Christopher O’Connell was charged with first-degree murder last July and his defense attorney, Rudy Bautista, told KPCW they hope to reach a plea deal with Wasatch County that could release O’Connell within as little as a year.
Wasatch County Deputy Attorney Case Wade said “there are potential plea outcomes that would be acceptable” to the county, but no offers have been finalized. He also said his office has offered “nothing like” the best-case scenario Bautista described.
O’Connell was arrested the night of July 10th last year after 7-year-old Zai Rodriguez-Irizarry died of a gunshot wound while asleep in her bedroom. The bullet passed through an apartment wall her family and O’Connell shared at the Wasatch Commons complex just north of Heber City. A Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office detective testified that a video showed O’Connell shooting a gun into the wall.
When O’Connell appeared in Fourth District Court in Heber City in October, Judge Jennifer Brown said there was significant evidence to try him for all charges, including first-degree murder and felony discharge of a firearm.
Bautista argued the shooting was accidental and O’Connell shouldn’t be found guilty of murder.
Bautista and Wade said both legal teams are preparing for trial, but there are no official dates or timelines established yet. If convicted of the murder charge, O’Connell could face up to life in prison.
