Sins of the Father | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] this is a case about betrayal murder and a cover-up on April 16 1960 Irene goddessa went to Sacred Heart
Church in McAllen seeking to save her soul instead she was suffocated and you're going to find out that the
man who did this is John fight there may be people who don't understand why an old man is being prosecuted he
looks like everyone's grandfather but make no mistake this is an evil man he was a predator
he was a wolf in priest's clothing looking to attack [Music] she was not only beautiful
physically she had a beautiful soul I think she just loved her faith I don't think she thought of it in terms of oh
look how religious I am just like this was my life down here it's a primarily Catholic
Community in in Easter is the high holiday [Music] Irene on Holy Saturday with the church packed with everybody
trying to cleanse their soul in this confessional about seven o'clock walked in [Music]
she would never again be seen leaving that church they'd later find her body in her
irrigation canal thrown like a piece of trash Irene was found five days after she disappeared and what did the killer
done to her she was uh sexually assaulted physically assaulted and she died of Suffocation
back then the church was very powerful it was unheard of to be accusing a priest you know he just didn't do that
my father that was a deputy sheriff at that time he approached his Superior and asked him why it's nothing being done
and he was told to just step away from the case just step away let us take care of it did the Catholic church in those
days have the power to prevent a suspect in a murder case from being arrested yes
foreign the case died it was a Cold Case [Music] is this the man that you knew was John
fight yes he was perhaps the key witness in the case he assaulted her bound her engaged
her as he left he could hear her saying I can't breathe I can't breathe we got a
word for that in Texas what's that there isn't any forensic evidence that affirmatively late John fight to this
crime in any way you will see her clothing is there any evidence of DNA the evidence will show you no you
will see her first is there any evidence of fingerprints the evidence will show you no you will see her shoes there
wasn't enough evidence then there won't be enough evidence now I don't expect that there'd be another
case like this ever come around in my lifetime the institution who was in the business of seeking salvation was
complicit in covering up this murder it was a case worth losing it was worth taking a risk
it's a story that needed to be told [Music] [Music] 48 Hours sins of the father continues in
90 seconds [Music] thank you assistant district attorney Mike Garza is not part of Irene Garza's family but
Irene Garza's story has been part of almost everyone's life in McAllen for Generations kind of grew to Folklore
kind of grew of legend about a girl that you know went to confession and you know
never laughed the story of the priest accused of killing a parishioner is finally being
heard in a courtroom after nearly 60 years does your Catholicism make it more difficult for you to go after this guy
the church seeks to do good it's the men in the church and the men at that time that did wrong
it became clear that on April 16 1960 John Fife murdered Irene Garcia he did this with malice of 45.
at 85 years old former priest John fight hardly looks like the heartless killer the state says he was in 1960.
it was a rainy Easter Sunday Sylvia Acevedo stern was then 18 when she received some news about her
childhood friend Irene that she has difficulty talking about still we were all very scared
and it was just this scary unknown that someone you knew and that you loved [Music]
and disappeared 25 year old Irene Garza had gone to confession at Sacred Heart Church the
night before and had failed to return to her parents home where she still lived that was not
like Irene she checked in all the time parishioners had spotted Irene earlier that night putting on a lace veil
kneeling in a Pew and in a confession line but no one ever said they saw her leaving the church grounds
people remembered her whether she was your neighbor whether your wife was jealous of her people knew her
Irene had been crowned prom and homecoming queen at the local college and miss all South Texas sweetheart
Noemi Ponce Siegler was part of Irene's extended family do you remember how you felt about her I mean what what she
meant to you she stood out she was elegant but Irene was Far More Than Just a pretty face she
was a Trailblazer says her cousin Linda de la Vina she and her sister Josie were
the first Mexican-American twirlers in history of McAllen high school and then ultimately
she became the drum majorette the first Mexican-American drum majorette Irene had been the first in her family to go
to college and graduate school she became a second grade teacher and chose to work with mcallen's poorest students
oftentimes she would use part of her salary to buy buy them school supplies to buy them things that they needed and
Irene was generous with her own family Linda was just nine but she still remembers their last conversation she
had Easter baskets for us and my brother and I were excited in jumping up and down because we just knew that she would
not have forgotten but before Easter Sunday Irene had to go to confession at Sacred Heart Church
religion played a central role in her life every Sunday she'd go to church every Sunday
every Saturday she'd go to confessions it was a little bit of a family thing Irene's going to confession with her she
needs it or not when she disappeared the search for Irene Garza was huge seventy members of the Hidalgo County
Sheriff's posse many on Horseback fanned out looking for Irene and one of them was noemi's father that man wouldn't
even sleep trying to find Irene Sylvia remained at the Garza home for days after Irene vanished she says at
first everyone tried to hold on to hope but then Irene's purse was found near a dirt road is this the purse that you
recall that was brought to the house yes the news only got worse just up the road
they found Irene's shoe is that Irene's shoe yes sir and the shoe was it was a killer
then five days after she vanished everyone's worst fear was confirmed when Irene's body was found floating in an
irrigation canal and I just remember her mother just dissolving I mean I just saw her just
bending over in pain Irene was still partially dressed but her blouse was unbuttoned and her
underwear was missing the autopsy showed she had been beaten and sexually assaulted it was showed that she was
killed by asphyxiation probably Suffocation at first there were few leads at the crime scene just an imprint
of Irene's Petticoat On the Canal bank and a partial heel print from a man's shoe
but two weeks later police discovered a curious clue they drained the canal and on the bottom they found this a photo
slide viewer the police turned to the public for help in identifying the owner two days later
they received a note from Father John fight of visiting priest from the missionary oblates of Mary Immaculate
John fight writes a letter saying that slide viewer belongs to me why in the world would he tell the police yeah
that's that's my slide viewer I think it was taunting taunting the police haunting the police
police only grew more suspicious of the 27-year-old priest when he gave them different stories about that night at
first he said he had not heard her confession at all he changes it by saying later I took her confession in
the rectory and there were other peculiarities fight had been staying temporarily at the
rectory to help with the busy Easter holiday but he kept going back to the Pastoral house where he lived just a few
miles away six times in a 24-hour period he used excuses like breaking his glasses needing to get clean clothes
different things that became very suspicious and Father Joseph O'Brien the assistant
pastor told police that fight had some injuries the night Irene disappeared he noticed some scratches on his hands
some scratches it ran vertically down his hands and on the top of his arms father fight said he had been locked out
of the Pastoral house and had scratched his hands climbing up to the second floor balcony
they were on the back of his hands and I guess this gentleman climbs the wall like this but he said he got them
climbing a wall they had a pretty good case against him why wasn't he arrested he was protected
bye by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church [Music] [Music] it's always been very difficult
in the days after Irene Garza's murder Sylvia Acevedo stern was struggling not just with grief but also with guilt on
the Saturday she vanished Irene called Sylvia's house hoping she could accompany her to confession
but Sylvia wasn't home that day might have been different if I had been with her
she might not have gone to the rectory but why had Irene agreed to go to the rectory that night we are at this time
the state of Texas a new witness Anna Maria Hollingsworth testified that father fight had pulled
Irene out of the confessional before it's not the same she says going to confession anymore because I don't get
to stay in the confessional he had pulled her out of the confessional told her she was too good to confess in the
confessional and took her to the rectory Anna Maria says her friend Irene seemed
confused by fights insistence if that's true why would she have gone with him to
the rectory on that Saturday evening because he was a priest and you didn't fear priests back then she had no reason
to suspect he was going to do something violent or sexual to her what angers Mike Garza is that he says the church
had warning signs about fight three weeks before Irene was killed a woman named Maria America Guerra had
been attacked in a nearby Church a man that she had seen came up behind her tried to stuff a rag in her mouth
threw her to the ground and at that point she was able to bite his finger so hard that she tasted blood in her mouth
and get away although the church suspected fight he was not turned in Mike Garza says A source told him the
solution was to send fight a few miles away to Irene's Family Parish what was the
point of that I guess to keep an eye on him I guess to protect him at the time they certainly weren't going to attack
him to protect him so did he behave himself up until the time that you believe he killed Irene Garza no is that
what you look like yes you were about 20 years old yes Garza found another new witness Beatrice Garcia who says in the
weeks before Irene Garza was murdered she had a bizarre encounter with Father fight I was walking to work a car
approached me and I said can I help you sir and he said I would love to take a picture of you
dressed in black by the cemetery and that man in the car who was it he was um the priest that's him right there
he liked a certain look in a woman you know America Guerra Beatriz Garcia Irene Garza they all look the same
foreign was a violent attack and maybe he got a little taste of it then and was looking
for his next victim and Garza says that victim ended up being Irene yet despite the evidence against fight
at the time the case seemed to stall Noemi Ponce Siegler recalls finding her father one of the original investigators
very upset one day I saw him sitting in a chair with a white handkerchief and he was
crying Noemi says her father had been told his superiors would take over the investigation
around that time Irene's parents got a visit from father O'Brien of Sacred Heart Church the church tried to placate
them saying you know even if it is him we're going to take care of him he would buy Justice within the church if it was
him Irene's Family had long suspected that there had been a conspiracy between the authorities and the church to
protect fight they could never prove it then I'm showing you what's been marked as
State's exhibit 108 but the state says there is proof now I was stunned I felt like I had a Smoking Gun at that point
it's a letter written in 1960 from one church official to another Garza says this is proof that the church and the
Catholic Sheriff at the time e e Vickers conspired to undermine the Irene Garza investigation at some point the sheriff
would meet with the D.A and explain to them what a weak case they had against him in an effort to get it dropped in
the letter they were concerned about how the case might not only affect the church but also the campaign of Catholic
presidential candidate John F Kennedy there are also political implications to this that could make this a juicy
Scandal for the opposition to Kennedy father Thomas Doyle a leading expert on clergy abuse analyzed the letter for the
jury and I believe I found in every paragraph some element that I found very unusual but pointed to an attempt to
cover this up to make it go away but there was no getting away from Maria America guerra's accusation because she
had identified fight a year after Irene's death he stood trial for attempting to rape Gara but the jury
deadlocked rather than face a second Trial fight pled no contest in 1962 to a lesser charge aggravated assault and
what happened to him he was fine 500. 500 500 bucks the state calls Gerald Davis and Daryl
Davis says he knows how that happened and who is that young man standing there that's Daryl Davis Channel 5 News Davis
is now a local attorney but back in 1962 he was a young TV reporter who had covered the Maria America Guerra plea In
This Very courtroom at the clock that's on the back of that wall there after 57 years Davis says around that time he and
several other reporters were summoned to an off the Record meeting with Robert Latimore who was then the district
attorney he said we know the verbatim we know that father fight killed Irene Garza
and I remember he said and the church knows that he killed Irene Garza so we have made some arrangements
Davis says in exchange for that plea in the Maria America Guerra case fight would not be prosecuted in the Irene
Garza case and the church would send him away he said the church is going to put him
in a monastery for Disturbed or troubled priests and he will be kept there for the rest of his life
and so father fight disappeared from the area the case was buried Irene's parents died without knowing
that decades later it would be brought back to the surface by a former monk I covered up the
evidence I'm sorry for what I did to read more of the church letter join us on Facebook at 48 hours
[Music] in the state of Texas we're called dale tashni dale tashni is 88 years old a
former monk from Oklahoma and now the star witness at John fight's murder trial tashni has waited years to be able
to take the stand do you remember what you were feeling at that moment really relief
this was my chance to tell what I knew what I remembered in 2002 42 years after the murder of Irene Garza tashni sent a
letter to the San Antonio police saying he had information about the death of an
unnamed woman in the 1960s on Easter weekend she went to confession to to the priest after hearing her confession he
assaulted her bound her engaged her the priest's name was John fight the San Antonio police knew nothing
about the case but the Texas Rangers did it just so happened the Cold Case had been reopened that year and Ranger Rudy
Jaramillo had been working on it without much luck and then Dale tashney came along that's a huge break for you right
Jaramillo got in touch with tashney and was amazed by what he heard even though tashni didn't know the name
of the victim and had the incorrect date and City Jaramillo was certain tashni was talking about the murder of Irene
Garza back in 1963 tashni was a monk at the Assumption Abbey in Ava Missouri [Music]
he says his Superior ordered him to counsel a young priest named John fight who had just arrived at the monastery
with an unusual story I was told that he had killed a woman and then asked if we could see if he
would fit in in the monastery and possibly become a monk a murderer become a monk does that seem
odd to you to me yes tashni says over the course of many months father fight told him about that
attack after confession he took her blouse off he fondled her breasts and then after
that he took her down in the basement and somehow she remained in the basement I
assumed that he that he tied her up down there tashni says fight told him he later
moved her from the rectory to another location the next day Easter Sunday I believe it was and he put her in the
bathroom put her in the tub and he had put her in a bag or something overhead some sort of
a plastic bag I don't fully remember but when he was leaving he heard her saying I can't breathe I
can't breathe without he shut the door and left when he came back he opened the bathroom
door and she was dead and then with the body he dumped the body along the road by a canal
despite hearing all this tashni says he did not call police then because he felt
his only job was to counsel the priest but it soon became clear that fight was not a good fit at the Assumption Abbey
and he eventually was sent to another Monastery in New Mexico send him out the door yes knowing
what you knew yes buried as much of it as I could tashni eventually left the priesthood
got married and raised a family but in the early 2000s he says he had a crisis of conscience and could no longer carry
the burden of John fight's story did you know Irene Garza no as the jury listened tashni shared his
story and the pain he felt for denying answers to Irene's Family did you know her parents no
can remove one to something else [Music] but it took 15 years from the time tashni first came forward to get him in
front of a jury and this man Renee Guerra is a big part of the reason why but you don't believe
fight ever confessed to him I don't believe Gara was the D.A in 2002 when tashni came forward
he refused to charge fight we spoke to him in 2013. I mean why would he make up this conversation
I don't know but why what makes you think he did the fact that he had no specifics
but tashni was not the only new witness at the time Ranger Jaramillo had also Tracked Down father O'Brien who said
fight had also admitted guilt to him haramio recorded an interview with O'Brien in which he matched many of the
details in tashni's account did he put her anywhere to hide her to place her in you know anywhere where he
might have to bet some did he tell you how he killed him she died from the gagging asphyxiation
Gareb did not believe father O'Brien either he says O'Brien had been diagnosed with a form of dementia is he
misunderstanding and fabricating in his mind a story that he might have heard about
might have read about Jaramillo felt O'Brien was clear-minded but Renee Guerra would not Bend Linda de
la Vina remembers he confronted her as she and Noemi Ponce Siegler tried to push him to prosecute and I'll never
forget he put his finger in my in my face and said you know you'll never get an indictment you'll
get one when pigs fly I'm Linda and Noemi refused to back down and in 2004 Guerra finally seemed to
give in to the public pressure and his office took the case to a grand jury but jurors would only be given audio tapes
and transcripts of what father O'Brien and Dale tashney told investigators they were never called to testify in person
the charge has been made that you could have called them and that you didn't do it in this case because you didn't want
to prosecute this case Irene Garcia's family saying that's what they're saying there's some interested parties that are
saying that the grand jury did not charge John fight and he continued to live as a free man
he had left the monastery and the priesthood by 1972 he married and became a father and a grandfather and had
worked for decades at a Catholic charity when we found him near his home in Scottsdale Arizona in 2014.
um well let me just ask you straight out did you kill Irene Garza no do you know
who did uh no well Dale tashney says that you told him that you did I'm sorry fight could not have known it then but
his time was running out good brother shortly after our conversation with him there was a big development in McCallum
Renee Guerra who had been D.A for 32 years was defeated by Ricardo Rodriguez who promised to look into the case and
in February 2016 fight was arrested and brought back to Texas to stand trial but after nearly 60 years is it too late
[Music] to hear more of Father O'Brien's interview with investigators join us at
48hours.com after hearing her confession he assaulted her Dale tashney's testimony
allowed the prosecution to piece together the last hours of Irene Garza's life he put the young lady downstairs
the rectory at that time and this is the rectory yes prosecutor Mike Garza says because of the rectory's thick walls
nobody would hear sounds of a struggle or any screens for help and left her there and left her there and Garza says
father fight went back to church to hear confessions after parishioners left that
Holy Saturday Garza says fight moved Irene a few miles away to the Pastoral house
story was that he had placed her in a bathtub and had kept left her there while he was going to go back and say
vigil mass and at that time she said I can't breathe I can't breathe Garza says when fight returned from church Irene
was dead yet the point that he left we believe she was still alive but we you know with every intent to kill her
that's a depraved heart that's a pretty cold heart that night Easter night Dale tashney believes Irene
was moved one last time he put her in a car and put her aside of the road near a canal tashni's testimony has some
details but Mike Garza knows it also has holes do you recognize that sir yes sir in his
letter to police in 2002 tashni said the murder happened in 1962 or 1963 in San Antonio several years after and more
than 200 miles from where Irene Garza's body was found why did you think it was in San Antonio
by the fight was from San Antonio you went to school there did you know what year this had happened
James of a monastery in 1963 I thought it happened in 1963. did you later find that you were mistaken
yes but I wasn't easily convinced defense attorney Renee Flores believes Ranger Rudy Jaramillo fed facts to
tashney so he could close the case could you have done that did you do that no sir Jaramillo says he corrected tashni
only because the former monk was racked by guilt wanted to find Irene's Family and clear his conscience
I had to set them straight as to when it happened and where but the defense says
tashni isn't simply mistaken he assaulted her bound her engaged her Renee Flores says tashni is simply lying
okay you never told my father fight that she had been bound and gagged that's correct tashni admits he assumed
that because Irene didn't escape from the rectory after some time he placed her in a cellophane Bay and put her into
a bathtub you also talked about a cellophane bag we know that didn't happen correct no we don't know that
that didn't happen we know that he didn't tell me it happened well if he didn't tell you all of these different
things Mr tashney why would you come forward to law enforcement and tell them that he did they're a reasonable
assumptions the prosecutors don't think the problems tashney has with details make him unreliable and they say much of
his testimony is corroborated by what father O'Brien who has since died told the police did he tell you how he killed
her well she died from the gag in asphyxiation but the defense says O'Brien like tashni got help with his
story I think Joseph O'Brien was fed given or confronted with what the investigators believed
Renee flores's arguing fight was never prosecuted because of a lack of evidence not a conspiracy and he questions Daryl
Davis's testimony about that off the Record meeting with the prosecutor at the time we were talking to the defense
attorney and he doubts this meeting ever really took place really well I'll look him straight in the eye
and tell him that I remember it parts of it as clear as a bill but nobody is clear according to Flores
on exactly when Irene went missing he says Witnesses saw her on church grounds more than an hour after the prosecutors
say she was abducted she had been seen at least an hour and a half to an hour 45 minutes later and if the jurors
conclude a priest murdered Irene Flores wants them to consider a different priest Father Richard Junius was also
hearing confessions at Sacred Heart that day and new Irene his father Junius a reasonable other
suspect in your mind sure Florida says Texas Rangers interviewed father Junius decades after
the crime and he seemed nervous if I recall correctly Texas Ranger haramio indicated that Richard genius was not
very happy about being interviewed that suggests something and why law enforcement
ignored it I don't know but father Junius was never considered a suspect in the case and he died in 2007 so he can't
defend himself but John fight can if he decides to take the stand at his trial there are several things I'd like to
speak to [Music] would you fight would you raise your right answer do you swear from the
testimony you're about to give the case now before the court is the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth so
help me God very well sir for years people have been trying to get answers from John fight about Irene Garza's
murder there are several things I'd like to speak to and it looked like fight might be considering taking the stand at
his trial kind of between a rock and a hard place here during a break his attorneys
consulted with fight who finally announced his decision well it was a wrestling match between my vanity and
Common Sense and Common Sense prevailed Mr fight do you wish to testify in your own behalf no you think he would have
been a good witness I think he would have been a great Witness but I think that the prosecutor would
have done his very best to attack and eat him up with that settled closing arguments can
begin now proceeding may please the court prosecutor Mike Garza reminded the jury of the women he says father fight
preyed upon he was a wolf in Priest clothing waiting to attack attacked once tried to attack again
and finally he got his prayer ask yourself this what evidence was there that John Fine had any intent to
kill what evidence did you hear you're here to find facts and sometimes there just aren't enough
to convince Beyond a reasonable dollar fight went through the trial alone without his family and on December 7
2017 after six days the cold case against the former priest was in the hands of the jury the jury began their
liberations just this afternoon I was confident I felt we had the right jury in the box and that carried you through
the first what two hours that carried me probably through the first two hours and
then what happened it started taking long we received another note from the jury
and I started losing faith after six and a half hours there was a verdict with the defendant please stand
we the jury find the defendant John Bernard fight guilty of the offense of murder with malice of Ford thought as
charged in John fight once a cleric is now a convict guilty tell me what you're feeling the justice
will served Irene finally got her day in court and that's all we ever wanted support we've been waiting for brought a
smile to an old Texas Ranger's face after 57 years we have found Justice for Irene and for today pigs are flying
Mr fighting words when you heard that father fight had finally been convicted what did that feel like to you knowing
the role you played the dead is paid both to Irene and father blade justice has been done for the both of
them the verdict against John fight was one thing but the jury still had to decide
on his sentence Linda and Noemi worried that fight might be set free the jury might decide because he is older and
he's frail that they would be somewhat lenient the morning after the extraordinary
verdict something else extraordinary happened it snowed here along the border with Mexico
as the sentencing process began snowing outside good morning and one last time the lawyers addressed the jury
it was a time where this man wasn't walking in a walker where this man wasn't sitting here weak
it was a time when this man was strong prosecutor Mike Garza pulled out the photo of Irene he carried close to his
heart throughout the entire trial she was a person that was loved we asked that you assess punishment at
57 years every year that he was free having a family getting married hiding behind the protection of the
church is it a just penalty to impose a sentence Upon A man who was different 60 years later
that you decide do you really think he's going to win 57 four hours later for the defendant
please stand the jury announced its decision we the jury assess punishment and imprisonment for a term of life
it was a perfect plan it was a perfect fight it had the perfect result everybody won except John fight well he
was the villain the villain's not supposed to win [Music] thank you [Music] I said okay Irene
I know what your message is we must get back to respecting caring and loving each other that's what we have to do
that's the lesson she taught us she was so good she was and will be my hero [Music]
for Mike Garza this case tested his trust in the church but in the end he kept his faith I've probably crossed
no I have crossed the emotional line in this case this case was very important to me
from my heart I truly believe that Faith would win and it did [Music] foreign [Music]
[Applause] I could see how much blood I was losing I didn't really care whether I had legs
or not I just was going to be alive I was able to see Sarah Sicilian Vanessa again that became my motivation
[Music] it was it was my two little girls [Music] CBS News original reporting [Music]

After nearly 60 years, a former priest is on trial for murdering a young woman who had gone to him for confession. Did the church conspire to cover it up? "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger investigates. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Irene Garza's murder case reveals a church cover-up and leads to the conviction of former priest John Fife after decades of silence.

Key points

The Disappearance of Irene Garza. Irene Garza vanished after going to confession, leading to a massive search effort.
The Discovery of a Body. Five days later, Irene's body was found in an irrigation canal, confirming everyone's worst fears.
The Church's Complicity. Evidence suggests the church was involved in covering up the murder of Irene Garza.
A New Witness Emerges. Dale Tashni, a former monk, comes forward with crucial information about John Fight.
The Long Wait for Justice. It took 15 years for Tashni's testimony to reach a jury, revealing the church's dark past.
John Fight's Conviction. After 57 years, John Fight is found guilty of murder with malice.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was a wolf in priest's clothing.

0:46WatchJul 25, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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