FL FL - Michelle O'Connell, 24, St Augustine, 2 September, 2010

[fred&edna]

March 23 2020 release date for Criminal Conduct podcast


For months now, the hosts of PRETEND and TWISTED podcast have traveled, pulled hundreds of records and interviewed dozens of people to tell you a story that’s been forgotten. It’s about the life and death of a young woman named Michelle O’Connell and the amateur sleuth who risked his life to solve her death investigation.

Criminal Conduct – A True Crime Podcast


Criminal Conduct debuts March 23rd – Criminal Conduct

 

[AceDetective]

I just heard about this case from 10 years ago. It does seem shady and the sheriff's department seems shady also but neither of those things mean it couldn't have been a suicide. The fact that she was shot with the gun in her mouth and the pills in her pocket make me believe this was probably a suicide. It seems quite unlikely to me that in the heat of the moment her boyfriend would think to do those things to make it look like a suicide.

 

[Onaliv]

I just heard about this case from 10 years ago. It does seem shady and the sheriff's department seems shady also but neither of those things mean it couldn't have been a suicide. The fact that she was shot with the gun in her mouth and the pills in her pocket make me believe this was probably a suicide. It seems quite unlikely to me that in the heat of the moment her boyfriend would think to do those things to make it look like a suicide.

If you really comb through the info closely you might change your mind as others have... but like with all unsolved cases we don’t really know what took place for certain.

 

[Niner]

a recent article.

Michelle O'Connell Death: Where is Jeremy Banks Now?

 

[Niner]

Another recent article...

Attack ad drags David Shoar over investigation following death of deputy’s girlfriend

A 2010 death investigation drew national attention. Now, it's fueling attacks on the ex-Sheriff.

floridapolitics.com

Aug. 18, 2024

A 2010 death investigation drew national attention. Now, it's fueling attacks on the ex-Sheriff.
A television ad is slamming Republican Senate candidate David Shoar over a widely criticized death investigation during his time as St. Johns Sheriff.
The video spot recounts the 2010 death of Michelle O’Connell, a girlfriend of St. Johns Sheriff’s deputy Jeremy Banks.
“A cry for help. One gunshot. Then, a second. A young mother lay dead. Her boyfriend, David Shoar’s deputy,” a narrator states ominously as newspaper headlines from 2010. The ad goes on to accuse Shoar of interfering with the investigation.
[.....]
The ad itself hits Shoar over his agency’s handling of the case. After the Sheriff’s Office ruled O’Connell’s death a suicide, family members demanded a closer look at the case, ultimately prompting a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation. The state agency heavily criticized the Sheriff’s Office’s initial response.
“Shoar’s investigation? Mishandled from the start,” the ad states.
[.....]
The incident at the time drew national media scrutiny, including an Investigation Discovery feature. That report noted that O’Connell died after breaking up with Banks. She died from a gunshot wound that came from Banks’ duty weapon.
[.....]
“Ultimately, 3 independent Florida Medical Examiners and two independent investigations by the State Attorneys of the 5th and 9th Judicial Circuits ordered by two Republican Governors all came to the same conclusion that this death was the result of suicide,” the statement reads.