Chatham Priest Killer's Appeal Denied, Will Continue Life Imprisonment

CHATHAM, N.J. – The custodian who brutally murdered a Chatham church priest by stabbing him 44 times lost his appeal and will continue his life imprisonment term, the state appeals court ruled Thursday.

Jose Feliciano was convicted of first degree murder in 2011 for killing Rev. Edward Hinds, the priest at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Chatham Borough. Feliciano worked at the church as a custodian for 18 years, and claimed in court Hinds had been blackmailing him for years about previous criminal charges in lieu of performing sexual acts.

See related: Feliciano Guilty On All Charges In Priest’s Murder

Some of Feliciano’s points of appeals included “The trial court erroneously admitted highly prejudicial evidence of prior bad acts, and the state willfully exceeded even the improperly broad admission, necessitating reversal,” and, “The imposition of life without parole without consideration of proportionality is, under the circumstances of this case, violative of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.”

The court affirmed the original conviction and life sentence without parole. The appeal was argued April 25, and the decision was announced May 12.