Thomas Wells was killed in his Germantown rectory in 2000. The yellow crime-scene tape is gone.
Plywood covers one small, low window.
Police investigators finished months ago, and people at Mother Seton church in Germantown hoped the demolition would be over by spring. Here it is, though, almost the anniversary of their beloved priest's brutal death, and the rectory where Monsignor Thomas Wells was killed still stands. It is a constant reminder of their loss. And if not for parishioners' faith, the modest dove-gray house might be an unbearable reminder, too. Lucas is charged with first-degree murder, burglary and robbery, and the monsignor's church family, as well as his three sisters and brother, are bracing for testimony about the vicious struggle that left him fatally stabbed in June.