Gruesome details of Sharen Wilson’s death emerged during her accused killer’s initial court appearance Wednesday, leading a judge to deny bail for one of two suspects in her death.

Warren County Judge Johnny Price denied bail for Rafael McCloud, 33, 513 Lynn St., after he was charged with capital murder and seven other crimes related to the death of 69-year-old Sharen Wilson.

“Based on the gravity of the offenses, this defendant will be held without the benefit of bail,” Price told McCloud who stared blankly toward the judge.

McCloud was also charged with sexual battery, rape, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, grand larceny, arson and home invasion. His nephew, Akeem McCloud, who has been arrested but not charged in the case, did not appear in court Wednesday.

Police say Wilson was stalked, tied up, raped, abducted and taken to an abandoned hospital where she was shot in the head with a stolen gun. Many people in the standing-room-only crowd packed inside the county courtroom gasped and burst into tears as the acts were described.

Charles Marascalco, whose wife, Bobbie, worked with Wilson said he was in shock that anyone would target his longtime friend.

“I’d known that woman for 10 years and I’d never heard her say anything bad about anybody. You can’t say that about a lot of people,” Marascalco said.

Following the court hearing, a crowed gathered for an impromptu prayer service led by the Rev. Beth Palmer of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

“We pray for justice,” Palmer said.

A prayer service earlier in the week drew 200 people to St. Michael Catholic Church, where Wilson was a member.

Family members reached outside the courtroom Wednesday declined to comment.

During the court hearing, Vicksburg Police Capt. Sandra Williams said Rafael McCloud watched Wilson retrieve a hidden key after being locked out of her home Saturday night. McCloud then used the key to gain entry to the home at 2502 Drummond St. before attacking, kidnapping and killing her, she said.

“Mr. McCloud gave information for investigators to believe he was responsible for the death of Mrs. Wilson,” Williams said.

Police believe McCloud attacked Wilson, who lived alone, in the kitchen of the home. A neighbor who was checking on Wilson the following morning found “blood and other evidence,” in the home, Williams said.

After the attack, McCloud attempted to burn down Wilson’s home, leading to the arson charge, prosecutors and police said.

“When officers arrived on scene and walked into the residence, they smelled gasoline,” Williams said. “(McCloud) stated that he poured gasoline through the residence in an attempt to burn the house.”

Wilson’s body showed signs of being bound at the wrists, and an examination at the state crime lab revealed evidence that she was raped, Williams said.

It is believed Wilson was still alive when she was taken to the abandoned Kuhn Memorial Hospital. Drag marks and a blood trail still evident Tuesday outside an entrance to Kuhn indicate that she was taken inside the overgrown facility.

“We believe that the murder took place in the 1400 block of Martin Luther King at the old Kuhn Memorial Hospital,” Williams said.

Wilson was apparently shot with a .40-caliber pistol that Rafael McCloud admitted to stealing during a May 31 burglary in the 1000 block of First East Street, police and prosecutors said.

“It is at least attached to this case because the weapon taken from that home appears to be the murder weapon,” District Attorney Ricky Smith said of the burglary.

McCloud has prior felony convictions for auto burglary, grand larceny and armed robbery, which led to the weapon charge, according to court records.

The gun was recovered when the two suspects were stopped Sunday in Leland for careless driving in Wilson’s 2012 Nissan Murano. Leland police detained the uncle and nephew after finding the weapon and called Vicksburg police after discovering the vehicle was registered to Wilson.

An officer went to Wilson’s home but was unable to get anyone to come to the door, police have said.

When Vicksburg Police arrived to question McCloud, he gave them grim news, Williams said.

“Rafael McCloud gave information to investigators to make them believe Mrs. Wilson had been killed,” Williams said.

However, he told investigators that Wilson had been taken to Sharkey County, Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

Armstrong said McCloud took the officers on search route that put them within six miles of Greenville when they learned that a group of ghost hunters at the Kuhn property had found Wilson’s body.

McCloud, who appeared in court wearing a blue jumpsuit and a bulletproof vest, was much less talkative Wednesday than he had been with investigators.

During the beginning of the hearing, he seemed eager to speak as he told Price his name and address, but once the charges were read McCloud sat quietly with a blank expression on his face, as if the gravity of the situation had hit him.

No lawyer appeared with McCloud in court and he refused to speak when asked if he would like a court-appointed attorney.

“Let the record show that the defendant is unresponsive and refuses to answer the question,” Price said.

The case was bound over for examination by a Warren County grand jury. The grand jury convenes later this month, but the case will likely be delayed until the October term, said Smith, the district attorney.

“We will do everything in our power to make sure it is handled expeditiously, but I think it will be held over until the October grand jury,” Smith said. “With the nature of the crime itself and the heightened scrutiny that will be applied to the case, we want to make sure we have everything in proper order before we present the case to the grand jury.”

Funeral services for Wilson are set for 4 p.m. Thursday at St. Albert Catholic Church in Hammond, La.

The killing is the fourth homicide reported this year in Vicksburg. No homicides have been reported in Warren County.