And she smelled like flowers. Reporter in 1960, irene garza was raped and murdered in mcallen, texas. One thing i remember is just screams. There was a suspect. Who do you believe killed irene garza . Father john bernard feit. Father john feit. Back then, a catholic priest. No evidence in this case right now points us in any other direction. So why is he still a free man . By all accounts, irene garza was a remarkable young woman. She kind of broke the mold. Irenes younger cousin, noemi sigler. At that time, hispanics stayed on one side of town, anglos lived on another side, and she kind of transcended that. She was gentle and sweet and beautiful. Lynda de la vina is another cousin. She was really a role model, and to see how she had gone through college, was a teacher, was a beauty queen and yet was just a very sweet and simple person to us as children. But in 1960, the body of this inspiring woman was found face down in this canal. She was 25, the age for thinking about getting married and raising a family. She didnt have a life. Irene never had that chance. Irene garza lived in this house in what was a very nice neighborhood near downtown mcallen and remains so today. She lived here with her sister and parents. On the saturday before easter, she hopped in her car for a short, fiveminute ride to her church. Irene went to confession every saturday. She was highly religious. It was very, very important to her. On that april day in 1960, irene met with father john feit, a 27yearold visiting priest. He had come to the Sacred Heart Church from a nearby town to help out on the busy easter weekend. Kind of a nice guy, but he was a rigid fellow. Dale tacheny, a former monk, says he spent six months with father feit at this monastery in missouri after irenes murder. Tacheny was feits spiritual counselor and says that in bits and pieces, he told him about a young woman he saw for confession just before easter. He offered to take her to the rectory. About sexually assaulting her. After fondling her breasts, he took her to the basement. About keeping her bound and gagged. He put something over her head. About her struggle to live. She was saying, i cant breathe, i cant breathe. And about dumping her lifeless body at the canal. On the way over there, father feit said that he patted her on her breasts, she was in the back seat, and was saying to her, irene, everything will be okay, everything will be okay, irene. Even though john feit knew she was dead . Yeah, yeah. While it was not unusual at the time for the church to deal with criminal priests internally, tacheny says he asked feit about the secular authorities. But why was he sent to the monastery, in your opinion, and not to the police . I asked, why are you here and not in prison, and he said, simply the church protected me. The autopsy states that irene showed evidence of recent trauma, sexual intercourse, and trauma to the head. Evidence of strangulation could not be found, but suffocation could have been carried out by placing a cloth over the mouth and nose, especially if irene was unconscious. The subject was dead when placed into the canal. I believe he killed her, and i believed that then. I had no doubt about it because he said he did. So you have no doubt at all that john feit killed irene garza . Correct. But dale tacheny did not come forward with any of this until four decades later when he said the guilt became too much to keep quiet. John feit left the priesthood. He has lived a full life. Mr. Feit, im gary tuchman with cnn. I want to talk to you about irene garza. Good for you. Its not surprising he doesnt want to talk about irene, because not only do irenes relatives and dale tacheny believe he killed her, so does every Police Officer and Law Enforcement agency thats dealt with this case. Do you believe you know who the murderer is . We have developed evidence sufficient to the threshold responsibility of probable cause that john feit was a person involved in the particular homicide. But with so much heat, why did the case go cold . Early on, why do you think he wasnt prosecuted . A coverup. Who are they trying to protect . John b. Feit. Over the next 40 years the United States population is going to grow by over 90 Million People and almost all the growth is going to be in cities. Whats the healthiest and best way for them to grow so that they really become cauldrons of prosperity and cities of opportunity . What we have found is that if that family is moved info safe clean, Affordable Housing, places that have access to great School Systems access to jobs and multiple transportation modes then neighborhood begins to thrive and really really take off. The oxygen of Community Redevelopment is financing and all this rebuilding that happened could not have happened without organizations like citi. Citi has formed a partnership with our company so that we can take all the lessons from the revitalization of urban america to other cities so we are now working in chicago, and in washington d. C. , and newark. Its amazing how important safe Affordable Housing is to the future of our society. Mcallen, texas, in the 1930s was segregated. The neighborhoods, the schools. Even in the hospital, mexicanamericans and anglos were treated in separate wards. But when irene garza was born in 1934, her parents were determined that she and her sister josephine would transcend the discrimination together. We were very tight. We were very close because it was like us against all of those that were prejudiced against us. Prejudiced against hispanics . Hispanics, yes. And my dad fostered that because were in it together. In their parents day, the Public Schools for mcallens hispanic children only went to fifth grade, but the garzas had bigger dreams for their daughters. From the beginning we were told, oh, when you go to college, when you go to college. It was something that was just a thing that was going to happen. If education was to be the way out, religion would show them the way up. Parochial school for the elementary grades offered both. We were told, dont get mad, pray. The catholic school, dont get mad, pray. So wed say we have to pray for soandso, we start praying. Later, at the public high school, where girls often aspired to be baton twirlers with the marching band, irene and josie were reluctant. It was the 1940s. Was it unusual for mexicanamerican teenagers to do twirling . It was. My mom says, you go ahead and try out. They have a new music director, and well see if hell get you in. And he was impressed with the two of us, and he let us in. Irene went on to become mcallen highs first mexicanamerican drum majorette, an inspiration to her younger cousins. In essence, it really did not matter what race she was. She was just irene. Irene also made an impression in the local beauty pageants, eventually being crowned miss south texas in 1958. She was everything i think that all little girls, especially the young cousins, wanted to grow up to be because she was so poised. I dont know if its just the right word, elegant . After graduating from college, both irene and her sister became Elementary School teachers in mcallen. It was both a mission and a joy to be with the children. She taught second grade. We had hilarious stories to tell each other, and shed say, oh, i just love him and shed say, he has these little cheeks, and i just go over there and do this to him. He says, stop it, miss garza friends and relatives say irenes good looks never went to her head because her heart was so big. She would go every saturday to the convalescent homes and do their nails or do their hair, whatever they wanted, so they would look nice when their families would come to see them on sunday. Irenes good deeds grew out of her deep faith. Sacred heart church in mcallen felt like an extension of home. I would say the feeling would be love, a gentle quietness. Thats where we felt safe. Did you and your sister regard the priests as godly men, close to god . We thought they were, yes. We believed they were and respected that, respected their calling. One of those priests was john feit. Living and studying in the south texas pastoral house, members of his order, the oblates of mary immaculate, take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. But at a church in nearby edinburgh, father feit would be accused of sexually assaulting this young woman, Maria America guerra. The 20yearold Woman Told Police she came into the church, which was empty at the time, to pray. The communion rail used to be right up here near the chairs. She knelt down, and then she was attacked by a man. She told police he had dark hair and hornedrim glasses. She bit him in the finger and drew blood, and then she ran away. Father feit matched Maria America guerras description of a suspect. She identified him to police, and he had what appeared to be a serious bite mark on one of his fingers. In this sworn statement, feit said the injured finger was from a mimeograph printing machine, an accident. After a jury deadlocked on a felony charge of assault with attempt to commit rape, feit would plead nolo contendere, no contest, to misdemeanor aggravated assault. The judge found him guilty and fined him 500, no prison time. Just 24 days after Maria America guerra was attacked, father feit was working at irene garzas church. On the saturday before easter, irene went to confession. She had been doing this routinely for years. But this time, she would meet with father john feit, and this time she would not return home. [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 Million People. 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Look at this one. Its got a great view of the lake. Its really nice mom. Your dad wouldve loved this place. Youre not just looking for a house. Youre looking for a place for your life to happen. Zillow how old were you when irene died . 9. Lynda de la vina vividly remembers the dat her cousin irene garza disappeared. Irene had actually called us on saturday before easter. Were going to have the typical easter egg hunt. She had gotten us baskets. Late that evening, my parents got a phone call that said that irene had gone to church, and she hadnt come back, and she was missing. Another cousin, noemi sigler, was at irenes house that day waiting for the easter egg hunt. What i remember is the grownups talking, whispering, crying. We were wondering what in the world was happening, but we knew something really bad had happened. Irene was missing, but her car was still parked outside the church. Family, friends and neighbors formed search parties and looked frantically. Everybody was hoping that there was just, you know, some misunderstanding or that she had maybe gone with friends or something, and everybody was very, very worried. Two days later, people began to find her belongings. I remember when they found her shoe that was thrown in a field, and they found her purse. Something was definitely wrong. And then on day five, the 25yearold beauty queen and teacher was found floating face down in this canal about three miles from her church. When you found out, what went through your mind . The one thing i remember is just screams, screams from my aunt, screams from my mother, everybody screaming. I just remember the screams. The death certificate states the cause of death was trauma to the right side of her head causing hemorrhage of the brain and suffocation. It also states irenes body had evidence of having been raped while in a coma. Noemi, when you stand here at this site, tell me what goes through your mind. A great sadness. It just breaks my heart. All of mcallen was shaken. Nothing like this had ever happened here. It was just so horrible to know that this beautiful, beautiful, nice person was found dead, murdered. [ bells toll ] since irenes car was still at the church, thats where investigators focused, and on the last man believed to see her alive, father john feit, the visiting priest. In a sworn statement, feit said he had taken a phone call from irene, wanting to speak to one of the priests about an important matter. But instead of taking irenes confession in the church, father feit had her go next door to the rectory. And after the visit, irene went missing. So, immediately my dad and others were wondering, you know, what had happened, and what did this guy know. Traumatized, irenes family retreated into their home, surrounded by their closest relatives. I remember being in the house and the lady sitting on the bed just crying her heart out. As painful as the memories are, cousin noemi wanted us to see the family home today to better understand what happened that horrible time more than 50 years ago. We knocked, and a young woman named sarah came to the door. Were doing a story about who lived in this house in 1960. Oh, yes, uhhuh. Do you know about this person . Irene garza . Irene garza. You knew that . Yeah. This is irene garzas cousin. Sarah had learned about irenes murder when she was in high school. How old are you now . Im 25. 25 years old, the same age as irene when she died. And like irene, sarah lives with her parents. In fact, irenes old bedroom is now sarahs bedroom. Sarah even bears an eerie resemblance to irene. You almost have the same hair, i must say. She had long, dark hair. Noemi asked if she could go in the house. See what it triggers back because i was here as a child. The day that she went missing, i was here. Oh, you were here. Wow. Sarah welcomed her inside where the past came back in a way noemi never imagined. Inside, sarah gave something to noemi. After all these years, a High School Yearbook from 1949 had remained in the house through three different owners, waiting for the family that would cherish it. Byebye thanks. Bye. Thank you. God bless you. What is that . They found it in there. This is irenes sisters yearbook . Mmhmm. Irene might even be in here. Oh, here she is. Here is irene garza. Thank you. You have no idea what you did. Thank you. Youre welcome. Im sorry for your familys loss. Wow. Youre a remarkable family to save this. I think its going to bring a lot of joy to this family. I never would have expected this. To noemi, the unexpected gift was a sign from irene, a pointed reminder that the murder case is still open and that irenes cousins still have work to do. I want to give her a voice from the grave. She is here. She is here, and she wants justice. 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Com id rather do anything else than sit at a dealership. Its a lot of haggling and it takes so long. Craigs experience is completely different than mine. Yeah. Yes, mike has used truecar. At truecar, well show you how much others paid for the car you want and how much you should. Because i used truecar there was no haggling about the price. They treated me so well, and it was just such a quick, easy experience. Get your car, and get back to the life you love. Welcome to the future of carbuying. Who do you believe killed irene garza . John feit. Who do you believe killed irene garza . Father john bernard feit. Nothing in this case has ever pointed differently. These three lawmen who have led this investigation say the evidence takes them straight to john feit, starting the day irenes body was pulled from the canal. In the water, police recovered two candelabra. They were from irenes church and the slide viewer. That slide viewer was found next to her body. Sonny miller is the former supervisor of mcallens crime scene investigations. The slide viewer that was found, whose slide viewer was that . Investigators found out that it had belonged to father feit. Father feit has always denied to police that he killed irene garza. He acknowledged taking irenes confession at the rectory and told investigators she left, but family members suspected him immediately. Certainly that was in everyones mind since her car was still at the church, she had gone to confession. Late that night, father feit had cuts and injuries on his hands. He told fellow priests and investigators he got them when he was locked out of his home and climbed to a second floor balcony to get in. But when experts administered a lie detector test, they concluded feit was concealing facts and showing guilt. They thought definitely he was guilty of the murder, but there were no eyewitnesses, and soon after the murder, the church moved feit far away to a series of monasteries. He was never charged, and the murder of irene garza went cold for decades. Early on, why do you think he wasnt prosecuted . A coverup. In those days, it was impossible for a priest to do such a deed. If you thought of it, that would be sacrilegious. And i dont know whether it was out of respect for the church or anger or fear. I have no idea, but p