BishopAccountability.org
 
  Accused Killer of Chatham Priest Claims Long-time Affair with Victim

By Jake Remaly
Daily Record
August 6, 2010

http://madison.injersey.com/2010/08/06/jose-feliciano-claims-affair-with-victim/

Jose Feliciano is led into the courtroom for his March 2010 arraignment for the murder of St. Patrick's Church pastor the Rev. Edward Hinds. (File photo: Dawn Benko)

The janitor accused of stabbing the Rev. Edward Hinds at St. Patrick's Church in Chatham claims the cleric wouldn't let him end a homosexual affair -- but authorities say that's a fabricated, self-serving story to mask the motive behind last year's killing.

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office has filed a motion with Superior Court to introduce at trial evidence that will show murder suspect Jose Feliciano, now 65, was trying to hide from the 61-year-old priest that he was a fugitive since 1988 from a charge in Philadelphia for sexually touching a child.

The Rev. Edward Hinds

''The evidence at trial will show that the victim became aware of the defendant's criminal history and that discovery and pending dissemination of that information by the decedent was going to result in the defendant's termination of employment,'' county Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr. said in a motion filed with Superior Court Thursday.

At the time of his killing on Oct. 22, 2009, in the rectory of St. Patrick's, Hinds had been involved in gathering background information on Feliciano. The pastor was complying with a Roman Catholic Church mandate that all employees undergo background checks and he had learned that Feliciano, the parish custodian for 17 years, had never been fully checked out.

Feliciano never resolved the 1988 charge and instead, used name variations and different Social Security numbers to avoid a long-standing warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court in Philadelphia, authorities allege.

In a confession that Feliciano allegedly made to prosecutor's office Capt. Jeffrey Paul, the suspect contended that he and Hinds had a sexual relationship for about four years.

He claimed that on Oct. 22, 2009, he met Hinds at the rectory and said he wanted to end their relationship. He stated that Hinds told him he would be fired if he didn't continue. Feliciano reportedly confessed to Paul that he became very angry, argued with the priest and then retrieved a kitchen knife and stabbed him to death, the motion said.

McNamara countered in his brief that the claim is self-serving and not supported by any facts. Feliciano's attorney, public defender Neill Hamilton, still has to respond to the brief but has told the court he is retaining a psychiatrist to possibly pursue a defense of insanity.

''The defendant's version of his motive for the murder differs profoundly from the independent facts determined by the investigation which tend to show the defendant was going to be terminated from his employment because of the existence of his criminal history which was about to be discovered due to a scheduled audit of all church employees,'' McNamara wrote.

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.