Why Did José Feliciano Stab A Priest To Death Last Week?

José Feliciano, left, was a janitor at St. Patrick’s, a wealthy Catholic parish in Chatham, New Jersey. He confessed to stabbing the church’s 61 year-old pastor, Rev. Edward Hinds, 32 times and leaving him for dead, after the two men argued in the rectory Thursday afternoon. Friday morning, he pretended to find Father Ed’s lifeless body along with the church deacon and even made an attempt at performing CPR. Eventually, he confessed to police, in a sworn affadavit, that he committed the murder. What drove Feliciano–who parishioners describe as “much more than a janitor,” “like family,” and “good with kids,” to commit such a heinous crime? Let’s take a closer look at his background.

Feliciano's home in Easton, Pennsylvania, blocked with police tape.

Sixty-four year-old Feliciano lives in Easton, Pennsylvania. He worked at St. Patrick’s as the janitor for seventeen years. His daughter attends the affiliated K-8 school and his son graduated from there. He was as much a part of the parish as anyone. People who know him describe him as “jovial” and “nice,” “a devoted Catholic” who “brought meals to neighbors when they were sick.” Just last week, one witness told the New York Times, he was seen acting silly to cheer up a tearful kid. Disbelief was so strong, in fact, that one parishioner who happens to be a doctor wondered if Feliciano had recently suffered a head injury. Another said he must have been pushed to commit the act because it was so unbelievable.

But what witnesses told police about the argument between Feliciano and Father Ed could hold a clue to his uncharacteristic behavior. Apparently Father Ed was thinking of firing Feliciano. In this economy, at his age and with a history of janitorial work on his resume, perhaps Feliciano feared he would be unable to find new employment. We’ll even venture a guess that his job secured tuition for his children in the “tony” neighborhood school that he couldn’t have afforded on a janitor’s salary. Therefore, losing his job would have strong ramifications for the entire family. Could it be these financial pressures helped create his temporary insanity?

It’s also interesting to note that Feliciano lived in a house next to the church until 2004–one year after Hinds took over at St. Patrick’s–which is when Feliciano moved his family to the “gritty, working class” town of Easton which is about 45 minutes from the well-to-do Chatham where the median family income is $132,000. Was Father Ed, who parishoners describe to the New York Post as “a quiet man, genuinely kind, and a priest in the best sense of the word,” trying to drive out Jose Feliciano? Did Feliciano see him as a threat to the nice life he managed to provide for his family? Police continue to investigate the situation, but it seems that an investigation of Feliciano’s financial situation would be a good place to start.