Testimony given in priest’s death; Defendant told police he hit cleric to stop sexual advances

The Rev. Anthony Boake’s relationship with his alleged killer began when he hired the paroled burglar as a prostitute, witnesses testified Tuesday.

They said the relationship grew as the northwest Dallas priest gave David Burton Nesbitt a place to stay, occasional spending money and informal counseling on his family relationships and life away from prison.

“Father Anthony thought he could help him,” said Reggie Counts, who roomed with the priest at his home at Saints Constantine and Helen Antiochian Orthodox Church.

The aid came at a price, according to a statement police say Mr. Nesbitt gave after his arrest.

In that statement, Mr. Nesbitt said he killed Father Boake last fall after refusing repeated sexual advances during a visit to the priest’s home, an officer testified.

Dallas police Detective Kevin Navarro read the statement Tuesday to jurors in Mr. Nesbitt’s capital murder trial.

“I told him I wasn’t like that anymore and that I just wanted to be friends,” Detective Navarro read. “He started saying I owed it to him because of all the things he’d done for me.”

Mr. Nesbitt – who is expected to testify Wednesday – said he then struck Father Boake in the head with a hammer he found lying nearby, according to the statement. He allegedly told police that he struck the man several more times as the priest pleaded with him.

The former day laborer, 22, said that after Father Boake fell to the floor, he put socks on his hands to avoid leaving fingerprints, the detective testified.

When the priest began to move again, Mr. Nesbitt struck him several more times and stabbed him once in the chest with a small steak knife, according to his statement to police.

Investigators found bloodstains on file cabinets in Father Boake’s office – evidence that prosecutor Cecil Emerson says suggests Mr. Nesbitt was looking for valuables to take.

Officers later recovered a small bag with a crucifix and a vial of holy water inside. They also recovered a Confederate $ 5 bill that had been taken from Father Boake’s home.

On cross-examination by Mr. Nesbitt’s attorney, Mike Byck, Mr. Counts said computer equipment, a television and other valuables were left behind.

Mr. Counts told jurors that Mr. Nesbitt was one of several male prostitutes that he and the priest had met in Oak Lawn and brought back to their home for sex.

Also Tuesday, Mr. Nesbitt’s cousin Thomas Van Valkenburg testified that the defendant arrived at his apartment about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 6, covered with blood and carrying a hammer. Mr. Nesbitt appeared frightened and disoriented, his hands covered with blood-soaked socks, the cousin said.

Mr. Van Valkenburg testified that Mr. Nesbitt told him and some friends that he had just killed a priest.

Mr. Van Valkenburg said he helped dispose of the bloody clothes and Father Boake’s car. A friend tossed the hammer into a nearby drainage ditch, he said.

Children later found and played with the hammer before police arrived and seized it.