End of the mystery? Husband of murdered bishop’s housekeeper arrested in Los Angeles

The murder of David O’Connell, the priest consecrated by Pope Francis As auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles he continues to disrupt the religious community of that city in the southwestern United States. Now, the murder mystery seems to begin to clear up, with the arrest of husband of the housekeeper who worked in the house by O’Connell.

The 69-year-old Bishop was found dead on Saturday at his home in Hacienda Heights, where he lived alone. They found him on the bed, shot in the torso and… the blood still flows for the wound. There were no signs of a violent break-in. in place.

The discovery was made by a deacon who, around one in the afternoon, went to see if O’Connell, who lived a few blocks from the church of San Juan Vianney, was well after having did not show up for a meeting.

The death was initially investigated as “suspicious” but was later classified as a homicide.

The Catholic and immigrant community, in which the Irishman O’Connell had a strong influence, has plunged into grief and doubt over the bishop’s death in recent hours.

Now, a new twist seems to shed some light on what happened.

Who is the man arrested for the murder of the bishop of Los Angeles

A group SWAT was deployed on Monday in the Torrance area, about 55 kilometers southwest of Hacienda Heights, the neighborhood where the religious leader was found dead. Of the operation, for an “entrenched and armed” individualthe arrest has taken place that could solve the murder mystery.

Security forces arrested a man, who was identified as Charles MedinaA. It’s about O’Connell’s housekeeper’s husband. While Sheriff Robert Luna said he was 65, police records state he is 61.

The first lead linking Medina to the murder was the records of security cameras who captured the image of his truck at the entrance to the bishop’s house at the time of the murder.

After, a call directed the search from Medina. It was when a neighbor warned of the current inmate’s behavior, that he was behaving irrationally and had made comments about that O’Connell “owed him money”.

The detectives recovered weapons in the house of Medina and ballistics tests are pending. His wifepriest’s housekeeper, is collaborating with researcherswho are now trying to clarify the motive for the murder.

Who was David O’Connell, the murdered bishop

O’Connell was a leading Catholic in The Angels, where he officiated in recent years as auxiliary bishop. Although he completed his ecclesiastical career in the United States, he was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1953.

He has served in that archdiocese since 1979, when he was ordained a priest. There he chaired a working group that he coordinated the help of the Church to the children and families of Central America.

In its beginnings there were intervened in the gang fight in the city, as in 1992 he interceded to pacify the violent days following the acquittal of four white police officers who had brutally beaten African American Rodney King, who was on probation.

The episode was paradigmatic: an amateur recorded the beating with his Sony camera, the images spread and ignited the anger of minorities against the agents. It was a direct antecedent of the George Floyd case.

O’Connell arrived at the bishopric in 2015, after the age-related resignation of Archbishop Gerald E. Wilkerson. Two other religious were consecrated with him: Joseph V. Brennan and Robert E. Barron.

They knew him as “The Peacemaker”. His ancestors in the Catholic community had led him to participate in demonstrations against the right to abortionas well as going on a prayer chain and hunger strike after California’s assisted suicide law went into effect in June 2016.

“Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had great love for our Blessed Mother,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez.

“He was a man of peace with a heart for the poor and immigrantsand was passionate about building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life is honored and protected,” he added.