INDIANAPOLIS — The man accused of shooting and killing the mother of his 1-year-old son outside a day care made his initial court appearance Tuesday.
Orlando Mitchell, 33, is charged with the murder of 32-year-old Krystal Walton at the Charity Child Care on the near west side of Indianapolis. Mitchell was pushed into court in a wheelchair. He is now recovering in jail after he was shot by police and arrested just a few hours after Walton was shot and killed the morning of Sept. 16.
Mitchell was assigned a public defender, and his jury trial is scheduled for Dec. 5.
Mitchell is also facing charges of invasion of privacy and unlawful possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer.
Walton had just dropped off her children at Charity Child Care when police say Mitchell shot her in the parking lot around 7:30 a.m. Police said there were multiple witnesses, including children.
According to court documents, Mitchell's mother came to the scene of the day care shooting. She allegedly told officers she had not spoken with her son in a month because he had threatened to kill Walton and make it a "murder-suicide." Court documents claim she told officers that her son had told her, “If he couldn’t see his son, she wasn’t gonna be in his life either.” His mother then gave officers a description of his car.
Then, around 10:20 a.m. that same day, police learned from a community tip that a vehicle, which matched the description of the suspect's car from the day care shooting, was found near 10th and North Delaware streets. The person calling in the tip told police a man with the car said: "he had killed his girlfriend at 10th and Holmes."
Police located the vehicle a short time later. IMPD said Mitchell was holding a rifle and was ordered to put it down. IMPD is still investigating what then happened that led officers to shoot Mitchell.
According to court documents, one of the officers' body cams captured Mitchell saying, “I shot that b***h!” and then later stated, “I shot that b***h in the face!” while EMS was loading Mitchell into the ambulance.
No officers were injured in the shooting, and Mitchell was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Police said they found two guns with Mitchell during their investigation.
Mitchell's criminal history
Mitchell has a history of domestic abuse against the mother of his 1-year-old son.
In fact, an arrest warrant was issued just before the shooting, and new charges were filed against Mitchell for violating a no-contact order and threatening the mother of his infant son.
Aug. 6, 2022: Breaking and entering
Court records indicate that on Aug. 6, Mitchell contacted the mother wanting to pick up his son a day early. When the woman told him that was not possible, he showed up anyway at the home where she was staying. The mother said Mitchell allegedly forced open the door and entered the house.
When the woman told Mitchell she was going to call the police, she said Mitchell responded with, "If you call the police, it will be the last thing you do!"
She called his mother instead on speakerphone to avoid escalating the situation. Mitchell left the house after about five minutes. Then, she reported the incident to police.
Mitchell is charged with breaking and entering, invasion of privacy, violating a no-contact order, and intimidation.
March 2021: Domestic battery
That no-contact order was part of a plea agreement reached July 26 this year for a domestic battery incident that happened March 20, 2021.
In that case, Mitchell pleaded guilty to domestic battery in the presence of a child under 16. Charges of strangling a pregnant woman, confinement and intimidation were dismissed as part of the deal.
In that March 2021 incident, court records say that the mother reported that Mitchell — her live-in boyfriend of about four years — assaulted her.
She told police she was four months pregnant. She said Mitchell became angry because her ex-boyfriend was waiting outside the house to pick up their mutual daughter, a 6-year-old girl.
Mitchell allegedly told the woman, “I’m gonna f*** you up! I’m gonna mess around and kill you!”
The woman said Mitchell told her she needed to get rid of the baby she was pregnant with, then grabbed her by the neck with one hand and applied pressure. She fell back on the bed with Mitchell on top of her, still squeezing her neck. She said she could not breathe or talk.
The woman said the 6-year-old girl witnessed all this and jumped on Mitchell’s back, yelling, “Get off my mommy!”
She said Mitchell let her go. She left the house with her daughter and went to her mother’s house 2 minutes away to call police.
That case was not resolved until more than a year later, after the woman gave birth to Mitchell’s son.
He served one day in jail with a year of probation. He was not allowed to contact the mother except for arranging child care for their son.
A probation violation and arrest warrant on this case were issued against Mitchell on Aug. 30, likely as the result of violating the no-contact order in the Aug. 6 incident.
The mother was apparently now living in Johnson County. The state filed a petition in August for Mitchell to provide child support. A hearing was scheduled Monday, but Mitchell failed to appear. Another hearing was already scheduled for Oct. 24.
Remembering Krystal Walton
Krystal Walton was remembered at a vigil after the shooting as a loving daughter, mother and friend.
"I love my mom. She was the best mom ever," said Walton's daughter, Emily.
"This is harder than anything. Any strength that I thought that I had is gone," said Krystal's father, Christopher.
Walton's father said the best way to honor her legacy is to remember her story, and not only the way she lived, but also the way she died.
"Domestic violence is real. If you have anyone who is going through anything like this, you need to get them some help immediately," Christopher said.
Walton worked at IU Methodist as an X-ray technician.