Man Sentenced to 66 Years for Killing Ex-Girlfriend

A Marion County judge has sentenced Orlando Mitchell, the man accused of fatally strangling a Marion County deputy in 2023, to 66 years for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Krystal Walton.

Mitchell was found guilty of murder and invasion of privacy in February. Jurors did not reach a decision on a lesser third charge, which prosecutors allowed to be dismissed.

News of Mitchell's crimes dates back to September 16, 2022, when he shot Walton, the mother of his child, outside a daycare at Holmes Avenue and 10th Street.

After shooting Walton, Mitchell was found by police in the 1000 block of North Delaware Street. He had two firearms, including a rifle he was seen carrying at a bus stop. When officers approached him, they told Mitchell to drop his weapons, and “at that time, officers discharged their service weapon.” Mitchell was shot at least once.

Before her death, Walton had called police several times to report Mitchell. Walton was four months pregnant when she said her boyfriend had choked her and she was concerned he would find her, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in March 2021.

Mitchell had been charged with domestic battery in front of a child, strangling a pregnant person, confinement, and intimidation for the 2021 incident. He took a plea deal that convicted him of a lesser charge, receiving a sentence of two days in jail, a year probation, and domestic violence counseling.

This was the first of two murder trials for Mitchell. In July 2023, he strangled Marion County Deputy John Durm, 61, to death in the sally port of the Marion County Criminal Justice Center.