A former priest and public school teacher accused of sexually abusing young boys from New Jersey was found shot to death in his Nevada home over the weekend, NJ.com reported.
John Capparelli, 70, was discovered at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Henderson, Nevada, when police arrived at his home to conduct a welfare check, authorities said.
According to FOX5 in Las Vegas, the Clark County Coroner's Office determined Capparelli was shot in the neck, and his death is being ruled a homicide.
Last month, under mounting public pressure, the New Jersey Catholic diocese released the names of 188 priests and deacons who had been accused of sexually abusing and harassing children. Capparelli had been credibly accused by multiple children. He was permanently suspended from the church in 1992.
Capparelli was never convicted of a crime, but many accusers have stepped forward in recent years. He had been linked to running a fetish website from his home and coercing teenage boys to wrestle while wearing swimwear.
The Star-Ledger reported Capparelli's teaching certification was revoked in June 2013 when accusations resurfaced. Prior to that, he had been working as a public school math teacher in Newark since 1993. NJ.com reported he purchased his Nevada home, just outside of Las Vegas, in 2016, shortly after selling his property in Belleville, New Jersey.
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