Bethel man arrested in brother’s murder

Matthew O’Dell Matthew O’Dell Photo: Contributed /New Milford Police Department Photo: Contributed /New Milford Police Department Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Bethel man arrested in brother’s murder 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

BETHEL — Police charged a 40-year-old Bethel man Wednesday morning with the murder of his older brother at the home where they lived with their mother.

Matthew O’Dell was arrested by Bethel police at 10 a.m. Wednesday, after he was taken to state Superior Court in Danbury by New Milford police, Bethel police Capt. Stephen Pugner said.

O’Dell’s older brother, Richard O’Dell, 42, was found fatally shot at the Apollo Road home by his mother Monday evening. She initially thought he had taken his own life, police said.

Richard O’Dell “had been shot several times and had post-mortem artifacts indicating that he had been dead for several hours,” police said.

Police were called to the house around 6:30 p.m. Monday, and stayed overnight, neighbors said. A State Police major crimes van was parked outside the home and investigators were seen leaving the house with bags of evidence Tuesday morning.

A handgun was taken from the Apollo Road home, Pugner said. The gun was later recovered by New Milford police when Matthew O’Dell was taken into custody.

The gun’s ammunition was “consistent with shell casings” recovered by state police, Pugner said.

O’Dell was initially arrested by New Milford police Monday morning, after police said he tried to steal a car, and brandished a handgun after he was confronted by the car owners.

The owners, who were unarmed, disarmed O’Dell while they were on the phone with police, and held him until authorities arrived.

Matthew O’Dell previously worked in the sales department of M&S of Pawling, a Chevrolet dealership just over the Connecticut line, according to his Facebook page, which features references to hard rock bands and Irish heritage.

A sales manager at Ingersoll Auto said O’Dell left the company before it was taken over by new management about six years ago.