Husband of Bishop David O’Connell's Housekeeper Charged in Murder of Roman Catholic Clergyman

A man has been charged in the murder of Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell, the Roman Catholic clergyman found shot dead in his Los Angeles home on Saturday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said. 

O’Connell, 69, was found dead in his home on Feb. 18 after he suffered at least one gunshot wound to his upper body, according to Sheriff Robert G. Luna.

“This was a brutal act of violence against a person who dedicated his life to making our neighborhoods safer, healthier and always serving with love and compassion,” District Attorney George Gascón said. 

Carlos Medina, 61, was charged with one count of murder with a special allegation that he personally used a firearm, according to the DA. 

The sheriff’s department received a tip about Medina as a person of interest due to his recent “strange and irrational” behavior, and his comments about the bishop owing him money, the sheriff said. 

Medina, who was also the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, drove a vehicle similar to the one authorities said they saw on surveillance footage near the crime scene when the murder occurred. 

Upon his arrest and a search of his residence, authorities found two firearms and additional evidence that they said could connect Medina to the murder, though the investigation is ongoing, the sheriff said. 

Medina is currently being held in the Los Angeles County Sheriff Men’s Central Jail on a $2 million bond, according to jail records. Medina's wife is fully cooperating with the investigation, CBS Sacramento reported.

O'Connell was well-known in the Los Angeles diocese, which is the country's largest. He served for nearly 50 years and was a "peacemaker" who championed the poor and immigrant communities, the archbishop said. He had helped broker a peace agreement between residents and police in 1992, when rioters besieged L.A. after the acquittal of LAPD officers charged in the beating of Black motorist Rodney King.

O’Connell was born in 1953 in County Cork, Ireland. He was named an auxiliary bishop for the Los Angeles archdiocese by Pope Francis in 2015. He studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained to serve Los Angeles in 1979, the archdiocese said in its statement.

"He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly," Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in a statement Sunday. He asked for prayers for the bishop and his family in Ireland.

"May Our Lady of Guadalupe wrap him in the mantle of her love, and may the angels lead him into paradise, and may he rest in peace," Gomez said.

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