Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters
A former New Jersey priest accused of groping young boys was found shot to death in his Nevada home, The Star-Ledger reports. John Capparelli, 70, was reportedly found shot in the neck in his Henderson, Nevada home on Saturday while police were conducting a welfare check. Police have said Capparelli died of “suspicious circumstances” and his death is being investigated as a homicide. “A suspect has not been identified at this time and police are following up on developed leads,” police said in a statement. Capparelli was one of the 188 priests and deacons in New Jersey who appeared on a list of those “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse. The newspaper reports he allegedly photographed and asked young boys to “wrestle in tight swimwear,” along with running a fetish website. He was removed from the ministry in 1992 and eventually defrocked by the Catholic Church, but was able to secure a teaching job at a Newark public school. After a Star-Ledger report detailed his past, he reportedly surrendered his teaching licenses and moved to Nevada. Rich Fitter, who had accused Capparelli of abuse, told the newspaper that he felt there was “a certain karma” to the ex-priest's death.