Jerica Mitchell was 26 when she was found shot in the passenger seat of a silver Volkswagen Jetta that had gone off the road into a field in the 9300 block of East Troy Avenue in Indianapolis. Officers discovered her just after midnight on Wednesday, October 6, 2021; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Friends remembered her as intelligent, quiet, and good-natured, and family members said she had been trapped in a dangerous, volatile domestic relationship. Advocacy groups later identified her as a victim of domestic violence.

Police investigation soon focused on her boyfriend, 25-year-old Charles Milton Harvey, who was arrested hours after Jerica’s body was found. Investigators reported receiving a tip that Harvey had said he shot her during a fight in the car when she reached for his gun. Harvey told officers two people in another car had exited and opened fire, but could not provide credible details about those supposed attackers. Evidence in the car, including two cartridge casings on the driver’s side, was said to contradict his account.

Does anyone have information about Jerica’s last movements or the relationship that might help explain what happened that night?