The brutal death of Michelle O'Connell - A detailed case overview

Michelle O'Connell remains at the center of a long-disputed case from St. Augustine, Florida. The official record lists a suicide. Relatives and several outside reviews have raised questions about that call and the early steps taken by investigators.

The case returns to television in a re-air of Crime Scene Confidential Season 2, Episode 6 at 4:00 am ET on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, on Investigation Discovery. The hour, titled Investigating the Investigation, follows CSI Alina Burroughs as she re-examines what the evidence shows.

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A detailed case overview of Michelle O'Connell

Michelle O'Connell, 24, died from a gunshot inside the home she shared with her boyfriend, St. Johns County sheriff’s deputy Jeremy Banks. The sheriff’s office ruled the death a suicide soon after. Family members disputed that finding, and a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent, Rusty Rodgers, later reviewed the case.

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Rodgers and wrote there was probable cause to treat the death as a potential homicide, according to PBS FRONTLINE (April 2018).

Michelle O’Connell died from a gunshot inside her home. (Image via Pixels)

Two neighbors reported hearing a woman cry for help, followed by gunfire. Photos showed the handgun near O’Connell’s left hand, even though she was right-handed. Years later, an exhumation found a cracked jaw consistent with blunt force trauma.

The autopsy also found that her tongue was retracted into her airway, suggesting the gun may have been forced into her mouth. These points are cited in a case timeline reported by The New York Times.

The public record also includes the 2019 killing of a local resident who had been privately reviewing the O’Connell file and requesting documents. The person was found shot in a St. Augustine condominium, and the death was ruled a homicide by a neighboring agency that took over the case after a conflict check. No link between the two cases has been established by authorities, per CBS News (February 2019).

The sheriff’s office still classifies Michelle O'Connell's death as a suicide. (Image via Pixels)

Across multiple reviews, prosecutors and medical examiners have examined the file and reached different assessments on parts of the evidence. The sheriff’s office still classifies the death as a suicide. Relatives continue to seek another full review of the case.

The victim’s daughter and relatives have described life plans O’Connell had in motion, including classes for a job step and saving for a new apartment, details that the family cites when challenging the suicide ruling, as reported by People.

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Michelle O'Connell on Crime Scene Confidential

Investigating the Investigation places the Michelle O'Connell crime scene work next to current tools. Burroughs revisits witness accounts, documents, photographs, and lab findings to test the early conclusions. The format is straightforward: evidence on camera, methods explained, and the known timeline rebuilt piece by piece.

Crime Scene Confidential host Alina Burroughs, a former CSI agent, revisits high-profile and disputed cases, such as that of Michelle O'Connell. The series focuses on what can be confirmed from the record, with interviews, archival material, and demonstrations that reflect how a file can shift when new testing or overlooked sources are added.

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The re-air of “Investigating the Investigation” is on Investigation Discovery at 4:00 am ET on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

Crime Scene Confidential is available to stream on HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Discovery+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Philo, and Discovery+. Episodes can be purchased on Amazon Video, Fandango At Home, and Apple TV. The series also streams for free with ads on Investigation Discovery and on Spectrum On Demand.

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