reports and said an investigation was continuing.
