New investigation in Florida woman's 2010 fatal shooting

By Letitia Stein TAMPA Fla. (Reuters) - Florida authorities opened a new investigation into the 2010 death of a woman whose shooting was ruled a suicide, her family's attorneys said on Friday, after questions were raised about the local police department's handling of the case. Florida Governor Rick Scott earlier this week signed an executive order appointing a state prosecutor without apparent conflicts to investigate the death of Michelle O'Connell. The 24-year-old mother was found shot to death on Sept. 2, 2010, at the St. Augustine home of her boyfriend, St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Banks, whose weapon was used. Banks has denied any involvement in her death. "Today, we are heartened that this won't be the end of my sister's story," said her sister, Jennifer O'Connell, in a statement. "We will continue to fight for Michelle, as long as it takes." Questions about improprieties in the death inquiries, in which local law enforcement authorities investigated one of their own, have drawn national media attention. O'Connell's friends and relatives have said that evidence such as a bruise, cut and a broken tooth suggest that she may not have killed herself, but was the victim of abuse. They stressed that she would never have left her young daughter, Alexis. "There is no evidence and no truth that points to Jeremy Banks as being responsible for Michelle O'Connell's death," said his Florida attorney, Mac McLeod, adding that a brother with whom she was close is supporting Banks. Others in the O'Connell family had petitioned Scott for the independent probe. Their request moved forward as he faces a tight re-election campaign. The new investigation also follows heightened attention to domestic violence amid allegations of abuse by players in the National Football League. The attorney for Banks, who is suing a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator involved in the case, denied allegations of abuse in their relationship. A new witness recently emerged accusing Banks of inflammatory remarks the night after her death, said McLeod, calling the allegation false. Scott appointed Jeffrey Ashton, a state attorney from the Orlando area, to oversee the investigation. "It is part of the bigger picture of women who stay in relationships that are fraught with violence and abuse," said Janet Johnson, a Florida attorney for the family. "Our belief is that Michelle had told him that it was over and that she was ending this cycle, and that's what precipitated this horrible ending," she said. (Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Sandra Maler)