Prosecutor: Give Justice to 'Slaughtered' Priest

Editor's note: The following article contains graphic descriptions of an armed attack. It may not be suitable for younger readers.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi delivered his closing argument to the jury presiding over Jose Feliciano's murder trial Monday afternoon.

In his summary, Bianchi reviewed testimony from Feliciano and other witnesses called by both himself and Public Defender Neill Hamilton in the case, and the evidence presented.

Bianchi's summation was punctuated by expressions of  "Liar" or "Fallacy" after he would compare the accused murderer's testimony to the evidence. Feliciano, he told the jury, is "not worthy of your investment of credibility" after having told so many lies regarding the stabbing death of the Rev. Edward Hinds on Oct. 22, 2009.

The former custodian at demonstrated a "narcissistic" and "overly dramatic" streak throughout the events leading to and following Hinds' murder, Bianchi said. "This guy is a master at manipulation" who "murdered for his own narcissistic needs."

He cited, in particular, the testimony of Virginia Donnellon, the business administrator at St. Patrick Church. She testified Feliciano would complain to parishioners that he was overworked, then came to her office shaking with fear he would lose his job. She called him "a bit of an actor," behaving in a "subservient" way and "felt he was being overly dramatic to get the response out of me that he wanted."

"If this woman doesn't have the line on [Feliciano], I don't know who does," Bianchi said.

He cited other testimony from fellow employees at St. Patrick Church, from the police officers who responded to the scene when Hinds' body was found on Oct. 23, the ambulance driver who transported Feliciano to Morristown Memorial Hospital and the initial inspectors who interviewed him.

Bianchi also reminded jurors of Hinds' credit card charges from New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Police departments for background checks on Feliciano, the various notations from his planner and the items from the murder scene, including Hinds' mobile phone, the rectory phone and towels used to clean blood from the scene, all recovered in a park near Feliciano's home in Easton, Pa.

He reminded the jury of the various holes from Hinds' clothing, caused by the 44 stab wounds the priest received. He recalled, in detail, the testimony of Dr. Ronald Suarez, the medical examiner, of what Hinds would have endured during and after the attack.

"The stab wounds fractured the bone of his windpipe. He [lost more than one-third of the blood in his body.] His stomach and small intestine were punctured. The stab wounds were going in different directions, [indicating] the body was moving. No injury was enough to render him immediately unconscious or immobile," Bianchi said.

Feliciano "didn't hit an artery that would have caused [Hinds] to bleed out in a mater of seconds. He didn't hit a vital organ," Bianchi said. "He could have survived.

Bianchi then played the 911 call Hinds placed, presumably after the "first round" of the attack. The operator hears the caller say he is on "Washington Street" before there is interference on the line, which Bianchi said is indicative of the struggle over the phone between Hinds and Feliciano.

When the operator called back, the call went to voicemail. Bianchi submitted to the jury "this is when the second round of attacks is happening."

When the operator called a second time, Feliciano answered and said everything is "fine, thank you." A family friend of Hinds', Judith Conk, testified she heard Hinds' voice in the background saying, "No, it's not."

"Feliciano prevented Hinds from receiving medical help" by robbing him of the phone, Bianchi said. "That's felony murder."

When Feliciano left the scene, he took with him Hinds' mobile phone and the rectory phone. "Even if he could have gotten up" to call for help, Bianchi said, Feliciano left the priest with "nothing to grasp but air."

"He was committed to kill, to slaughter," Bianchi said. "He has been lying throughout all of this. ... He is guilty of purposeful and knowing murder."

Bianchi thanked the jury for their patience and attention throughout the trial, saying "no jury that we've collectively seen has gone through" a trial like this.

Throughout Bianchi's closing arguments, Feliciano kept his head ducked down away from the view of the gallery and jury. His shoulders shook continuously and he appeared to be crying.

The Hon. Thomas V. Manahan, who is presiding over the case, will charge the jury Tuesday morning.