ARIZONA
Tucson News Now
[with video]
By Catherine Holland
PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) –
A priest suspected in a 1960 Texas murder was arrested Tuesday in Scottsdale. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest of Father John Feit.
The body of Irene Garza, 25, was found in an irrigation canal in McAllen, TX in April 1960. The last time anybody saw the beauty queen, she was going to confession at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Feit, 27 at the time, heard that confession. He was a visiting priest.
“48 Hours” aired a story about the case — “The Last Confession” — on March 1, 2014. The story was updated on July 26 that year.
While police interviewed hundreds of people in connection with Garza’s murder, Feit was their focus. He was the last person to see Garza alive.
As the investigation continued, another young woman came forward and said Feit attacked her three weeks before Garza’s murder. Feit was tried in 1961, but the jury deadlocked. To avoid another trial, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was fined $500.
No charges were filed against Feit in Garza’s murder. Feit eventually left McAllen, and the case went cold amid what many believed was a cover-up by the church.
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