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	Jury Selection to Start Today in Murder of Priest in Chatham By Peggy Wright My Central Jersey September 7, 2011 http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110907/NJNEWS/309070015/Jury-selection-to-start-today-in-murder-of-priest-in-Chatham Over the protest of a defense lawyer, a judge ruled Tuesday that jury selection would start today for the trial of Jose Feliciano on charges of murdering the Rev. Edward Hinds in Chatham. The process will first involve prequalifying 50 to 60 people to hear charges that Feliciano, the custodian for St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, fatally stabbed the 61-year-old church pastor on Oct. 22, 2009. From the large pool of prospective jurors, prosecutors and defense lawyers ultimately will pick 16 people, including four alternates. Questioning of prospective jurors is expected to take longer than usual because of the sensitive allegation by Feliciano that he killed Hinds because the priest threatened to fire him unless he continued their homosexual relationship. Prosecutors have said that claim is self-serving and uncorroborated by other evidence. They have charged that Feliciano, now 66, stabbed the priest some 32 times in the church rectory because Hinds had discovered the suspect was wanted in Philadelphia for inappropriate sexual behavior with a child and intended to terminate his longtime employment. Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan has set a tentative date of Oct. 17 for testimony to start. Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi has said he expects to call as witnesses Feliciano’s two children, who were young teenagers at the time of the killing. Co-defense counsel Neill Hamilton told the judge he doesn’t want to start jury selection because he is still receiving additional evidence from the prosecutor’s office and hasn’t gotten a report back from his own expert on blood spatter at the scene. The judge told Hamilton he could argue against the trial starting once a jury is picked but not yet sworn. Bianchi said some of the evidence recently given to Hamilton was supplemental, bolstering or clarifying material already turned over, like a cell telephone tower map. Detectives traced the priest’s cellphone to Feliciano’s neighborhood in Easton, Pa., where he allegedly discarded the phone in a trash can. Bianchi said he suspects the defense to the murder charge will be passion/provocation so he questioned why the additional discovery is so burdensome to Hamilton. “Blood spatter, cellphone tower maps … do not have anything to do with the passion/provocation defense,’’ Bianchi said. Passion/provocation manslaughter is a form of homicide that is punishable by 10 years in prison, compared to murder, which carries a life sentence. Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142 or pwright@njpressmedia.com
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