WORCESTER (MA)
Sun News
DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press
WORCESTER, Mass. - Moments after guards first pried open the jammed door of John Geoghan's prison cell, Joseph Druce confessed that he killed the child-molesting former priest to protect other youngsters, a guard testified Wednesday as the prisoner's murder trial began.
Four guards brought Druce to the prison hospital unit, where he sobbed while confessing to killing Geoghan, guard Travis Canty said. According to prosecutors, Druce had jammed the door of Geoghan's cell shut with a book, then strangled the defrocked priest with a pillowcase, socks and a sneaker.
"He said that he did it for the children," Canty said, "that when Geoghan got out he was going to do it again."
The defense and prosecution agree Druce killed Geoghan to "save the children" in 2003, but disagree over whether he was sane when he did it.