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	Prosecutor: Priest Slaying Suspect Used Aliases By David Porter The Associated Press October 29, 2009 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hM8ow6TPWkKrU4h1h23RFgz-xJbQD9BKVFE00 MORRISTOWN, N.J. — A janitor who confessed to stabbing a New Jersey priest to death last week had been trying to cover up a two-decade-old arrest warrant by using fake names and identification, a prosecutor said Thursday in requesting the man's bail remain at $1 million. State Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan agreed to the request by Assistant Morris County Prosecutor Leslie Wade to keep Jose Feliciano's bail at $1 million but changed it from cash, bond or property to cash only. Feliciano has been held on murder and weapons charges since last Friday when the body of 61-year-old Rev. Ed Hinds was discovered on the floor of the rectory kitchen at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Chatham. Prosecutors said Hinds was stabbed 32 times. Feliciano worked at the church for 17 years. Thursday marked Feliciano's first court appearance, and the 64-year-old, shackled and in olive prison garb, looked at the ground as he entered and exited the courtroom past about two dozen photographers and reporters. He did not speak during the hearing, instead nodding his assent when Manahan asked him if he understood the charges against him. Neill Hamilton, a public defender representing Feliciano, didn't comment after the hearing. Wade told the judge that Feliciano confessed to Capt. Jeffrey Paul of the county prosecutor's office. Wade said Feliciano had an open arrest warrant from 1988 in Philadelphia that involved an alleged assault and "corruption of a minor," but didn't add details and didn't comment after the hearing. According to court documents, Hinds discussed firing Feliciano one day before his death. An application for a warrant to search Feliciano's home in Easton, Pa., revealed that St. Patrick School principal Marian Hobbie said Hinds told her the box for passing a criminal background check had not been checked in Feliciano's personnel file. It was not clear from Hobbie's comments to police whether Feliciano had failed a background check or never undergone one. Wade described in court Thursday how police found Hinds' cell phone in a trash can "50 yards" from Feliciano's home and also found blood stains on clothing and in sinks at his house. That evidence helped prompt Feliciano's confession, Wade said.
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