Updated at 5:36 p.m. ET: The Episcopal Diocese of Texas has published a statement on its website, with a response from the bishop:
“While I am relieved authorities have found Isaac, I am heartbroken that he has been charged with capital murder,” said the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas. “This only adds to the tragedy of their deaths and raises more questions than it answers,” he said.
Ahimbisibwe was a native of Uganda and had previously served at Holy Spirit, Houston; at the time of his death he was vicar of Church of the Redeemer and chaplain at the University of Houston. His middle son, Emmanuel, is 17 years old and a student at a boarding school in California. Bishop Doyle requested prayers for Emmanuel and Isaac and for the courts and prisons, for “clarity of mind, peace and wisdom.”
4:10 p.m. ET: The Houston Press has just reported on its blog that 19-year-old Isaac Tiharihondi, son of the Reverend Israel Ahimbisibwe, has been arrested following a triple murder this past weekend:
Isaac Tiharihondi, 19, was arrested in Mississippi early Wednesday morning, according to a statement from HPD. He’s been charged with two counts of capital murder, accused of killing his parents, the Rev. Israel Ahimbisibwe, 51, Dorcus Ahimbisibwe, 47, and their son Israel Ahimbisibwe, Jr., 5.
Parishioners at Church of the Redeemer first suspected something was awry when Rev. Ahimbisibwe failed to show for services on Sunday. By Monday morning, police had discovered the bodies of Ahimbisibwe, his wife, and their five-year-old son inside their Memorial-area apartment off Strey Lane.
The Houston Press refers to a Chron report stating that Tiharihondi had told parishioners he was going to Marine Corps boot camp: “the Chron also noted that the Marine Corps had no record of Tiharihondi entering the service or taking steps to enlist.”
According to the Chron, Rev. Ahimbisibwe had masters degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and the Harvard Divinity School. He also attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and studied at Rice University. According to the Episcopal diocese, Ahimbisibwe was a UH campus minister. Community members held a prayer service on the UH campus Tuesday evening to honor the slain pastor and his family.
Posted by Cara Ellen Modisett