The husband of a housekeeper to Los Angeles County Catholic Bishop David O'Connell has been charged with his killing, authorities said Wednesday.
Carlos Medina, 61, faces a murder charge and a special allegation of using a firearm in the commission of an offense, District Attorney George Gascon told reporters. He faces anywhere from 35 years to life in prison.
Authorities arrested Medina at his home in Torrance, 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, days after the killing following a standoff with police.
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Witnesses said he was acting strangely and made comments about the bishop owing him money, Los Angeles County Robert Luna said days after the killing.
"When he was interviewed he said several different reasons and none of them made any sense to the investigators, so we don't believe there's any validity to the owing of money," Sheriff's Det. Michael Modica said.
Gascon said a motive for the killing was still unclear but that it doesn't appear Medina forced his way into the bishop's home.
O'Connell, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was fatally shot in at his home in Hacienda Heights and was found dead on Feb. 18. Deputies responded to the shooting, and when they arrived at the scene, they discovered O'Connell with a gunshot wound to the chest.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
O'Connell, 69, was named an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015. He was praised for his work with the county's immigrant community as well as other vulnerable groups.
Archbishop José H. Gomez announced the news of O'Connell's death during Mass on Saturday.
"Our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell has passed away unexpectedly," he said. "It's a shock and I have no words to express my sadness. As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for 45 years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother. He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected."
Medina is being held in the Los Angeles County jail on $2 million bail, according to jail records.
Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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