Priest Brutally Murdered in New Jersey

This past Friday morning, Father Ed Hines was late for mass. The charismatic Hines, known for his compassion for the needy, was the only pastor of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Chatham, New Jersey, and also worked at the parish school. A group of church workers, including janitor Jose Feliciano, walked over to the rectory to find Father Hines. They discovered him lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood, still wearing the holy vestments from yesterday. Then a curious, and somewhat suspicious event happened. Feliciano rushed upon the body of Father Hines and began to administer CPR.

It must have been evident to even the most casual of observers that Hines was dead and had been for some time. Investigators would later find 32 knife wounds and evidence of beating. Further, witnesses told police they thought Feliciano’s CPR efforts seemed half-hearted.

Feliciano also enjoyed a favorable reputation around the church, as a ‘second father’ to the kids. All that would change within a day.

Police found that Father Hines’ cell phone was still active, though it was no longer in the rectory. He had tried to use it to call 911 during the attack, but the killer said everything was fine, hung up, and the cops could not get a trace. The killer had taken the phone with him, police surmised. They were right, and on Saturday the traced it to Jose Feliciano’s home. There they found one cell phone, some bloody clothing, a distraught wife, and the church janitor.

Feliciano was arrested, Marandized, and gave a somewhat dissatisfying confession. He and Father Hines had had an argument Thursday night, and Feliciano had killed the priest.

If the police were told what the argument was about, they are giving no specifics as of yet, but they are pursuing the idea that there may have been some kind of relationship between them. The reasoning is blood simple. This was an extremely violent and passionate murder, not the type of thing that happens between people who merely work together.

So this argument would not be about something like whether the janitor emptied the trash often enough. To the janitor, at least, it was a basic rift in their relationship, and had there been no emotions in the relationship, one would not see them reflected so clearly in the murder. It is left for us now to wait until the full truth comes out.