A man has been charged with murder in the killing of a prominent Los Angeles bishop, authorities announced Wednesday.
Carlos Medina, 61, of Torrance, is facing one count of murder with a special circumstance that he personally used a firearm to allegedly kill Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell on Feb. 18, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said. If convicted, Medina faces 35 years to life in prison.
Gascón described the Feb. 18 killing as “a brutal act of violence,” saying that O’Connell, 69, who served as a priest and bishop in the region for nearly 50 years, dedicated his life to serving the community “with love and compassion.”
“His loss is one that I think will be felt deeply for years to come,” the district attorney said during a news conference.
A motive has not yet been determined. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna previously said that Medina, the husband of a woman who worked as a housekeeper for O’Connell, claimed the bishop owed him money. But Lt. Michael Modica said on Wednesday that investigators don’t believe there’s any validity to that claim.
“When he was interviewed, … he said several different reasons,” Modica told reporters, “and none of them made any sense.”
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