Father of suspect in St. Johns priest's disappearance accused of touching himself in front of kids

The father of the suspect in Father Rene Robert's disappearance was arrested Wednesday at a Jacksonville motel.

Bobby Murray’s arrest is not related to Father Rene's disappearance.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrested him at the Stars Rest Inn, where he’s accused of inappropriately touching himself at the motel pool, where children were playing, in August.

“There’s a bunch of kids around here and that’s actually really not cool,” said neighbor Tiffany Caldwell. “That really takes a sick person to do that. And around kids? I definitely don’t want him here.”

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“I’ve got grandkids, as you can see, so I’m not happy about it,” said neighbor Pam Lane, who lives right by the pool.

JSO had a warrant for his arrest in August, but only arrested him after checking for active warrants when they interviewed him during their search for his son, Steven Murray.

JSO went door-to-door at Stars Rest Inn Wednesday looking for Steven Murray and Father Rene.

Both Steven and Bobby Murray previously listed the motel as their address.

“They went around room to room, every room, looking for him. And I’m like, 'well, I’ve seen the guy here three or four days ago, but I ain’t seen no priest,'” said neighbor Gary Lane.

Steven Murray was arrested Wednesday night in Aiken, South Carolina, which is listed as his father's birthplace on his arrest report.

Action News Jax asked the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating Father Rene's disappearance, if deputies questioned Bobby Murray.

“It would be common to interview individuals surrounding a POI [person of interest], but we are not commenting on our investigation efforts currently,” said SJSO Commander Chuck Mulligan.

The owner of Show Me Tree Services told Action News Jax both Bobby and Steven Murray worked for him, but haven’t shown up in two weeks. He said he’s furious about what each of them are accused of.

Bobby Murray bonded out of jail Wednesday night.

A sign shows the Stars Rest Inn is a JSO “stop station,” meaning it’s a place where officers can go take a break or work on reports.

Cox Media Group