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	Hearing on Thursday in Chatham Priest Slaying Case to Decide What Jury Can Hear about Past Allegations By Peggy Wright Daily Record September 13, 2011 http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110913/NJNEWS/309130021/Hearing-in-Chatham-priest-slaying-case-will-decide-what-jury-can-hear-about-past-allegations A hearing will be held Thursday for a judge to decide what details, if any, a jury can hear about child sexual abuse charges filed against Jose Feliciano 21 years before he allegedly stabbed the Rev. Edwards Hinds to death in Chatham. When Feliciano was charged with slaying the pastor of St. Patrick R.C. Church in Chatham on Oct. 22, 2009, police learned the church custodian had used various Social Security numbers and birth dates for two decades to dodge arrest on a 1988 warrant out of Philadelphia. The charges allege indecent assault on a 7-year-old girl. Authorities contend that Hinds learned of the warrant and planned to fire the longtime janitor, who allegedly then had a motive to stab the priest to death. Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan said he will hear testimony Thursday on the Philadelphia charges with the expectation of making a ruling on exactly what information jurors could hear. Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi on Monday had dropped a bombshell, publicly revealing for the first time that Feliciano many years ago was accused of impregnating an 11-year-old girl in New York. Bianchi would not say how long ago, nor whether criminal charges were brought or whether the baby was brought to term. But the suggestion was that Feliciano would obviously want to keep this information secret from the church, along with the Philadelphia charge, and would kill to keep it quiet. Defense lawyer Neill Hamilton has warned that he believes any homicide conviction against Feliciano, now 66, would be reversed if jurors heard a peep about the 11-year-old’s pregnancy. The judge would also have to conduct a full-blown hearing on whether it could be disclosed to a jury and under what circumstances. On the Philadelphia case, which involves a separate alleged victim, Bianchi has said that Pennsylvania State Police on Oct. 6, 2009, sent Hinds information about the outstanding charge against Feliciano. Though the janitor was employed by St. Patrick’s Church for 17 years before the homicide, a full criminal background check had never been completed on him. The priest was in the process of complying with a Catholic Church edict that all workers and volunteers who came into contact with children had to pass background checks when he learned about the Philadelphia warrant, authorities said. Jury selection is expected to resume next Tuesday in Morristown on the case. Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com
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