EDINBURG (TX)
The Monitor
April 08,2006
Brittney Booth
The Monitor
EDINBURG — After 24 years on the job, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra has made tough decisions in thousands of criminal cases.
But of those cases, two recent decisions have come back to haunt him in his face-off with challenger Alma Garza in the April 11 runoff election. ...
IRENE GARZA
Some of the staunchest criticism Guerra’s faced comes from those who accuse him of mishandling the investigation into the murder of Irene Garza, a 25-year-old second grade teacher who disappeared the day after Easter in 1960 after giving confession at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen. Her body was found five days later in a canal; investigators believe she had been raped.
The priest who heard her confession, John B. Feit, was thought to be the last person to see Irene Garza alive. Feit was never named as a suspect, but many believe he was involved in Garza’s murder. Now living in Arizona and no longer a priest, Feit has repeatedly denied the accusations.