An Oklahoma man, who was a person of interest in a 2010 Oklahoma City murder investigation, took his own life May 31 in a wooded area in Sumner County.
Michael Wayne Thomas, 54, committed suicide while in the midst of a virtual interview with a police detective investigating the murder of Julie Mitchell. An official with the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Sumner Newscow that the incident occurred between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. that Saturday in an area near the Mulvane casino.
Additional details were not provided.
Thomas had long been a person of interest in the brutal murder of the 34-year-old Mitchell, who was beaten to death in 2010, according to the Oklahoman. She was found in the master bedroom closet and $30,000 was missing from a closet safe.
An investigation into her death led to federal charges against her husband, Teddy Mitchell, who was indicted and later sentenced t0 more than two years in prison for running an illegal gambling operation. Teddy Mitchell’s activities had been unknown to authorities until his wife died.
At the time of his death, Thomas agreed to be interviewed via Zoom with the stipulation he be at a separate location. Thomas’s long-time attorney and police detectives were on the call with Thomas for more than a half hour when the shooting occurred, Oklahoma media reports.
Thomas was described as having been rambling continually during the interview and not allowing much in the way of questioning. He then produced a firearm and ended his life while still connected with investigators and his attorney.
