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Investigators: NJ Priest Murdered Inside Church

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Oct 23, 2009 10:00 am US/Central

Investigators: NJ Priest Murdered Inside Church

CHATHAM, N.J. (CBS) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Police investigate after Father Edward Hinds was found dead inside this church in Chatham on Friday, Oct. 23, 2009.
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A priest was found dead Friday in the rectory of his northern New Jersey parish in what authorities are investigating as a crime.

The clothed body of the Rev. Ed Hinds, 61, was found in the morning in the rectory of St. Patrick's Church in Chatham, about 10 miles west of Newark.

Investigators announced Friday afternoon that the death of Hinds was declared a homicide, reports CBS station WCBS-TV. The circumstances surrounding the murder have not yet been revealed.

According to the Associated Press, there was no word on how he died, but Capt. Jeffrey Paul of the Morris County prosecutor's office told The Star-Ledger of Newark that the area is "being treated as a crime scene."

Hinds' body was discovered in the kitchen of the rectory in St. Patrick's Church after he did not show up for Mass he was scheduled to deliver at 8 a.m.

"It's a shock when you see a young man like this so quickly pass away, a man so well-needed and so well-needed and so well-loved by his community," said Bishop Arthur Serratelli of the Paterson Diocese to WCBS. "We are deeply saddened by his sudden passing away."