Sheriff asks court to move man accused of killing deputy to state facility

Indianapolis Star
Updated ·2 min read
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Update: On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, Marion County Judge Charles Miller approved the Sheriff Forestal's request to move Orlando Mitchell to an Indiana Department of Correction facility.

The Marion County sheriff has asked for an inmate accused of strangling one of his deputies to death this week to be moved to another facility, according to court records.

In a motion filed Wednesday, Sheriff Kerry Forestal asked the courts to move Orlando Mitchell to the Indiana Department of Correction, saying Mitchell poses risk of serious bodily injury or death at the county jail.

Mitchell was taken into custody Monday afternoon after law enforcement officials say he was seen on video using his handcuffs to strangle Marion County Sheriff’s deputy John Durm to death. Durm was returning Mitchell to the Criminal Justice Campus following a medical appointment.

Court records: Suspect used handcuffs to strangle Marion County deputy in deadly attack

A struggle ensued, and both men fell to the ground. Court records said Mitchell stayed on top of Durm until the deputy stopped moving. The Marion County Coroner's Office determined Durm's cause of death as "ligature strangulation." He had been with the department for 38 years.

The video then showed Mitchell picking up handcuff keys from the ground and removing his cuffs, a preliminary probable cause affidavit said. The 34-year-old is then accused of taking the van he had been transported in and driving the vehicle through the gates of the campus and crashing into a utility pole just outside the parking lot – in the 3000 block of Prospect Street.

More: How to help the family of slain MCSO deputy John Durm

Mitchell was apprehended by a sheriff’s deputy and taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Durm died later in a hospital.

Mitchell already is facing a murder charge in the death of a woman who was shot and killed last year while dropping her kids off at daycare on the west side of Indianapolis.

The Marion County Prosecutor's Office is determining final charges in Durm's killing.

Contact the reporter at 317-503-7514.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis deputy killed: Sheriff seeks suspect's move to state DOC