INDIANAPOLIS — The suspect in the death of a Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy John Durm is Orlando Mitchell, 34.
He has been in the Marion County jail since September 16, 2022, jail records show.
Mitchell is charged with murder in the 2022 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Krystal Walton, outside an Indianapolis daycare.
Mitchell is accused of shooting Walton after she dropped off her children.
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Mitchell shares a son with Walton.
(*The following video is from previous reporting.)
As WRTV Investigates reported last year, at the time of Walton’s murder, Orlando Mitchell was not supposed to have firearms because of a recent domestic conviction, court records show.
On July 26, 2022, Orlando Mitchell pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of domestic battery as a misdemeanor in connection with Krystal Walton, the ex-girlfriend he’s accused of killing.
As part of the July 2022 plea agreement, Mitchell’s conviction was considered a “domestic violence determination” and should have barred him from possessing a firearm, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Court records show on July 26, Mitchell’s information was entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) which would have prevented him from purchasing a firearm.
"Once the conviction is entered into the NICS system it would bar individuals from purchasing firearms from a federally licensed dealer," said Michael Leffler, a spokesperson for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, in an email to WRTV. "However, it would likely not affect the purchasing online or at an event like a gun show."
Lt. Shane Foley with Indianapolis Metro Police said IMPD does not have the authority to seize firearms because there is no registration in Indiana, and police have no way of knowing if a person owns firearms.
IMPD could seize firearms if a judge specifically orders law enforcement to seize them from a dangerous or mentally ill person, such as under Indiana’s red flag law.
However, no such order was issued in Mitchell’s case, court records show.
During the investigation, IMPD detectives located two firearms with Mitchell.
IMPD provided photographs of both firearms in a news release.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted “urgent” traces on both guns, according to ATF spokesperson Suzanne Dabkowski.
An urgent trace means it is a situation where investigators need the results as soon as possible, with the goal of having the trace completed within 24 hours.
The ATF would not provide specific details about the firearms allegedly used to kill Krystal Walton.
However, Dabkowski did say the trace showed the firearms had been purchased more than five years ago, and there was no indication of a straw purchase.
“It was over five years ago that the firearms were purchased, and there was no indication of a straw purchase,” said Dabkowski.
A straw purchase is typically when a criminal who can’t pass a background check gets another person, who can pass a background check, to buy guns for them.
They’re illegal, because criminals and other people who cannot pass a background check often get other people, who can pass a background check, to buy guns for them.
In July 2022, Orlando Mitchell was sentenced to one-year probation, 26-week domestic violence counseling or batterer’s intervention, a no-contact order for Krystal Walton (unless the contact involved childcare for their son) and a substance abuse evaluation and any recommended treatment, according to court documents.
The charges stem from a March 20, 2021 incident in which Krystal Walton called police saying her boyfriend at the time, Mitchell, assaulted her while four months pregnant with his baby.
Walton is the woman who was killed outside of the daycare, according to family.
Walton also shares a daughter with another man, court records show.
The 2021 altercation began because Mitchell was jealous of Walton’s ex-boyfriend who she has a daughter with, prosecutors said.
Walton told police Mitchell grabbed her by the hair and told her “he will (expletive) kill her, she needs to get rid of the baby and that she is going to make him kill her.”
Mitchell grabbed Walton by the hair as the daughter, who was six years old at the time, tried to intervene, court documents alleged.
“Get off my mommy!” the daughter told Mitchell, court documents read.
Walton told police Mitchell got her on the bed and started choking her while her daughter was still trying to intervene.
Walton was able to get away and go to her mother’s house, according to court documents.
“Ms. Walton does believe he will try to kill her and is concerned he will come to her temporary location,” read the probable cause affidavit.
At the time of the incident, Walton and Mitchell had been dating for four years.
Mitchell violated the conditions of the July 2022 plea agreement, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
The court found Mitchell violated his probation and issued a warrant on August 30, 2022.
On September 15, prosecutors filed three additional charges against Mitchell for invasion of privacy, intimidation, and residential entry.
The charges stem from an August 6, 2022 incident.
Walton told police Mitchell she was scared for her life after Mitchell forced his way into her home even though Walton had a protective order against him, records show.
Walton said Mitchell told her, "this will be the last time you call for someone" after he learned Walton had called the police.
Krystal Walton told police that on August 7, 2022, she received a text message from Orlando Mitchell, which read, “U gotta learn to be reasonable with me about my son. If u wanna keep playing, i promise on my life i won’t stop until u lose everything! That house, job, and (daughter's name). So it up to u!!”.
A second warrant was issued for Mitchell’s arrest on September 15, court records show.
The prosecutor’s office filed a motion the same day requesting a “greater than standard bond” due to Mitchell already being on probation in the 2021 domestic violence case.
The judge granted the request, and the order said once Mitchell was picked up, he would be on a 7-day hold, which means he would be held in the Marion County jail for at least seven days.
Court records show on August 18, Krystal Walton filed a petition in Johnson County Circuit Court to establish child support for her son, age 1.
The petition said Krystal Walton and Orlando Mitchell were never married and share a son together.
At the time of the filing, no child support order was in effect for the child.
Walton argued Mitchell is capable of paying some amount of child support, and of securing and maintaining health insurance coverage for the child.
Walton asked the court to order Mitchell to pay child support it deems “fair and reasonable under the Indiana Child Support Guidelines.”
The case was scheduled for a hearing on Monday, September 12. However, Mitchell failed to appear in court, records show.
