Jerica Mitchell, a 26-year-old Black woman from Indianapolis, was remembered by friends as an intelligent, quiet, and good-natured person. Her life was cut short in the early hours of Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Just after midnight, patrolling officers on the city's southeast side noticed a silver Volkswagen Jetta that had gone off the road and into a field in the 9300 block of East Troy Avenue. Inside the car, they found Jerica in the passenger seat.
She had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to her loved ones, including an uncle who is a local community activist, Jerica had been trapped in a dangerous and volatile domestic relationship. Advocacy groups later recognized her as a victim of domestic violence. The devastating loss highlighted a private struggle that ended in the most public and tragic way, leaving her family to grieve a future that was stolen from her.
The investigation into Jerica’s death quickly led police to her boyfriend, 25-year-old Charles Milton Harvey. He was arrested just hours after her body was discovered. According to court documents, investigators received a tip that Harvey had told someone he shot Jerica during a fight in the car when she reached for his gun. When questioned, Harvey told police a different story, claiming that two people in another car had gotten out and started shooting at them. He said he then drove into the field, took their phones, and ran away, but he could not provide any credible details about the alleged attackers or their vehicle. Evidence found in the car, including two cartridge casings on the driver's side, contradicted his account.
Six days after Jerica’s death, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Charles Milton Harvey with murder and carrying a handgun without a license. The case concluded nearly three years later. On July 15, 2024, Harvey pleaded guilty to the charge of murder. As part of the plea agreement, the firearm charge was dismissed. On July 31, 2024, a judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison.
