By Ben Horowitz
The Star-Ledger
July 19, 2011
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/janitor_accused_of_stabbing_ch.html
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| Jose Feliciano, who is accused of stabbing to death the Rev. Edward Hinds, a Chatham priest, at a previous court appearance in February 2011. |
Onetime church custodian Jose Feliciano is to decide this week on a plea offer in the killing of a priest in Chatham.
Feliciano’s lead attorney, public defender Neill Hamilton, said in court last week he can likely say whether his client will accept the plea deal at a pretrial conference Wednesday.
The offer by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office would require Feliciano, 66, to serve at least 30 years in prison and admit he killed the Rev. Edward Hinds, then pastor of St. Patrick Church.
Under the agreement, the prosecution would drop the indictment’s three "findings of aggravating factors," which could bring a tougher sentence if Feliciano were convicted.
If Feliciano accepts the plea, there will be no trial in the case that began Oct. 23, 2009, when Hinds’ body was found in the church rectory after he failed to show for morning Mass. Feliciano had allegedly stabbed him 32 times the night before.
If he declines the deal, his trial is to start Sept. 6.
The plea offer coincided with rulings on pretrial motions that favored the prosecution.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan has ruled the prosecution may introduce at trial: Feliciano’s prior criminal record, his video-recorded confession and evidence linking Hinds’ cellphone to Feliciano after the priest was killed.
The prosecution says Feliciano killed Hinds because the priest was preparing to fire him after learning of criminal allegations against him. Feliciano, of Easton, Pa., was a fugitive from a 1988 charge of indecent assault on a 7-year-old girl in Pennsylvania.
The plea offer coincided with rulings on pretrial motions that favored the prosecution.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan has ruled the prosecution may introduce at trial Feliciano’s prior criminal record, his video-recorded confession and evidence linking Hinds’ cellphone to Feliciano after the priest was killed.
The prosecution says Feliciano killed Hinds because the priest was preparing to fire him after learning of criminal allegations against him. Feliciano, of Easton, Pa., was a fugitive from a 1988 charge of indecent assault on a 7-year-old girl in Pennsylvania.
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