McALLEN, Texas – The Latest on the arrest of a former priest in the 1960 killing of a Texas schoolteacher (all times local):
1:50 p.m.
A former priest accused in the 1960 killing of a Texas schoolteacher says he'll fight extradition to the state following his arrest in Arizona.
John Bernard Feit (fight) appeared in court on Wednesday in Phoenix, a day after he was arrested at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, on a murder warrant from Texas' Hidalgo County in the death of Irene Garza.
The 83-year-old was ordered held in lieu of $750,000 cash bond. Feit said the murder charge didn't make sense and that he's puzzled because the killing occurred in 1960.
Authorities say Garza intended to go to confession when she visited a church in McAllen, Texas, where Feit was a priest. She never returned, and her body was found days later in an irrigation canal.
An autopsy determined that Garza died from a head injury. Feit was a suspect in the killing but was never charged.
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1 a.m.
A former priest has been arrested in Arizona in the 1960 slaying of a 25-year-old Texas schoolteacher.
Eighty-three-year-old John Feit was arrested Tuesday by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department and awaits extradition to Texas. Feit faces a murder charge in the death of Irene Garza.
Authorities say Garza visited Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, where Feit was a priest, on April 16, 1960. Garza had planned to go to confession that evening but never returned, and her body was found days later in an irrigation canal.
According to an autopsy, Garza died from a head injury. Feit was a suspect in the killing but was never charged in the case.
Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez said that he presented the case against Feit to a grand jury last week.
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