The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette on Dec. 18, 1858, carried a remarkable news story in its pages. It announced that a jury had found Father Peter John Munnecom not guilty of murdering his fellow priest, Father Etienne Avel, in the parish church at Mora.

The previous Aug. 3, Munnecom had been scheduled to celebrate the Mass, but was summoned to attend a sick call. At the last minute, Father Avel handled the service.

As he raised the chalice during communion, he smelled something wrong with the consecrated wine, but drank it anyway. Stricken at once, the priest cried out, "Pray for me. I've been poisoned."

From the congregation, a man known only by the name Noel, rushed to help Avel into the sacristy. There he told the padre that Father Munnecom, jealous of his companion's seniority in running the parish, must have doctored the wine.

Poor Father Avel died in agony, believing that to be the case.

Four years earlier, Bishop John B. Lamy, visiting his native France, had engaged a number of missionaries to accompany him back to the new Diocese of Santa Fe. One of those was the Frenchman Avel, and another, the young Munnecom from Holland.

The latter was assigned to Mora, while Father Avel took over the San Miguel parish in Socorro. Several years later, he was transferred to Santa Fe, then to Mora, where owing to age he outranked Munnecom.

The poisoning of their padre shocked the residents of Mora. Word of the crime quickly reached Santa Fe.

Bishop Lamy happened to be in Durango, Mexico, on Church business, having left Rev. Joseph P. Machebeuf to administer the diocese in his absence.

Upon receiving news of the murder, Machebeuf without delay started for Mora. Passing through Las Vegas, he encountered the witness Noel.

That individual owned a ranch and raised sheep outside Mora. Glibly, he described to the churchman the events surrounding the death of Father Avel, and in doing so laid blame upon Munnecom.

Rev. Machebeuf took the bait. Next, after listening to testimony given by Mora townsfolk, he wrote up a report for Lamy's eyes, claiming that "the unfortunate Dutch priest was the prime suspect in the murder." In fact, both men were convinced of his guilt.

After the December jury acquittal of Father Munnecom, however, they re-examined the case and cleared his name, as far as the Church was concerned.

Suspicion next fell upon the sheep rancher Noel, especially when it became known that he had abandoned his property and simply disappeared.

Further, it came to light that he had a grudge against Father Munnecom. Parishioners whispered he was the one who laced the wine with poison, intending it for the Dutchman.

By accident, though, Father Avel received it and perished. Noel, therefore, did his best to shift blame to the priest who was his intended victim.

None of that could be proven, yet Noel never returned to the Mora area to reclaim his ranch. Years later, it was learned he had settled in the southern part of the Territory, engaged in shady practices, and was killed by someone he swindled.

As for Father Munnecom, he was allowed to resume his religious duties, and for the next few years he served various New Mexico churches. Still, the old murder case continued to cast a shadow over his reputation.

In 1866, Munnecom was assigned to a mission in Trinidad, Colo., within the recently organized Diocese of Denver.

There he became known for his scandalous behavior, for example, attending and betting on cockfights and playing poker in saloons after Sunday Mass.

The first bishop of Denver defrocked him. Ironically, that was Joseph P. Machebeuf!

Historian Marc Simmons is author of numerous books on New Mexico and the Southwest. His column appears Saturdays.