Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The man accused of murdering a Covington priest and his assistant in 2022 was in court on Tuesday, July 2.
The suspect, Antonio Tyson, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty.
On Nov. 27, 2022, detectives were called after someone hit a sign near the St. Tammany Parish bike trail and drove off. The investigation led detectives to discover the vehicle was registered to Ruth Prats, a St. Peter Parish Catholic Church employee.
Officers made an attempt to contact Prat about the incident but were unsuccessful. They also contacted her family, who said they hadn’t heard from her either. She was declared missing after her phone was found in a nearby dumpster.
The next day, Prat’s vehicle was seen at a store in the area, being driven by Tyson. From there, he was taken in for questioning.
Further investigation revealed that Prat was last seen with retired priest Father Otis Young on that Sunday. When police went to question Young, he was not home.
On Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, police responded to downtown Covington where two bodies were found behind a business “badly burned.”
On Dec. 1, 2022, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office identified the remains as Young and Prat. Young’s cause of death was listed as homicide by blunt and sharp force trauma.
As a result of the discovery, Tyson, who had been released from David Wade Correctional Center on Aug. 21, 2022, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, obstruction of justice, resisting an officer and illegal possession of stolen things.
Surveillance footage used by officers showed an encounter between the three outside of Prat’s home. Tyson was riding a bike in the area when he began a conversation with Prat and Young. The video shows him riding off but returning on foot with what appears to be a knife and entering Prat’s home.
On March 8, 2023, Tyson was indicted and in Nov. 2023, he made his first court appearance.
On July 2, Judge Ellen Creel granted a motion to seal, keeping a piece of evidence from public view.
“I said from the very beginning, we’re going to deal with this case in a responsible way,” Kerry Cuccia, Tyson’s attorney said. “I do feel we have done that and we will continue to do that.”
The trial will be held in St. Tammany Parish.
“We have faith in the citizens of St. Tammany Parish that the jurors who will be selected will be fair and will be impartial and can really fairly judge the evidence that’s in front of them,” Cuccia said.
A motions hearing is scheduled for Aug. 16.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
