New Jersey, Oct 24 (THAINDIAN NEWS) In a tragic incident, a Catholic priest Rev. Edward Hinds, who diligently ministered to the poor and the needy from his wealthy New Jersey parish was found murdered in his church rectory yesterday. According to the authorities, it seems like the handiwork of possibly by someone he was trying to help.

The slain sixty one year old priest Rev. Edward Hinds was wearing his traditional black cassock when his dead body was discovered in the kitchen at the St. Patrick Church rectory by a deacon and a maintenance man. The pair went looking for the soft-spoken priest when he Didn’t turn up to say Mass at 8 a.m. in the church. He was popularly called as, “Father Ed” to his faithful flock of 1,600 parishioners.

The parish workers called police and notified Hinds’ friend, retired priest Kenneth Lasch. “He had his dog with him and apparently he was making a cup of coffee,” Lasch told reporters.

The tragic and the brutal act sent shocked the tony neighborhood near the church. Dozens of police officers are looking around for clues in the neighborhood homes, looking for any detail the killer may have left behind.

Police said the church was being treated as crime scene but waited several hours before classifying the death as a homicide.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said the priest died of “traumatic” wounds. Officials said it was possible Hinds was killed by someone who sought his help.

“Rev. Edward was an individual who opened his doors,” Bianchi said. “He brought in the downtrodden. Maybe that generosity of spirit was preyed upon. It may be that as a result of opening his heart to the community, he was murdered.”

“People knock on the door late at night all the time. It’s up to the person to decide whether to open the door and help them out,” Moran said. “And he was always helping people.”