Arrest In Murder Of Los Angeles Bishop David O’Connell

A suspect wanted in relation to the weekend murder of Los Angeles Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell was arrested on Monday in Southern California.

O’Connell, who was born in Ireland 1953, first came to California in the late 1970’s following his studies to become a priest. Ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979, O’Connell proceeded to move around several parishes in Southern California for the next several decades, gaining a reputation as a strong priest and possible future bishop candidate.

He served in Downey from 1979-1983, Long Beach from 1983-1984, Pico Rivera from 1984-1988, and then at four LA churches from 1988 to 2015, with many of the LA posts being focused on serving inner-city congregations during a height point of crime in Los Angeles in the late 80s and early 90s.

In 2015, Pope Francis elevated O’Connell to Bishop, officially becoming an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The promotion was seen as a long-time coming, with many in the Church seeing him as a possible future bishop or even Archbishop as a sunset post to his career.

However, the Archbishop’s life was tragically cut short on Saturday afternoon when he was killed by a single gunshot inside his Hacienda Heights home. Law enforcement officials quickly mobilized and investigated the incident. While an outpouring of condolences came in from around the world, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department ruled it a homicide, with the investigation quickly also becoming a manhunt for anyone involved.

“We learned early this morning from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office that they have determined that the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell yesterday was a homicide,” said Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez in a statement on Sunday. “We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news. Let us continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And let us pray for law enforcement officials as they continue their investigation into this terrible crime.

“As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for forty-five years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother. He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected. He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly. I know we all will.”

Many questions remain in murder of bishop

Working through the weekend, the Sheriff’s Department announced on Monday that a suspect had been arrested in connection to the murder. While few details were given, the Department added that more details would be coming in at a press conference in the afternoon.

“It’s very early in the investigation,”said sheriff’s department Homicide Bureau Detective Michael Modica. “We got a lot more steps we have to take to make more determination to what’s happening.”

While many details on the murder are still emerging, the incident itself has led many in the LA area to call for increased police and more focus on crime reduction. While few details are known about the suspect as of Monday morning, many in favor of more policing said that the murder could become a catalyst for more action similar to other recent high profile crimes elsewhere in the state.

“Look at what happened in San Francisco,” explained Hector del Toro, a former law enforcement official in LA County, to the Globe on Monday. “You had several years of a system that didn’t punish people for a lot of crimes brought on by a rogue DA, crime went up, and the DA was ousted. But during this time police were still seen in not a good light following George Floyd. Then look what happened. Nancy Pelosi’s husband was nearly killed in a home invasion and saved by the police. Support for them went up, and a lot of planned defunding was shelved.”

“Here in LA, there have been some higher profile murders, especially a few with those in Hollywood, but nothing that really had people mourning in the streets. What happened with Bishop O’Connell on Saturday is changing that. There are a lot of members of the public, by and large White and Latino, who are Catholic and who also supported police defunding, or something like it, despite there being a lot of crime.”

“We had a community meeting following mass yesterday. People who had openly called police ‘fascists’ a few years ago in a church hall meeting suddenly changed their tune. The shooting of the Bishop really affected them. Everyone wanted the murderer brought to justice, but many also said this is making them rethink where they stand on things like early release for prisoners and decisions to prosecute. No one wants to hear about reforms right now. That’s how much this has upset people in LA.”

More details on the arrest and suspect are expected later on Monday.

UPDATE:

LA County Sheriff Luna announced on Monday afternoon that the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, Carlos Medina, was arrested for the murder after an hours long standoff in Torrance on Monday morning. A search warrant found two handguns at his home, as well as other evidence linking him to the crime. Video footage also found that he had pulled into the Bishop’s home on Saturday around the time of the murders. Interviews with neighbors also uncovered that Medina was in a dispute with O’Connell over money.

An arraignment is expected soon.