Indiana jail inmate charged with murder in deputy's strangulation death

Officers and detectives gather at the scene where an inmate... — Officers and detectives gather at the scene where an inmate crashed a transport van after stealing it with a Marion County sheriff's deputy on-board Monday, July 10, 2023, just outside the Community Justice Campus in Indianapolis. Court documents released Tuesday say a jail inmate accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy who was transporting him in a van used the chain of his handcuffs to choke the officer during an escape attempt. Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy John Durm, 61, died Monday at a hospital following the attack. Credit: AP/Jenna Watson

By The Associated PressJuly 13, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS — A jail inmate accused of killing a sheriff's deputy in Indianapolis during an escape attempt while he was being moved in a van was charged Thursday with murder and prosecutors said they are seeking the death penalty against him.

Orlando Mitchell, 34, used his handcuff chain to strangle Deputy John Durm, 61, as the deputy was returning him Monday to the Criminal Justice Center in Indianapolis following a hospital visit, authorities said.

Mitchell was formally charged Thursday with two counts of murder and one count each of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and escape.

Marion County prosecutors filed court paperwork Thursday seeking the death penalty against Mitchell if he's convicted in Durm's slaying. That filing cites four aggravating circumstances, including that Durm was killed while performing “his duty as a law enforcement officer.”

At the time of Durm's killing, Mitchell was awaiting trial for the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Krystal Walton. He had been jailed in that killing since September 2022.

“For decades, Deputy John Durm served our community with honor and dignity. Now, it is our duty to secure justice for Deputy Durm and his family,” prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement.

The Marion County public defender's office, which is representing Mitchell, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the case.

Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal stands outside Eskenazi Hospital and... — Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal stands outside Eskenazi Hospital and announces that Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy John Durm died after a prison inmate assaulted him while stealing a transport van from the Community Justice Campus on Monday, July 10, 2023, in Indianapolis. Court documents released Tuesday say the jail inmate accused of killing the sheriff’s deputy who was transporting him in a van used the chain of his handcuffs to choke the officer during an escape attempt. Credit: AP/Jenna Watson

Authorities said Durm was returning Mitchell to the Criminal Justice Center on Monday when the inmate used his handcuff chain to strangle the deputy after he opened the van's rear door.

Mitchell then found Durm’s handcuff key, unlocked himself and drove the van a short distance from the detention center before crashing into a wooden pole, authorities said. Other deputies then returned him to custody.

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