Carlos Medina Wiki – Carlos Medina Biography
A man arrested Monday for the weekend slaying of a Catholic bishop that shocked Los Angeles’ religious and immigrant communities is the husband of the victim’s housekeeper and had worked at her home, authorities said.
Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, 69, was fatally shot Saturday in the bedroom of his home in Hacienda Heights, an unincorporated community about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff said. Los Angeles, Robert Moon.
Carlos Medina Age
Carlos Medina is 70 years old.
Incident Detail
A SWAT team arrested Carlos Medina, the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, at his home in Torrance, about 35 miles southwest of Hacienda Heights, Luna said. The sheriff said detectives first linked Medina to the crime after finding surveillance video showing his SUV in the driveway of O’Connell’s home at the time of the murder.
A caller told authorities that Medina, 65, was acting irrationally and had made comments about O’Connell “owing him money,” Luna said, adding that the motive for the murder remains under investigation He said detectives found no evidence of forced entry at the archdiocese-owned home and that Medina’s wife was cooperating with detectives. Detectives recovered weapons at Medina’s home and ballistics tests are pending, Luna said.
It was not immediately known if Medina has an attorney who can speak on her behalf. A deacon who had gone to see O’Connell after he failed to show up for a meeting found him at his home a few blocks from St. John Vianney. Catholic Church, part of his archdiocese, and called authorities, Luna said.
“Although I have not personally met the bishop, I cannot tell you how many phone calls I have received in the last 48 hours from people who have worked with him in different capacities,” Luna said. “This bishop made a world of difference in our community. He was loved.”
O’Connell had been a priest for 45 years and was originally from Ireland, according to Angelus News, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ news outlet, the country’s largest. In 2015, Pope Francis named him one of several auxiliary bishops in the archdiocese.
O’Connell worked in South Los Angeles for years and focused on gang intervention, Angelus News reported. He later tried to broker peace between residents and law enforcement after the violent 1992 riot after a jury acquitted four white Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King, a black man.
Nearly two decades later, O’Connell brought the San Gabriel Valley community together to rebuild a mission there destroyed in an arson attack. In recent years, he has also spearheaded Catholic efforts in the region to work with immigrant children and families from Central America.
Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez said Monday that O’Connell was fluent in Spanish with an Irish accent and every day showed “compassion for the poor, the homeless, immigrants and all who live in the margins of society”. “He was a good priest and a good bishop and a man of peace and we are very sad to lose him,” Gomez added, her voice cracking.
Janice Hahn, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said O’Connell was a longtime friend she first met when she was on the Los Angeles City Council. She said that in recent years O’Connell had spent much of her time helping immigrants coming to the country.
“He dedicated himself to supporting immigrants, not just making sure they had food and shelter, but even helping immigrant children, unaccompanied minors, get into Catholic schools, and helped them get into college,” she said. Neighbors and parishioners left flowers and candles and said the rosary next to police tape in Hacienda Heights on Sunday.
Gabriela Gil, who met O’Connell when she was pregnant with her youngest child, was among those who prayed outside O’Connell’s home. “I have never felt more understood by anyone in this world,” she said. The Diocese of Cork and Ross in Ireland, where O’Connell was born, was shocked by the murder.
Bishop Fintan Gavin said in a statement that O’Connell “has always maintained his connection to family and friends in Cork” through frequent visits to Ireland. The violence was the latest to shake religious leaders in Los Angeles. Two Jewish men were shot and wounded last week by a gunman who authorities say attacked them because of his faith. Suspect Jaime Tran has been charged with federal hate crimes.
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