Carlos Medina, 65, will appear this Wednesday in a Los Angeles court, where he will be charged with the death of David O’Connell, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who was murdered in his residence located in the Treasury. Heights.
O’Connell, 69, was found dead on Saturday in a room with a gunshot wound to his chest.
The incident happened in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue in Hacienda Heights. It was a deacon who alerted authorities to the emergency, after arriving at O’Connell’s home because “he hadn’t arrived for a meeting,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Chief said ( LASD), Robert Luna during the press conference on Monday.
Following the discovery, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department opened an investigation which it said was “suspicious”.
Medina was arrested Monday in Torrance in connection with O’Connell’s murder. The suspect is the husband of O’Connell’s governess, and in the past had worked at the Bishop’s household, Luna said.
Medina’s house was located in the 2400 block of Kenwood Avenue in the city of Torrance. The tipster said “Medina moved out of Los Angeles County and was supposed to be in central California,” Luna added.
At 2 a.m. Monday, LASD was “alert by a community member that Medina had returned home,” Luna said. Officers from Carson Station, along with other units, responded to the scene and began the operation to surrender Medina.
Medina finally left her residence at 8:15 a.m. Monday and was arrested. Investigators “recovered two weapons and other evidence that possibly links Medina to the crime,” Luna said.
Authorities are investigating the motive for the homicide. An early lead said “there was a dispute over a debt,” Luna said, but that was unconfirmed. “Our investigation is continuing, including interviewing several witnesses, to understand what happened.”
No details of O’Connell’s funeral service have been released so far.