Former pastor arrested in alleged murder plot

updated 8:16 a.m. ET Nov. 29, 2006

MODESTO, Calif. - A former pastor has been accused of murdering an 85-year-old California man in a scheme to inherit his trust fund.

Doug Porter was arrested earlier this week at the U.S.-Mexican border as he tried to return to the United States from Mexico.

Porter, 55, was the pastor at Hickman Community Church in Stanislaus County when he met and befriended Frank Craig, who inherited up to $4 million in stocks and real estate after his brother died.

Family members said Craig asked Porter to help him build an agriculture-themed museum, and by 1999, the pastor had control of his finances.

The pastor and Craig survived an accident in 2002 when Porter's pickup veered off the road and struck a tree. But the two crashed again in 2004, and Craig was killed. That raised suspicions among his relatives.

Porter resigned from the church last year.

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