Murder of St. Augustine priest, detectives who solved case to be featured in A&E crime show on Thursday

A&E has picked a local, high-profile murder case to be the focus of the season premiere for one of its primetime hit shows.

Season two of A&E’s “Interrogation Raw” will kick off Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. with an episode entitled “The Missing Priest.” (Watch the show trailer in the video player above)

It highlights the case of Father Rene Robert from St. Augustine who was kidnapped and murdered in 2017 by a man he was trying to help.

MORE | Priest’s killer: I could have gotten away with murder if I’d kept my mouth shut

Multiple law enforcement agencies worked around the clock as soon as Father Robert went missing, and once Steven Murray was identified as a suspect, homicide detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office worked together to question Murray and find out where Father Robert might be.

A&E describes the Interrogation Raw series as:

“Criminal cases can be won or lost in the interrogation room. Success can bring justice for the victims; failure can lead to a guilty person walking free. ‘Interrogation Raw’ is a true crime series that explores the delicate twists and turns of some of the most fascinating interrogations ever done. Each hour-long episode will reveal every tactic, every make-or-break moment that occurs within those four walls. Armchair detectives will feel like they are in the room as the very detectives involved share play-by-play commentary on what is often a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. The tension is palpable since, by law, no suspect needs to talk at all. Those who do can stop at any time. On ‘Interrogation Raw,’ it’s a race against the clock and everything is on the line.”

The episode features the multi-state manhunt for Murray, footage from his police interrogation following his capture, accompanied by perspective from Jacksonville Detective Harold Chapman and St. Johns County Detective Jose Jimenez as they describe what they were thinking and strategizing to get Murray to confess and reveal where they could find Father Robert.

In 2018, a documentary entitled “Where There is Darkness,” first told the story of Father Rene Robert in a St. Augustine movie theater, and how he had made up his mind to forgive long before his life was taken.

In a 1995 declaration of life he signed, Father Robert asked that if he was ever murdered, that his killer not receive the death penalty. See more about that here.

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