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 signed an executive order appointing a state prosecutor without apparent conflicts to investigate the death of Michelle O'Connell.

Scott appointed Jeffrey Ashton, a state attorney from the Orlando area, to oversee the investigation.

'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.'

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.

What really happened? Michelle O'Connell was found was found shot to death at the St. Augustine home of her boyfriend and deputy Jeremy Banks

Boyfriend: Banks has denied any involvement in his girlfriend's 2010 death, which involved his service weapon

On Monday, Michelle O'Connell's friend Ciara Morris told ActionNewsJax 'I’m very confident someone like Jeff Ashton will do the right thing and give this case the look that it deserves and answer any lingering questions and look at all the facts from scratch and not just the former investigation but he will put it together himself. It gives us a significant amount of hope.'

Questions about improprieties in the death inquiries, in which local law enforcement authorities investigated one of their own, have drawn national media attention.

Last year The New York Times and Frontline covered the story.

The Times reported that at the scene 'though investigators collected the gun, clothing and other evidence, they never tested it for fingerprints, DNA or gunshot residue. Officers also failed to canvass neighbors; failed to file required reports on what officers had seen that night; failed to download Mr. Banks’s cellphone data or collect and test one of the shirts he wore that night and failed to isolate and photograph Mr. Banks before he was interviewed.'

During an investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), two women later said they heard Banks and O'Connell argue before she was killed, according to the newspaper.

Later, a crime scene re-constructionist with the FDLE 'concluded that for the shells to end up where they had [...] whoever pulled the trigger had to have been left-handed. Unlike Ms. O'Connell, Mr. Banks is left-handed,' The Times said.

The newspaper also contacted various experts, who disagreed with the assertions of one of the medical examiners brought in that O'Connell shot herself with the gun in an upside down position and its tactical light caused an injury on her face.

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.

Christine O'Connell told The Times that Banks abused her sister on multiple occasions.

'She was afraid of him, and Alexis was afraid of him,' she told the newspaper.

Speaking out: Jennifer O'Connell is seen next to one of the O'Connell family attorneys, Benjamin Crump, on Friday

'There is no evidence and no truth that points to Jeremy Banks as being responsible for Michelle O'Connell's death,' said Banks' 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 FDLE 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.

In an affidavit obtained by ABC News, Danny Harmon claimed on Sept. 3, 2010, '[Banks] told me that all she ever did was put him down and make him feel bad about himself. He was going to be moving on with his life, and he wasn’t going to let the [expletive] hold him back anymore.'

'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.

Domestic violence? Christine O'Connell has said Banks abused her sister on multiple occasions

Questions about improprieties in the death inquiries, in which local law enforcement authorities investigated one of their own, have drawn national media attention

Experts have disagreed with the assertions of a medical examiner that O'Connell shot herself with the gun in an upside down position and its tactical light caused an injury on her face

Sheriff David Shoar said in a statement 'Since 2010, many of you have become aware of the tragic death of Michelle O’Connell. The more this case became controversial, the more we embraced the idea of having two experienced death investigators who are 'objective,' 'expertly trained,' with years of experience and who have not been subjected to the vagaries of social media, examine and review this case. On many occasions I have thought about asking for this but chose not to once I realized the utter unfairness it would be to Deputy Banks. Along that same line, I often wish some of us could walk for a bit in his shoes. We are confident that the new Special Prosecutor will reach the same conclusion that one law enforcement agency, two State Attorney’s including one who was assigned as a Special Prosecutor by the Governor, and three medical examiners; that the tragic death of Michelle O’Connell was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We certainly hope that the O’Connell family finds peace and acceptance in the findings of this new Special Prosecutor, something we have never been able to provide.

'We must also remember that a year and a half ago I filed a very serious complaint with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement accusing two of their personnel with serious misconduct relating to this case. Immediately after filing this complaint, one agent retired and the other was placed on paid leave where I believe he remains today.

'Additionally, State Attorney Bill Cervone is currently investigating one of those agents (Rusty Rodgers) for 'Official Misconduct' in regards to this case and his treatment of Deputy Banks.