Monk: I Helped Church Shield Priest Who Killed Parishioner

A 74-year-old retired priest who allegedly killed a parishioner decades ago reportedly is walking around as a free man today at least in part because the Catholic Church may have shielded him from a murder charge.

Asked by a reporter recently whether he had murdered Irene Garza, 25, in 1960, John Feit responded "Interesting question. Answer is no," writes CNN. However, a former monk, Dale Tachney, made a statement in 2002 claiming, among other things, that Feit told him in 1963 he had suffocated Garza and that he "was protected by the church authorities ... I believe I was protected by the legal authorities," the CNN story continues. Said Tachney: "I was part of the cover-up for all these years."

Police in McAllen, Texas, where Garza was murdered, also believe Feit committed the crime, reports CNN. However, a grand jury declined to indict him for the crime in 2003, after the case was reopened and the local district attorney presented it in what some considered a half-hearted manner.