PADUCAH, KY – A Hopkinsville man has pleaded guilty to damaging religious property after using an axe to destroy a statue of Mary holding baby Jesus at a local Catholic church, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Court documents state that on January 28 and 29, 2025, 27-year-old Marley R. Taylor intentionally decapitated both statues because he believed people prayed to them as an act of worship. The marble statue had been hand-carved and imported from Italy.
Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of damage to religious property. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 10, 2026, and faces up to three years in prison and restitution of at least $35,935.
Officials with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Hopkinsville Police Department condemned the act, calling it an attack on religious freedom and a violation of fundamental constitutional rights.
This case was investigated by the FBI Bowling Green Satellite Office and the Hopkinsville Police Department.
