COLUMBUS, Ohio — A jury has found a former Columbus police vice officer not guilty for the murder of a woman he shot while working undercover in 2018.
Jurors deliberated for less than one day before they reached a verdict on the charges against Andrew Mitchell.
Mitchell was indicted on murder and voluntary manslaughter charges after Donna Castleberry, 23, was shot and killed while sitting in Mitchell’s unmarked police vehicle in August 2018.
The night Castleberry was killed, Mitchell had picked her up during an alleged undercover prostitution sting.
While attempting to arrest Castleberry, the two ended up in a fight. Castleberry cut Mitchell with a knife before he fired six shots inside the vehicle. Mitchell claimed he acted in self-defense after she stabbed him in the hand.
A judge declared a mistrial nearly a year ago in Mitchell's first murder trial when the jury was deadlocked. The retrial began nearly a year later on April 11.
In 2021, Columbus City Council approved a settlement of more than $1 million with Castleberry's family.
The Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9 released a statement that says in part, "We are grateful to the jury for coming to the correct and just verdict."
The Franklin County Prosecutor's Office released a statement saying "We respect the decision of the jury."
Castleberry’s sister, Bobbi McCalla, called the verdict a “miscarriage of justice,” adding that her family “thought the prosecutors did a really good job proving the kind of cop he was on that day in August.” She said her sistur was not an armed assailant and the family looks forward to seeing Mitchell face charges in federal court.
Mitchell will remain in custody because he still faces multiple federal charges after being accused of forcing women to perform sexual acts in exchange for their freedom and lying to federal investigators. His trial on those charges is due to start in July and he has pleaded not guilty.
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