SUSPECT CHARGED IN KILLING OF L.A. BISHOP

Prosecutors charged a man Wednesday with killing a Catholic bishop in a crime that stunned Los Angeles religious and immigrant communities.

Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, 69, was fatally shot Saturday in the bedroom of his home in Hacienda Heights, east of downtown Los Angeles.

The suspect, Carlos Medina, is the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper. Medina had done work at the bishop’s home and was arrested Monday.

L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon said Wednesday that Medina is charged with one count of murder with a special allegation that he used a firearm.

“Charging Mr. Medina will never repair the tremendous harm that was caused by this callous act, but it does take us one step closer to accountability,” Gascon said.

Medina faces 35 years to life in state prison if convicted.

Medina appeared briefly in court in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, but his arraignment was postponed at the defense’s request until March 22. Superior Court Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian ordered him to remain jailed in lieu of $2.03 million bail.

Medina’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pedro Cortes, told reporters after the brief hearing: “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. Myself as well as Mr. Medina’s defense team look forward to fully investigating all aspects of this case.”

O’Connell had been a priest for 45 years and was a native of Ireland, according to Angelus News, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest. In 2015, Pope Francis named him one of several auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese.

Lt. Michael Modica of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, who is leading the homicide investigation, said Medina told detectives of several reasons for the violence, “and none of them made any sense to investigators,” so the motive remains unclear. Previous reports that Medina said O’Connell had owed him money appear to be incorrect, Modica said.