By Ben Horowitz
The Star-Ledger
December 23, 2011
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/with_custodian_convicted_of_mu.html
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| Left to right: Carol Ann Miller of Chatham Township is hugged by Sheila Leary, director of administration and policy for the Morris County Prosecutor's office following the guilty verdicts in the murder trial of Jose Felicano held in N.J. Superior Court. |
For six weeks, they listened to statements in which Jose Feliciano described their relative as a predatory priest who forced him into an unwanted sexual relationship.
Thursday, they felt vindicated when a jury convicted the former Chatham church custodian of murder, rejecting his contention that he stabbed the Rev. Edward Hinds in retaliation for the alleged abuse.
"The happy part is that his reputation gets restored," said Daniel Silas Miller of Chatham Township, Hinds’ cousin and one of his closest living relatives. "It was just disgusting. It’s like he was slaughtered twice."
"Everything this man (Feliciano) said was nothing but lies and a farce to save his own skin," Miller added. "It’s a shame that this pig was able to take such a precious commodity from our community. Ed Hinds was a good man."
Miller, 49, Hinds’ second cousin, grew up with the future priest in the Green Village section of the township.
Hinds’ brother and parents are dead and no members of his immediate family are left, Miller said.
"I don’t know if I’m happy," Miller added. "I just know justice has been served."
The jury in Superior Court in Morristown announced its verdict after deliberating for a total of five hours between Wednesday afternoon and yesterday morning. Feliciano was found guilty of both murder and felony murder.
Miller’s wife, Carol Ann, wept as the verdict was announced.
"I’m glad it’s over," she said.
Feliciano, who had broken into tears several times while testifying, bowed his head when the verdict was announced yesterday, but he showed little emotion.
"The witnesses said it all," commented the jury foreman, Ray Klapal of Randolph. Asked if he included Feliciano among those witnesses, Klapal replied, "Most of them."
Klapal offered no more comments and the other jurors declined to comment as they left the courthouse after delivering their verdict.
Feliciano stabbed Hinds 44 times in the rectory at St. Patrick Church in Chatham Borough after the priest fired him on Oct. 22, 2009, according to testimony.
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| Jose Felicano defendant; testifies in his own trial for the murder of Father Edward Hines of St. Patrick Church in Chatham, during his trial in Morristown. 11/28/11 Photo Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger |
Feliciano, 66, of Easton, Pa., testified he stabbed Hinds, 61, but he said he was provoked and contended it was a passion/provocation manslaughter, not a murder.
Feliciano claimed Hinds provoked him when he fired him less than five months before his planned retirement. He said Hinds had been blackmailing him for four years by forcing him to perform sex acts in exchange for keeping quiet three unresolved criminal charges he faced from 1988 — all involving a minor in Philadelphia.
The prosecution accused Feliciano of making up the sex stories and said he "purposely" murdered Hinds when the priest fired him after learning of the criminal charges about two weeks earlier.
In his instructions to the jury, Judge Thomas Manahan said to convict Feliciano on the passion/provocation charge, the panel would have to determine he was provoked by something more than words, such as a threat with a gun or a knife.
Feliciano testified that Hinds grabbed the knife from him at one point during a "struggle." Other witnesses testified that Feliciano had virtually no bruises or cuts the day after the killing while Hinds had suffered the 44 stab wounds.
Feliciano was also found guilty of two counts of robbery, hindering apprehension and two weapons charges. He was charged with robbery and felony murder because he stole Hinds’ cell phone when the priest called 911 during the stabbing.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi, who handled the case himself, released a statement saying: "I am proud and honored to have been part of a process to vindicate Father Hinds’ murder and the slander of his reputation, which obviously the jury soundly did not believe. I can think of no greater Christmas gift to Father Hinds’ soul, and for those that loved and respected him, that this conviction happens at Christmas time."
Feliciano faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison on each murder conviction. His sentencing has not been scheduled, but it is not expected to take place until February at the earliest, according to court officials.
Feliciano’s public defender, Neill Hamilton, declined to comment on the verdict, but a spokesman for the public defender’s office, Tom Rosenthal, said the office is considering filing an appeal.
"We’re declining to comment while we study the verdict," he said. "Everyone has the right of appeal."
In a statement, the Diocese of Paterson commented: "The verdict declaring that Jose Feliciano was guilty of the murder of Father Edward Hinds brings at least some closure to the grieving of his family, the parishioners of Saint Patrick in Chatham, his friends and the entire diocese. Father Hinds suffered a brutal and painful death."
The diocese said the prosecutor’s office and other law enforcement officials "accomplished their work with honor, integrity, and diligence."
Miller, the priest’s cousin, said Hinds had been devoted to his parents, Wilbur and Christina Hinds, and that set him on a path that ended at the Chatham church.
"All his mother ever wanted was for her son to be a priest," Miller said.
Hinds served as pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Boonton for more than 15 years but transferred to St. Patrick’s in 2003 so he could be closer to home when his father became seriously ill, Miller said.
Miller said his mother, Jeannette Hinds Miller, 74, was Hinds’ first cousin and is the priest’s closest living relative, but she couldn’t bear to attend the trial.
"It was too much for her to comprehend," Miller said.
Feliciano’s wife and two children also did not attend the trial.
"I feel sorry for the children," Miller said. "They have to live with this for the rest of their lives."
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