NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger
By Alexi Friedman/The Star-Ledger
CHATHAM BOROUGH — The former Chatham church custodian who in December was convicted of fatally stabbing a priest in a case that drew attention for its senselessness and unsubstantiated allegations of sexual blackmail, today was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Jose Feliciano, 66, was sitting down and looked away as Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan imposed the sentence, which had been mandated by the jury’s verdict, before a crowded courtroom in Morristown.
A jury convicted Feliciano of murder and felony murder in the Oct. 22, 2009, attack.
Feliciano stabbed the Rev. Edward Hinds 44 times inside the rectory at St. Patrick Church in Chatham Borough, after the priest fired him, according to testimony. The courtroom today was packed with Hinds’ friends and relatives.
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