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People
BY DARLA HIGGINS @djatlas 08/18/2016
Although ex-priest John Feit is now in a Texas jail awaiting trial for murder in the 1960 death of beauty queen Irene Garza, a former boss is shocked by the allegations that Feit could harm anyone.
Feit, now 83, left the priesthood in 1972 and later married and had children and grandchildren. From 1987 to 2004, he worked in the administration office of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix. Steve Zabilski, the organization’s executive director, says Feit’s main job was to recruit and train food pantry volunteers.
“Everyone who knew John would agree that he was a kind and compassionate man,” Zabilski tells PEOPLE. “Nobody would have suspected John of committing any crime.”
On Feb. 9, Feit was arrested for the murder of Garza, a 25-year-old teacher and beauty queen who lived in McAllen, Texas. She was last seen alive the night before Easter in 1960, when she attended confession at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Feit, who was a visiting priest at the church, told police he’d counseled Garza that night but then went to visit with other parishioners.
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