WORCESTER (MA)
Boston.com
November 28, 2005
WORCESTER, Mass. --The trial for the alleged killer of pedophile priest John Geoghan has been delayed until January because of a scheduling conflict involving a witness.
Jury selection had been scheduled to begin Monday in the murder trial of Joseph Druce, a prison inmate accused of beating and strangling Geoghan inside the former priest's cell at the state's highest-security prison.
The trial is now scheduled to begin Jan. 9 because of a scheduling conflict with a psychiatrist scheduled to testify for the defense.
A new judge was also appointed to oversee the trial. Superior Court Judge Francis Fecteau will replace Judge Timothy Hillman, who has been appointed to the federal bench.
Investigators have said Druce made a detailed confession after Geoghan's body was found inside his cell at the Souza-Baranowski prison in Shirley in August 2003. The 68-year-old Geoghan, a central figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal, was in prison for molesting a 10-year-old boy.