WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER— Hours after killing pedophile priest John J. Geoghan in his prison cell, Joseph L. Druce confessed to the slaying, telling a state police detective that his actions were “honorable” and that he had no regrets, a jury was told today.
“I think, now, that the number one pedophile has been taken out of the picture,” Trooper David Napolitano said he was told by Mr. Druce on the afternoon of Aug. 23, 2003, about four hours after Mr. Geoghan was beaten and strangled in a protective custody unit at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
Mr. Druce is on trial in Worcester Superior Court on a charge of murdering the defrocked priest. He has raised an insanity defense.
“He was talking about getting out and skinning more children, and I just couldn’t let that happen,” Trooper Napolitano said he was told by Mr. Druce.
The trial, which began Wednesday, is continuing this afternoon.