By Ben Horowitz
The Star-Ledger
November 7, 2011
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/church_considered_firing_custo.html
 |
| Jose Feliciano, seated, of Easton, Pa., former custodian of St. Patrick Church in Chatham, appears in Superior Court, Morristown, for a status conference hearing on charges that he murdered Rev. Edward Hinds in the church rectory in October 2009. Morristown, NJ Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger |
A church custodian accused of murdering a parish priest in Chatham had been kept on the job out of sympathy, although his supervisor wanted to fire him for poor performance, a church official testified today.
The top officials at St. Patrick Church, including the slain Rev. Edward Hinds, didn’t want to fire custodian Jose Feliciano because he was only a few months from retiring, testified Virginia Donellon, church business administrator.
"It was out of concern for his family," she said, noting retirement would bring a pension and Social Security benefits.
Feliciano had a wife and two children living at home and “we were hoping he was going to retire on his own” when he would turn 65 in March 2010, Donellon said.
But Feliciano left the church earlier than planned because on Oct. 22, 2009, he allegedly stabbed the Rev. Edward Hinds 32 times in the rectory of St. Patrick Church.
The prosecution in the murder trial is trying to prove Feliciano killed Hinds after the priest fired him when he learned of his criminal background. The church at the time faced an audit conducted by the Diocese of Paterson to ensure that employees who had contact with children had undergone criminal background checks.
Feliciano’s public defender, Neill Hamilton, has acknowledged Feliciano killed Hinds but said it was manslaughter, not murder, because the priest provoked him by making him perform unspecified acts.
Donellon was on the witness stand all day today, testifying in a calm voice and giving detailed answers to questions from both the prosecution and defense.
Under questioning from Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi, Donellon said she never saw any “odd behavior” between Feliciano and Hinds. She said the janitor never complained to her about the priest, although he did often complain about the maintenance supervisor, John Gallagher.
Donellon also testified that as far as she knew, there were no plans to fire Feliciano.
She said she had told Hinds that Gallagher wanted to fire Feliciano due to his poor job performance, but neither she nor Hinds wanted to fire Feliciano.
“We were all being compassionate," she said. "Jose only had a couple of months to retirement and we were all going to wait it out.”
However, Donellon acknowledged she had a discussion with Hinds about the fact that Feliciano hadn’t been fingerprinted and hadn’t undergone the criminal background check.
Hinds told her Feliciano “had something he didn’t want found in his background check,” Donellon said. “He was going to check it out” and would “have to let him go if it turned out to be a problem,” she said.
Donellon indicated that was the extent of her discussion with Hinds. Bianchi showed her a letter a Pennsylvania state trooper sent to Hinds on Oct. 6, 2009, detailing still-pending charges against Feliciano from 1988.
Donellon acknowledged that those charges would have required Hinds to fire Feliciano.
Feliciano failed to appear in court to face three charges that included indecent assault on a 7-year-old girl. The jury has been told only that he faced three charges involving a juvenile.
Donellon was also shown Hinds’ diary which listed Oct. 23, 2009, the day after the killing, as “Jose's last day.” Donellon said Hinds had never discussed plans to terminate Feliciano that day.
Donellon testified that the maintenance supervisor “would often complain to me about Mr. Feliciano’s performance.” Donellon said it appeared to her that Feliciano was “disorganized,” because he would often start one job and then move on to another without finishing it.
Feliciano was “very outgoing” and “popular” with children and their parents, Donellon said. “He was very helpful. If you needed someone to carry something from the car to the classroom, he would do it … Sometimes he enjoyed that more than doing his job.”
Feliciano told her Gallagher “didn’t get him and became “very nervous” about losing his job, Donellon said. He often came to her to talk about it and once, “He was shaking, very distraught and near tears. His head was bowed down.”
“I found his behavior almost offensive,” she said. “He was being too subservient. … Sometimes I felt he was putting on an act to get the reaction he wanted out of me.”
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.