EDINBURG (TX)
San Antonio Express-News

November 30, 2017

By Aaron Nelsen

EDINBURG — A deal struck between the Hidalgo County district attorney and the Catholic Church allowed a priest who was a suspect in the 1960 murder of a South Texas beauty queen to walk free, former reporter Darrell Davis testified Thursday.

It was the first day of the trial of John Feit, now 85, accused of murder in the death of Irene Garza, a 25-year-old second-grade teacher who had gone to him for the sacrament of confession.

Robert Lattimore, then Hidalgo County district attorney, agreed to steer investigators away from Feit, and in return the 27-year old priest would be sent to a monastery to live out the remainder of his days, Davis told the jury. He was a television reporter at the time, assigned to cover the case.

Lattimore “knew that John Feit had killed Irene Garza…