Person of interest in 2010 murder case commits suicide during Zoom call with OKC police

By Alyse Jones

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — A person of interest in a 15-year-old murder case killed himself over the weekend as detectives were questioning him.

In November 2010, Julie Mitchell was beaten to death in her house. Her 13-month-old baby was right by her side, untouched. Now, 15 years later, the case still isn’t solved.

The Oklahoma City Police Department said when they tried to get answers, things took an unexpected turn.

Police detectives, attorney Ed Blau and his client, Michael Thomas, were all on a Zoom call Saturday as Thomas was questioned on Mitchell’s death. Blau told KOCO 5 that he has represented Thomas since 2012, and Thomas has been interviewed five or six times by police.

“He had agreed to be interviewed by detectives, but only on the stipulation that he wasn’t going to be at the same location. He wanted to be in a manner like a Zoom call,” Master Sgt. Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

Thomas refused to talk in person. Oklahoma City police said Thomas was standing outside, out of state, during the interview.

Police said most interviews are in a controlled environment and in person, so this was unusual. But they needed answers.

“Beggars can’t always be choosers, and this is somebody we wanted to talk to, we needed to talk to. There were questions we needed to have answered by him,” Knight said.

But those questions were left unanswered after about 40 minutes into the call.

“He chose to pull out a pistol and shoot himself, ending his life,” Knight said.

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Blau, his attorney, told KOCO that he was “completely shocked and horrified.” Police also said they were at a loss for words.

“I don’t remember in my time here, 35 years here, someone killing themselves during an interview,” Knight said.

Thomas was never arrested or charged with a crime. Oklahoma City police said the case is still open, and there are multiple persons of interest that they hope to speak to and get answers from.

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