Man sentenced to 66 years for killing ex-girlfriend outside daycare

INDIANAPOLIS – A man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend outside a daycare learned his punishment.

A Marion County judge sentenced Orlando Mitchell to 66 years in prison during a hearing on Tuesday. The sentence included 65 years for murder and 1 year for an invasion of privacy charge.

In February, a jury convicted Mitchell of killing Krystal Walton. Prosecutors said he stalked Walton and ambushed her near a daycare in September 2022, shooting her multiple times and leaving her to die.

A protective order was in place. Walton was the mother of Mitchell’s child.

Police confronted Mitchell later that morning. Armed with a rifle, he refused to drop the weapon and pointed it at officers, who shot him in the leg. He was then taken into custody.

As he awaited his murder trial, Mitchell was involved in another deadly incident. He’s accused of killing Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy John Durm in July 2023.

It happened while Mitchell was returning from a hospital visit. He strangled Durm in the sally port at the Marion County Detention Center, according to prosecutors, and stole a sheriff’s van before crashing and being caught again. The incident was captured on video.

Mitchell is charged with murder, robbery and escape in connection with Durm’s case. The trial is scheduled for August.