A 34-year-old Indiana man is now being charged with killing a sheriff’s deputy during an escape attempt earlier this week after allegedly shooting the mother of his child outside of a daycare center last year.
Deputy Killed, Choked to Death, and Stole the Transport Van
According to the published news from Law&Crime, following a Monday morning hospital visit, Orlando Mitchell is accused of killing Deputy John Durm, a 38-year veteran, with the use of his handcuff chain. After that, Mitchell stole the sheriff’s van owned by Durm, which he later crashed before being arrested again. At around 11:30 a.m., the Marion County Sheriff’s Office issued a news release. Deputy Durm was coming back from taking a convict, later identified as Mitchell, to a doctor’s appointment on July 10. Mitchell is accused of assaulting Durm within the sally port of the Criminal Justice Center Complex in the 600 block of Justice Way at some time during the return trip and robbing a transport van.
Authorities claim Mitchell was driving the cargo van alone out of the facility when it crashed less than half a mile later on a stretch of road close to 3000 Prospect Street. Mitchell was taken into custody at the scene of the collision by MCSO deputies and police officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). According to the press release, at least one deputy was treated on the spot after suffering a minor injury while trying to take down Mitchell.
Durm was transported by Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services (IEMS) to the neighboring Eskenazi Hospital, but shortly after his arrival, the hospital declared him dead. After conducting an autopsy, the Marion County Coroner’s Office ruled that Durm died by “ligature strangulation” and that his manner of death was a homicide.
IEMS similarly took Mitchell to Eskenazi Hospital, where he was admitted after the collision in stable condition. After obtaining treatment and leaving the hospital, he was once more taken into custody and charged with murder.
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The Investigation into Killed Deputy, Durm is Being Handled by IMPD
The killed Deputy Durm was recorded by the detention center’s security cameras, according to a probable cause document acquired by Indianapolis Fox station WXIN. According to the paper, Durm arrived at the detention center’s sally port—the prison’s secured entrance and exit—and parked the transport van. To let a handcuffed Mitchell out, Durm then circled the van and opened the door.
The two men then fell to the ground and Mitchell used the chain connecting his two wrist braces to choke Durm, which he reportedly continued doing until Durm quits moving, according to WXIN. Mitchell then positioned himself behind the deputy and “raised his hands above Durm’s head and put them around Durm’s neck.” The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will review the matter before deciding whether to file additional charges against Mitchell.
According to a previous story from WXIN, Mitchell was previously detained in September 2022 after reportedly ambushing Krystal Walton, the mother of his child, as soon as she had dropped her children off at an Indianapolis daycare. Police allegedly found him several hours later, shot him in the leg, and then arrested him.
According to a probable cause statement written by investigators, Mitchell’s mother phoned them and said she had spoken to her son and that he had told her he was going to kill Walton. Mitchell allegedly informed his mother, “If he couldn’t see his son, she wasn’t going to be in his life either.”
In that case, Mitchell has entered a not-guilty plea to murder, and his trial is set for October 2023.
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