BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News [Buffalo NY]
December 31, 2023
By Mike McAndrew
The murder of Buffalo Diocese Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor was front-page news across New York State in 1966.
O’Connor, who was the 44-year-old editor of the diocese’s weekly newspaper, was found in Scajaquada Creek drowned, with fractures to the larynx and hyoid bone in his throat and contusions and abrasions to his scalp.
Who killed the monsignor? Exploring the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor, its investigation and its legacy
Revealed in the 56-year-old reports on the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor were shocking secrets – a priest and a diocese journalist had been suspects – and a cache of other never-before released details.
But within two months of the death, Buffalo police suddenly shut down their investigation, without telling O’Connor’s family, friends or the public why.
In 2023, The Buffalo News published stories over 18 consecutive days about the unsolved murder of O’Connor after two reporters and their editor were given unprecedented access to the Buffalo police homicide file.
The News’ series revealed publicly for the first time that:
- Two Buffalo Diocese priests – Monsignor Franklin Kelleher, who was known as the diocese’s unofficial disciplinarian of priests, and the Rev. John Lewandowski, who has been credibly accused of sexually molesting boys – were considered suspects in O’Connor’s death by homicide detectives. Lewandowski was fingerprinted and questioned by detectives.
- A third suspect was a diocese-employed journalist who, according to police reports, admitted to fantasizing about putting an axe in O’Connor’s head. The journalist moved out of state shortly after detectives questioned him.
- None of the police reports identify O’Connor as being gay. But it is clear homicide detectives were investigating if O’Connor was targeted because he was a homosexual.
- The Buffalo News interviewed more than 120 people, including a retired prosecutor, a former Catholic deacon, an attorney and other sources who said high-ranking Buffalo homicide officers told them the investigation was shut down after a priest or monsignor became a suspect to avoid embarrassing the diocese.