What we know about the suspect in Bishop David O’Connell’s killing

Carlos Medina, the man arrested in the slaying of Bishop David O’Connell, was identified Monday, Feb. 20, as the husband of the bishop’s housekeeper.

Medina surrendered at about 9 a.m. Monday after a standoff with Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies outside his home near Torrance. Medina is suspected of shooting O’Connell in the bedroom of his home in Hacienda Heights around 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Medina’s arrest brings some measure of relief to a shocked and shaken community. But many questions, including that of a suspected motive, remain unanswered.

Here’s what we know about the suspect so far:

• Medina’s wife is a devout Catholic who had worked as the bishop’s housekeeper for several years, said neighbor Luis Lopez. Authorities did not release her name. The bishop lived in a modest Hacienda Heights dwelling owned by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
• The wife would often take care of the bishop’s small white dog at her residence in unincorporated West Carson, the neighbor said.
• Medina himself previously worked at the home of the bishop, Sheriff Robert Luna said. The sheriff said the suspect is 65, although jail records for a Carlos Medina say he is 61.
• The tipster who alerted the Sheriff’s Department to Medina said that after the shooting, Medina made some irrational comments and claimed the bishop owed him money.
• The couple had a tenant living in a back unit of their home. The tenant emerged when police arrived around midnight, Lopez said, but the wife and Medina did not appear to be home.
• Medina arrived home around 2 a.m., the sheriff said, and barricaded himself in the house. He surrendered at 9 a.m.
• Medina owned at least two firearms, which were recovered by the LASD on Monday. The make and caliber of the guns were not released.
• He also owned a navy-blue Honda SUV that was towed from his house around 10:50 a.m. on Monday. Surveillance footage showed a dark compact SUV pulling into the bishop’s driveway in Hacienda Heights before he was later found dead.
• Neighbor Marty Hernandez said Medina “always seemed like a odd person.” He was often up late and had a lot of “weird stuff around his pad.” Medina’s front yard was cluttered with an assortment of items and junk, including pipes, bikes, buckets, tools, wires and potted plants.
• Neighbor Luis Lopez said Medina had quirks, but for the most part seemed like “a good man, your average older man, always talkative.”
• Medina had lived in the 20400 block of Kenwood Avenue for about five years, Lopez said.

Source: Orange County Register