GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — A beloved priest who was killed in the Northern California city of Eureka was beaten to death with a wooden stake and a metal gutter pipe, his autopsy shows. 
 
 FILE - In this May 2012 file photo provided by Lynn Enemark shows the Rev. Eric Freed giving First Communion in St. Bernard Catholic Church in Eureka, Calif. Free was found slain New Year's Day in the... (Associated Press) 
 
 Humboldt County Coroner Dave Parris said Monday that investigators don't want to release more details of how the Rev. Eric Freed was beaten, pending further investigation. 
 
 But at his arraignment, Gary Lee Bullock, 44, of Humboldt County, was charged with murder with a special allegation of torture. He is also charged with burglary, arson and auto theft. 
 
 Bullock pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $1.2 million, according to court records. 
 
 "I don't think we have a clear motive we are willing to speak about at this point," said Police Chief Andrew Mills. "There was significant evidence at the scene to suggest he tried to set the house on fire." 
 
 Meanwhile, a funeral Mass was held Monday for Freed at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Eureka. Parishioner Lynn Enemark said more than 1,000 people filled the church to overflowing. Bishop Robert F. Vasa officiated, and priests from around California attended. 
 
 Authorities have said Bullock was released from jail on a disorderly conduct charge several hours before Freed was killed in the rectory at St. Bernard Catholic Church. The jail is near the church. 
 
 Mills said Bullock was visible on surveillance video from outside the church and rectory, and the attacker got inside the rectory by breaking a side window. 
 
 The slaying occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, Parris said. A more precise time of death must await further analysis of the evidence. 
 
 A passing security guard saw Bullock on church grounds at about 2 a.m. New Year's Day and called police. An officer confronted Bullock in front of the rectory, checked his jail papers, did a field sobriety test, and determined he was mentally competent to be in public, then directed him to a shelter several blocks away, police have said. 
 
 The security guard, who does not work for the church, saw Bullock again at about 3:30 a.m. and told him again to be on his way but did not call police again. 
 
 Freed's body was discovered when he didn't show up to say Mass the morning of New Year's Day. 
 
 Bullock was arrested Thursday by sheriff's deputies outside Garberville. Deputies said his stepfather was driving him to Garberville to turn himself in. ||||| Play Facebook 
 
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 A mother and father whipped their 19-year-old son in church with an electrical cord and what appeared to be a belt during a deadly, all-night spiritual counseling session triggered by his desire to leave the fold, according to witness testimony and police Friday. 
 
 Church deacon Daniel Irwin testified that he peered through a doorway window in the sanctuary at one point during the more than 12-hour ordeal at the Word of Life Christian Church, and saw Lucas Leonard bleeding and in apparent agony. 
 
 Deborah Leonard (L) and Bruce Leonard (R) sit next to their attorneys Devin Garramone (2nd L) and Don Gerace (2nd R) in court for a manslaughter charge against them in the death of their 19-year-old son Lucas Leonard, in New Hartford, New York, Oct. 16, 2015. POOL / Pool via Reuters 
 
 "Lucas was rolling himself back and forth on the floor and making a sustained, monotone moaning," Irwin said. 
 
 Within hours, the young man would be dead — killed by blows inflicted by his parents, sister and fellow church members, authorities said. His mother told police the group took turns hitting him and holding him down, state police investigator Jason Nellis testified. 
 
 The testimony came at a court hearing for the victim's parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, on manslaughter charges. At the conclusion of the hearing, a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to sustain the charges. 
 
 The arrests in this upstate New York town of 22,000 people, about 50 miles from Syracuse, have thrown a spotlight on Word of Life, a highly regimented and insular church that operated out of a large, red-brick former school that also served as a communal home for several members. 
 
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 Police Chief Michael Inserra said outside court that members told authorities that Lucas Leonard and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were beaten during what began as spiritual counseling Sunday night over Lucas' desire to leave the church. 
 
 A neighbor, James Constantine, also said Lucas had talked about moving on and had mentioned he might join the Army. 
 
 Christopher was hospitalized in serious condition, but his health was improving. 
 
 Four other church members, including the victims' 33-year-old sister, Sarah Ferguson, have been charged with assault. Their hearings will be held later. All six defendants have pleaded not guilty. 
 
 Bruce Leonard's attorney said prosecutors hadn't proved the couple intended serious injuries to their son. Deborah Leonard's lawyer said the mother felt helpless to stop an "intervention" that she didn't expect to become so harsh. 
 
 Irwin, the church deacon, testified that he got a text message after services ended around 8 p.m. Sunday saying the Leonard family would be part of a counseling session with the church's pastor, Tiffanie Irwin, who is Irwin's sister. Irwin said he wasn't told what the session was about. 
 
 From the start, it was intense: Raised voices prompted Irwin to move five children who were in a room near the sanctuary to another space farther away, so they wouldn't be scared. 
 
 Watching through a window around 10 p.m., Irwin said, he saw Bruce Leonard hit Lucas up to six times with what appeared to be a belt, and also hit Christopher. The young men winced, Irwin said, but Lucas didn't try to defend himself. 
 
 Their mother hit Lucas with a cord out of anger over "things that he had said," investigator Todd Grant testified. He said he didn't ask her what those things were. 
 
 Around 10 a.m. Monday, panicked church members ran up to Irwin and said they thought Lucas was dead. 
 
 Irwin said he dashed into the sanctuary to find Lucas lying motionless on the floor, with the young man's father and brother and Irwin's mother, church spiritual leader Traci Irwin, trying to resuscitate him. Lucas was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
– Horrific new details in the New Year's Day slaying of a popular Catholic priest in California: An autopsy has revealed that the Rev. Eric Freed was beaten to death with a metal gutter pipe and a wooden stake, the AP reports. He was found dead inside the rectory of his church in Eureka; his suspected killer, 44-year-old Gary Lee Bullock, has been charged with murder with a special allegation of torture. Bullock, who was also charged with burglary, arson, and auto theft, has pleaded not guilty and bail has been set at $1.2 million. He had been released from a jail near the church on a disorderly conduct charge just hours before the killing. "I don't think we have a clear motive we are willing to speak about at this point," the local police chief says. "There was significant evidence at the scene to suggest he tried to set the house on fire." Hundreds of people have attended vigils for Freed, with many praising his impact on their lives and his efforts to break down barriers between people and faiths, the Eureka Times-Standard reports.