Two half-brothers, incarcerated for the 1988 murder of a priest in New Orleans, have come forward with harrowing allegations that they were sexually abused for years by clergy members. Their story emerges amidst the protracted bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans, which faces claims from more than 600 alleged survivors.
A Brutal Murder and a Legacy of Alleged Abuse
Bernard Joseph, 57, and Marcus Hamilton, 65, are serving life sentences at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the killing of Father Patrick McCarthy. The priest was found brutally murdered in his rectory at Blessed Sacrament Catholic church in December 1988. For the first time, the brothers are providing a full account, citing their lawsuits against the archdiocese and drawing from extensive legal documents and interviews.
Their narrative centres on allegations against two Josephite priests: the murdered Father McCarthy and Father Paul Oberg. The brothers claim both men sexually abused them from a young age, a pattern they say was enabled by a fractured family system and systemic failures.
Marcus Hamilton was arrested by the FBI on New Year's Eve 1988. He has never denied the killing, stating in a recent interview, "I never denied killing the homosexual priest from day one." He described a scene of rage, alleging McCarthy made persistent sexual advances. Hamilton, who was living at the rectory, claims he struck the priest with a hammer during a violent altercation.
Grooming, Trauma, and a Family in Crisis
The brothers' affidavits and lawsuits paint a detailed picture of alleged grooming and abuse. They claim Father Paul Oberg first entered their lives through a youth programme at St Peter Claver parish. Oberg, then a member of the Josephite community, is described as becoming deeply enmeshed with the family of Genevieve Hamilton Joseph, the brothers' mother, who struggled with severe mental health issues.
"When Marcus introduced Paul Oberg into our family, [my mother] felt he was a godsend," Bernard Joseph recalled. The brothers allege Oberg provided money, gifts, and attention, using this influence to sexually abuse them. Hamilton's lawsuit states the abuse occurred multiple times per week until he left for military service.
Joseph alleges Oberg also abused him, starting with a traumatic incident on a fishing trip to Mississippi when he was 11. He claims Oberg later introduced him to Father Patrick McCarthy, who also began abusing him.
A forensic psychiatric evaluation of Hamilton, conducted by Dr Frederick Berlin of Johns Hopkins, suggested the money from Oberg allowed the young Hamilton a chance to "rescue" his destitute mother, framing the abuse as a form of "seduction" rather than violent rape.
Legal Battles and Unanswered Questions
The brothers' allegations never became a central feature of their murder trials in the early 1990s. Their attorneys faced an uphill battle against then District Attorney Harry Connick's office, which they believed was reluctant to expose the church. Hamilton was sentenced to death, while Joseph received life without parole.
Nick Trenticosta, a lawyer from Loyola University's Death Penalty Resource Center, took on Hamilton's appeal. He compiled a voluminous petition with family affidavits detailing the alleged abuse and sent it to the Josephite order in 1998. The Josephite superior promised an investigation, but the order's recent statement asserts confidence in its "exhaustive review" and maintains prayers for the brothers' healing.
Paul Oberg is not listed on the New Orleans archdiocese's public list of "credibly accused" clergy. He continued to serve in Josephite parishes in Texas and Alabama until moving to a retirement community in Washington, D.C. The Josephites state he is now ill and unavailable for comment.
Both brothers have now filed claims as part of the New Orleans archdiocese's bankruptcy. Bernard Joseph's handwritten legal petition, filed years earlier, provides a graphic autobiographical account of the abuse and its devastating psychological impact, including a suicide attempt.
Hamilton spent over 30 years in solitary confinement on death row before his sentence was modified in 2021. Joseph has been imprisoned for 38 years. Their cases underscore the complex, long-term consequences of alleged institutional abuse, intertwining personal trauma with violent crime and decades of incarceration.
The New Orleans archdiocese bankruptcy involves claims from hundreds of alleged survivors, with a significant number being prisoners who say they were abused at now-closed orphanages. The stories of Joseph and Hamilton represent a particularly stark intersection of clergy abuse allegations, mental health, poverty, and the criminal justice system.
