By Peggy Wright
Daily Record
July 11, 2011
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110711/NJNEWS/307110012/Prosecutor-can-use-details-of-21-year-old-charge-against-man-charged-with-killing-Chatham-priest
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| Jose Feliciano, accused of killing the Rev. Edward Hinds in 2009 in Chatham, in court in February. / staff photo/DAILY RECORD 2011 |
Prosecutors can tell a jury that Jose Feliciano was wanted in Philadelphia for a crime against a child and feared being fired when he allegedly stabbed to death the pastor of St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Chatham, a judge ruled Monday.
Over the protests of the defense lawyer for the 66-year-old murder suspect, Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan ruled that prosecutors can offer evidence of so-called prior bad acts by Feliciano as a possible motive for the slaying of the Rev. Edward Hinds on Oct. 22, 2009, in the church rectory.
There is a chance the case will never get to trial in September. Feliciano, whose now-adult son and minor daughter will be subpoenaed to testify against him, is contemplating the state’s plea offer of 30 years in prison. Defense lawyer Neill Hamilton said he expects to have an answer by July 20, a pretrial conference date.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi announced that he will prosecute the case because it is one “that hit near to my heart.” While Bianchi routinely appears in court to observe and participate in plea negotiations, he has not tried a case in his four years in office.
Most trials in all New Jersey counties are handled by assistant prosecutors. Then-Prosecutor W. Michael Murphy Jr. was the last Morris County prosecutor to try a case, that of Robert Miller, who was convicted in 1993 of killing Deborah Appleton in Roxbury in 1989.
Prosecutors contend that the priest in the summer of 2009 became aware that a complete background and fingerprint check on Feliciano, the longtime church janitor, had not been done.
The church was in the process of complying with a mandate that all staff and volunteers who worked around children had to submit to background checks and go through special training.
An analysis of the hard drive of the priest’s computer showed that he had been conducting an online background check on Feliciano and had made a notation in his journal that indicated he meant to terminate Feliciano’s employment as of Oct. 23, 2009.
Feliciano was charged in 1988 in Philadelphia with misdemeanor offenses of inappropriate and indecent contact with a 7-year-old girl. He never resolved the charge and was a fugitive for 21 years.
In arguing for the information to be kept from a jury, Hamilton argued there is no proof that Hinds truly knew about Feliciano’s past. But the judge said a strong inference could be drawn that Hinds did learn damaging information about the janitor, based on his computer search and the notation in his journal.
Hamilton said he believed the state would use the pending criminal charge unfairly against Feliciano.
“They can trash the defendant in front of the jury and get away with it,” he said.
Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com
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