Oct 27, 2009 6:07 am US/Eastern
Officials: Priest Was Stabbed 32 Times
New Jersey State Police Investigating Disconnected 911 Call Moments Before Priest's Grisly Murder
CHATHAM, N.J. (CBS) ―
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Father Edward Hinds was murdered inside St. Patrick's Church in Chatham, N.J. on Oct. 23, 2009. He was 61.
CBS
He asked for help, but no one answered his call. The investigation into a New Jersey priest's murder has now turned to his frantic cell phone call to 9-1-1 as he was being attacked.
Why wasn't Father Edward Hinds' body discovered at his church until the next day? It's a question many are asking Monday.
Dozens of police officers using a fire truck searched the Easton, Pa. home of Jose Feliciano, the man who police believe killed the beloved Chatham priest.
Feliciano's neighbors were shocked.
"Jose was a very nice man. It's a complete shock to hear this," said Carlos Thom, Feliciano's neighbor.
Hinds was brutally murdered in the rectory of his church. Prosecutors said he was stabbed 32 times by Feliciano, the janitor there.
Investigators said the 61-year-old priest called 9-1-1 as he was being attacked. The call went to a New Jersey State Police dispatch center, but suddenly disconnected. The dispatcher apparently called back twice – once getting voicemail, the second time getting the alleged killer, who prosecutors say said there was no emergency.
Police were not sent to the church, as a result.
Those who came by a memorial for Hinds on Monday were stunned.
"It is a terrible tragedy, the amount of times he was struck," one parishioner said.
"He was a wonderful man. No one deserved this, no one," added another.
State police officials said they are investigating. Police have to be dispatched on a hang-up call. It gets complicated when the call comes from a cell because sometimes a location can't be pinpointed, but reports indicate police tracked Feliciano through the cell to his home.
Friends said Feliciano's daughter attends the church's Catholic school and his son graduated from it. The interim priest said parishioners are praying for Hinds and Feliciano, who prosecutors said may have been losing his job.
"People are banding together in prayer and love," said Father Moran.
While prosecutors said they're looking at Feliciano's employment at the school as a possible motive, they also say they're investigating other potential motives.
Feliciano remains in custody at an undisclosed hospital, but investigators won't say what's wrong with him.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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