TEXAS
CNN
[Police: Evidence in killing of former beauty queen points to ex-priest]
(CNN) — The killing of former Texas beauty queen and schoolteacher Irene Garza has remained unsolved for more than 50 years. Investigators and the Garza family say all evidence points to a former Catholic priest named John Feit, who told CNN he did not kill Garza.
Below is a timeline of key events surrounding the case:
Garza’s body and key evidence were found in this canal.
March 23, 1960: John Feit, a Roman Catholic priest, attacks Mara Guerra, a 20-year-old woman, in a church. Feit pleads no contest. He is found guilty of aggravated assault and pays a $500 fine.
April 16, 1960: McAllen, Texas, schoolteacher and former beauty queen Irene Garza, 25, visits Sacred Heart Catholic Church to offer confession on the day before Easter.
Easter Sunday, April 17, 1960: Garza’s father files a police report alerting authorities about his missing daughter.
In 2002, then-Texas Ranger Lt. Rudy Jaramillo reopened the Garza case.
April 21, 1960: Police find Garza’s body face down in a McAllen canal, along with a candelabra from Sacred Heart and a Kodak slide photograph viewer that police say belongs to Feit.
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