Orlando Mitchell and Deputy John Durm (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
A 34-year-old Indiana man who allegedly gunned down the mother of his child outside of a day care facility last year is now being accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy during an escape attempt earlier this week. Orlando Mitchell allegedly used his handcuff chain to strangle 38-year veteran Deputy John Durm following a hospital visit on Monday morning. Mitchell then stole Durm’s sheriff’s van, which he crashed before being taken back into custody.
According to a press release from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 10, Deputy Durm was returning from transporting an inmate — later identified as Mitchell — for a medical appointment. At some point during the return, Mitchell allegedly assaulted Durm inside of the sally port of the Criminal Justice Center Complex in the 600 block of Justice Way and stole a transport van.
Mitchell was alone in the transport van, which authorities say he drove out of the detention center before crashing less than half of a mile later on a strip of road in the area of 3000 Prospect Street. MCSO deputies and officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) took Mitchell into custody at the scene of the crash. At least one deputy received a minor injury in the process of apprehending Mitchell but was treated at the scene, per the release.
Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services (IEMS) rushed Durm to nearby Eskenazi Hospital, but he was pronounced dead a short while after arriving at the facility. The Marion County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy and determined that Durm’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was “ligature strangulation.”
Mitchell was similarly transported to Eskenazi Hospital by IEMS where he was admitted in stable condition following the crash. He was once again placed under arrest and charged with murder after receiving medical care and being discharged from the hospital.
The investigation into Durm’s death is being led by IMPD.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN, the attack on Deputy Durm was caught by the detention center’s surveillance cameras. The document reportedly states that Durm arrived at the detention center’s sally port, which is the secured entry and exit of the prison, and parked the transport van. Durm then walked around the van and opened the door to let a handcuffed Mitchell out.
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Mitchell then reportedly positioned himself behind the deputy and “raised his hands above Durm’s head and placed them around Durm’s neck.” The two men then fell to the ground and Mitchell used the chain connecting his two wrist braces to choke Durm, which he continued doing “until Durm quits moving,” WXIN reported.
The case will be presented to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office which will determine whether additional charges will be brought against Mitchell.
Mitchell was previously arrested in September 2022 after he allegedly ambushed Krystal Walton, the mother of his child, immediately after she dropped her children off at an Indianapolis day care, WXIN previously reported. He was reportedly located by police several hours later and shot in the leg before being taken into custody.
Investigators reportedly wrote in a probable cause affidavit that they had been contacted by Mitchell’s own mother, who told them she had spoken to her son and he told her that he was going to kill Walton.
“If he couldn’t see his son, she wasn’t gonna be in his life either,” Mitchell allegedly told his mother.
Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to murder in that case and is scheduled to go to trial in October 2023.
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