Missing Michelle O’Connell death certificate located

The family of Michelle O’Connell informed Historic City News reporters that, during their continued search for the truth, they have uncovered the previously “missing” amendment to the Florida Death Certificate, prepared by the District 23 Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Michelle.

The death of Michelle O’Connell was reported by her boyfriend, Jeremy Banks, a St Johns County deputy sheriff, from his home, in a call he made to 911 on September 2, 2010 at 11:20 p.m. The first responding law enforcement officer arrived at 11:25 p.m., and at 11:47 p.m., Michelle O’Connell was pronounced dead.

On September 4, 2010, Dr. Frederick Hobin determined by postmortem examination that Michelle O’Connell died from a self-inflicted intra-oral gunshot wound, and the manner of death was suicide — consistent with the explanation of events given by Deputy Banks and the other deputies who arrived at his home to investigate on the night of the incident.

On Monday, May 23, 2011, a new medical examiner, Dr. Predrag Bulic, is hired as the full-time replacement for Chief Medical Examiner Terrence Roy Steiner, M.D., M.E., who retired before O’Connell’s death in 2010.

Just 15-days after Dr. Bulic is hired, on June 7, 2011, Frederick Hobin, M.D., A.M.E., executed an amendment to his original death certificate in the Michelle O’Connell case, based on “additional information discovered as a result of extended investigation.”

Dr. Hobin, who is board certified in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology, made two changes to his original certificate, under oath, witnessed and notarized by Kelly Suzanne Boulos. First, Hobin found that the manner of death was not suicide, but homicide. He also found that the cause of death was actually a gunshot injury to the spine, caused by another person.

Four months later, on October 11, 2011, Dr. Bulic reports that Dr. Hobin should not have been released the amended death certificate and he said the change in manner and cause of death “amounted to a clerical error”.

The following day, Wednesday, October 12, 2011, the State Attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, R. J. Larizza, made a formal request to Governor Rick Scott that the O’Connell investigation be assigned to another State Attorney.