Pastor John D. White of Broomfield Township, Michigan is under arrest in a bizarre murder of the daughter of his fiance in fulfillment of a sexual fantasy. Parishioners of the 14 members of Christ Community Fellowship Church knew that White was an ex-con but believed that he had changed in finding God.
White told police that he killed Rebekah Gay, 24, in her trailer by hitting her in the head with a mallet and strangled her with a zip tie. While he then stripped her body, he could not remember if he had sex with the corpse. He does remember that he then hid her body in nearby woods and returned to the trailer to dress her 3-year-old son in a Halloween costume. He admits to having a fantasy of having sex with her corpse.
White is facing a charge of first-degree murder.
White is engaged to marry Gay's mother and lived in the same trailer park. While police searched for Gay, White contacted his small congregation and asked them to pray for her.
White was released from prison in 2007 after serving nearly 12 years for manslaughter in the death of a 26-year-old woman in Kalamazoo County. The victim was Vicky S. Wall and he was convicted of assault with intent to murder and for manslaughter in the 1994 killing. He was also sentenced to probation for choking and stabbing a 17-year-old Battle Creek girl in 1981. That is a disturbing pattern of violence against women.
One of his congregation stressed that White was "absolutely contrite" and that the murder was the work of the Devil. She noted that "[h]e was doing a lot of good and Satan did not want him doing good, and Satan got to him."
Source: USA Today
