Worst-kept Secret: Ex-priest's Connection to Texas Murder Investigation
By Megan Cassidy and Garrett Mitchell
A connection to a slain beauty queen was John Feit’s worst-kept secret in the decade leading up to his arrest. The 1960 killing of Irene Garza, a young schoolteacher, continued to dog the otherwise quiet life of Feit, an elderly Scottsdale resident and former priest known for helping the poor and the homeless in metro Phoenix for more than a quarter-century. Since nearly a lifetime ago, Feit, 83, had been the sole occupant on detectives’ list of suspects, although he never had been arrested or charged. Garza’s grisly slaying in the Rio Grande Valley in the southern tip of Texas inspired national crime documentaries and haunted investigators. It served as a political platform for the recent campaign of Hidalgo County Prosecutor Ricardo Rodriguez, who was asked by Garza's family to examine the case once again.
No charges were brought after the initial investigation in 1960, conducted after Garza was found face down in an irrigation canal, five days after she was last seen heading to confession at a Catholic Church where Feit was a priest. A grand jury re-examined the case in 2004 but did not indict him. Last week, another grand jury did. In a brief and unexpected 2014 interview with "48 Hours’ Richard Schlesinger, Feit expressed disgust with the allegations. For the umpteenth time, Feit denied killing Garza. “Get lost, brother!” he snarled, before slamming the door in the reporter’s face. Before Garza's death was re-examined, Feit was known as an advocate for the underprivileged and an active member of St. Theresa Catholic Church in east Phoenix. His name was synonymous with religious triumph rather than scandal, and he welcomed media exposure to promote his many causes. “He was extremely well liked and respected,” said Stephen Zabilski, director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix. “I was just shocked when I first heard of it. Not that you think anyone would be involved, but he was the last person that you would suspect.” 'His life was about helping people'
According to a 2002 Texas Monthly article, Feit left the priesthood in 1972 and settled in Phoenix, where he got married, had kids and worked for six years as an insurance salesman. Public records first place Feit in Arizona in the 1980s. By 1987, he had secured a position with St. Vincent de Paul’s support office, helping to recruit volunteers for the organization’s food pantries. Zabilski said Feit’s personal mission extended beyond his job responsibilities. It was 1997, and Zabilski’s first year at St. Vincent de Paul. There was a family, Zabilski recalled, whose two adult children had found themselves in trouble with the law. They were forced to leave 12 young children in the care of the kids’ grandparents, who lived in a small West Valley apartment. After hearing about the family’s predicament from a St. Vincent’s conference president, Feit became one of three leaders in an effort to raise $55,000 to buy the family a home. Zabilski said the group initially had faced pushback from some co-workers, who argued that this fell outside their role. “ ’We don’t do this, John,’ ” Zabilski recalled as the sentiment. " ‘No, we do do this,’ " he said Feit had responded. " ’We help people.’ " “His life was about helping people,” Zabilski said. But Zabilski had heard the rumors as well. “I remember one time just asking John, and saying, ‘John, is there anything here?' ” he said. “He said absolutely there wasn’t." Feit was a fixture in the community throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, said Bill Hermann, a former Arizona Republic reporter who covered crime, homelessness and many other issues during a long career at the newspaper. Feit testified at Senate hearings, Hermann said, and was quick to offer a quote on hunger or the lack of affordable housing. “I found him to be one of the most virtuous and kind people I’ve met in my life … extraordinarily intelligent,” Hermann said. “I considered him a friend.” The Rev. Charles G. Kieffer, pastor of St. Theresa Parish, said in a statement that the church was saddened to hear of Feit's arrest. Kieffer said it was important to note he was innocent until proven guilty. "We ask your prayers for Mr. Feit, his family — as well as the family of the victim and all who are involved in this case," Kieffer wrote. "May God guide the Texas court system so that true justice is attained for all." Mark Holleran, chief executive officer for the Central Arizona Shelter Services, remembers Feit most during the developmental stages of the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix. Feit, he said, was one of the many voices who helped frame what the campus could look like. Today, the sprawling area provides shelter, medical and employment services for hundreds of the Valley’s homeless people. “He always seemed very optimistic, very supportive of the effort,” Holleran said. “He seemed to be always a very positive individual.” Holleran said he first heard about the allegations through a 2005 article in the Phoenix New Times. Whether it was because of the growing scrutiny or other issues, Holleran said, he never seemed to see Feit around after that. Arrested in Scottsdale: 'I'm totally puzzled'
Feit lived in a Scottsdale apartment complex not far from St. Theresa's. Despite the many media reports on the cold case and the intentions of the new criminal district attorney in Hidalgo County, his arrest Tuesday was a surprise, particularly to Feit himself. After he shuffled up to a podium in a Phoenix courtroom to hear the commissioner set bail, Feit said he didn't understand why, after all these years, this was coming to a head. The crime happened in 1960, he told the commissioner. "I'm totally puzzled why something is coming up now,” he said. Feit said he was inclined to fight the extradition but seemed confused by the process. An extradition hearing is currently scheduled for Feb. 24. He is being held on a $750,000 bond at a Maricopa County jail. Few details revealed Texas authorities said Garza, 25, had visited Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, where Feit was a priest, on April 16, 1960. Garza, who was Miss All South Texas Sweetheart 1958, had planned to go to confession that evening. She never returned home. According to an autopsy, Garza died from a head injury. Few details have been released about the evidence that at last convinced a grand jury to indict Feit. On Wednesday evening, Rodriguez, the Hidalgo County prosecutor, released a brief statement. “The arrest of John Feit Tuesday night is the first step in providing justice for the murder of Ms. Irene Garza,” he said. “After nearly 56 years, Ms. Garza’s family and our community will finally see that justice is served.” Rodriguez added that officials would provide additional details once the extradition process was completed. According to local Texas reports, Feit had been arrested weeks before Garza’s murder in connection with an attack on another young woman at a church in a neighboring town. Feit was tried in the case, but the jury deadlocked. He ended up pleading no contest to misdemeanor aggravated assault. He was fined $500 and received no prison time. No comment from Feit So far, Feit has declined jailhouse interviews. But he often spoke up on behalf of others. He wrote numerous letters to the editor at The Arizona Republic over more than two decades, often focusing on welfare and the challenges many financially strained Arizonans faced. In one of those letters, he spoke in support of another man of the cloth. In early August 1989, Feit defended convicted priest George Bredemann, an associate pastor at St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Phoenix, who was found guilty of having sex with minors. Feit said that in the six years he had known Bredemann at St. Theresa's Parish, Bredemann worked with the severely disabled and developmentally disabled in addition to his pastoral duties and, by result, was worthy of extended therapy without a prolonged prison sentence. "He has done wrong, and is being punished for it,” Feit wrote. “I cannot forget that he has done much good as well, and —with the proper help — may yet return to do more good.”
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