Husband of L.A. bishop’s housekeeper arrested in slaying of beloved cleric
LOS ANGELES — Authorities have arrested the husband of a woman who worked as a housekeeper for Bishop David G. O’Connell in connection with the slaying of the beloved Los Angeles cleric, officials said Monday.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna identified Carlos Medina, 65, as the suspect in the slaying. He did not cite a motive but said a tipster had told authorities that Medina was acting strangely after the killing and claimed the bishop owned him money.
Luna said detectives connected Medina to the crime from a video that showed a vehicle at the O’Connell home about the time of the killing. Weapons were found at his home but Luna said ballistic tests are still pending.
O’Connell, 69, was killed Saturday afternoon in the Catholic archdiocese-owned home in Hacienda Heights where he lived alone, authorities said.
Deputies answering a call for a medical emergency shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday found O’Connell. Paramedics later pronounced him dead at the scene. A couple who live on the quiet tree-lined street said they heard no gunshot or other unusual noise before the arrival of firefighters and ambulance crews.
A spokesperson for the archdiocese declined to comment on the arrest Monday, saying only that inquiries should be directed to law enforcement.
“They’ll be able to answer your questions about the investigation, which the Archdiocese is cooperating with fully,” the spokesperson said in an email.
L.A. Archbishop José H. Gómez on Saturday at first told parishioners that O’Connell “passed away unexpectedly.” Not until Sunday morning did the Sheriff’s Department release a statement saying the death “is being handled as a murder investigation.”
No mention was made of suspects and no further details were released.
“We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news,” the archbishop said in an updated release. “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.”
O’Connell served as founder and chairman of the interdiocesan SoCal Immigration Task Force, helping scores of children who entered the United States without adult companions. “For me, it really is a labor of love,” he was quoted in a 2019 article. “This is, I think, what our schools and parishes are all about. Not just for unaccompanied minors but for all our children. There’s an epidemic of hurting children, even the ones who have too much. They feel we’ve abandoned them. And the migrant youths have become a metaphor for our whole society.”
In the 1990s, O’Connell gained a reputation for seeking to bridge relations between residents of riot-torn neighborhoods and local law enforcement after the police beating of Rodney King. Luna on Sunday called the bishop a “peacemaker” who “had a passion serving those in need while improving our community.”