The Los Angeles handyman accused of murdering Cork-born auxiliary bishop David O’Connell will spend the Christmas holidays in jail awaiting trial.
Carlos Medina Vallejo (62), charged under the surname Medina, denies that he shot the bishop as he slept in his home in east Los Angeles last February.
After a series of delays Mr Medina is now scheduled to appear in a downtown courtroom on January 10th, 2024 – although the start of a trial could still be months away.
The defendant who carried out small tasks for the bishop has been charged with one felony charge of first-degree murder and faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty. He denies all charges and is held on $2 million bail.
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The 69-year-old bishop studied at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained as an associate pastor in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979 by Archbishop Timothy Manning, a future cardinal who was born in Ballingeary in Co Cork – some 80km west of Brooklodge, where Bishop O’Connell was from.
