MORRISTOWN, N.J. (RNS) A former custodian of St. Patrick Church in Chatham, N.J., was indicted Tuesday (Jan. 26) on charges of murdering the parish priest last October by stabbing him repeatedly with a knife.

Jose Feliciano, 64, of Easton, Pa., is accused of killing the Rev. Edward Hinds, 61, in the parish rectory on Oct. 22, according to an indictment handed up by a grand jury.

For the grieving parish, the three months since the killing have seemed like a long time for the case to remain pending, church trustee John Polanin said.

“The parish community will be glad to know the process is moving forward,” Polanin said. “An indictment is an important step forward. We’re glad to know the prosecutor is making this a priority so we can have some closure.”

The indictment accuses Feliciano of two counts of murder, as well as first-degree robbery, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and hindering his own apprehension, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a knife.

The grand jury also handed up a “finding of aggravating factors” that the “murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture or depravity of mind.” The finding could lead to a stiffer sentence if Feliciano is convicted.

Hinds, who was stabbed 32 times, was found dead on Oct. 23 in the rectory kitchen after parishioners became concerned when he did not show up for morning Mass.

Feliciano came under suspicion when he half-heartedly attempted CPR on Hinds, authorities said. He was arrested the next day, and has been held on $1 million bail ever since.

A possible motive for the slaying was revealed in a four-page search warrant for Feliciano’s home in Pennsylvania. Several weeks before he was killed, the priest had discovered that Feliciano’s employment record did not include a requisite criminal background check.

Hinds’ review might have been prompted by church efforts six months earlier to ensure all parishes and schools complied with diocesan policies on criminal background checks, authorities said.

Feliciano had been wanted in Philadelphia on a charge of indecent assault of a minor from 1988 and had been using several false names and Social Security numbers over the years, authorities said.

Two days before he was killed, Hinds told St. Patrick school principal Marianne Hobbie of the discrepancy and said Feliciano might have to be “let go,” according to court records.