ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Johns County deputy who is the brother of a woman at the center of one of the most controversial death investigations in the county's history was arrested Thursday on a domestic battery charge.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, Scott O'Connell punched a woman in the face in his bedroom on Tuesday after she said during an argument that she wished he would die. She told investigators that O'Connell has been abusive toward her since 2011.
O'Connell denied he ever hit the woman, but he was arrested on Thursday and charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. He was placed on paid administrative leave while the case is prosecuted.
"There were no significant injuries in this case. However, it is a criminal event and that charge was processed and Mr. O'connell was arrested," SJCSO Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan said. "We conducted an investigation which included a forensic interview which took an extra day or so in this particular case. In the end, our special victims unit determined there was probable cause that a domestic violence incident had occurred."
O'Connell's sister, Michelle O'Connell, died in 2010 from a gunshot wound inflicted by her boyfriend's gun, authoriteis said. Her mother and sisters believe that her boyfriend, St. Johns County Deputy Jeremy Banks, killed her, but her death has been ruled a suicide by three medical examiners.
A special prosecutor was then appointed, and his definitive report concluded suicide as well.
Scott O'Connell initially thought his sister was killed by Banks -- his former patrol partner -- but has since said that he believes her death was a suicide.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator pursued the death investigation and convinced a local medical examiner to change Michelle O'Connell's cause of death to homicide, but that the medical examiner later changed the opinion back to suicide.
That FDLE agent, Rusty Rodgers, was later disciplined for his investigation tactics and is being sued, along with the FDLE, by O'Connell's family.
O'Connell's mother and sisters asked the governor for a coroner’s inquest into Michelle's death, but that was denied.
O'Connell's mother told News4Jax Friday that Scott O'Connell isn't speaking to her.
"I would hope he (will) be truthful," she said.
In addition to the criminal investigation, there will also be an internal investigation into the allegations against Scott O'Connell. It will be up to the sheriff to decide his future with the department.
News4Jax has contacted Scott O'Connell's attorney for comment, but we have not heard back.