A Marion County Sheriff's deputy was murdered on Monday by an inmate during a failed escape attempt from the county jail while awaiting trial on a separate murder charge, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Deputy John Durm, a veteran of the sheriff's office for 38 years, was killed by the inmate while returning him to the jail after a hospital visit. The inmate then stole the slain deputy's transport van to effectuate his escape but almost immediately crashed into a utility pole and was swiftly taken back into custody.

Inmate used handcuffs to murder deputy

Local Indianapolis affiliate WTHR reported that the Marion County Coroner ruled that the death of Deputy Durm, 61, was a homicide caused by "ligature strangulation," meaning the would-be escapee used the chain between his handcuffs to strangle the deputy to death.

That inmate, identified as Orlando Mitchell, 34, now faces additional preliminary charges of murder, felony murder, escape, and robbery.

According to court documents, the entire incident was caught on surveillance cameras and occurred around 11:22 a.m. in the inmate intake area of the county's Criminal Justice Campus following a visit for Mitchell to a nearby hospital.

As Durm was unloading Mitchell from the transport van, the inmate got behind the deputy and used his cuffs as a weapon to choke out Durm until he stopped struggling, at which point he stole the deputy's keys to unlock his cuffs and take the transport van.

He then drove the van through a gate to exit the area but immediately crashed into a pole outside the jail and was taken into custody by another deputy who suffered minor injuries in the altercation.

That other deputy was treated at the scene while Durm and Mitchell were both taken to the same hospital they had just returned from, where Durm was officially pronounced dead and Mitchell was listed in stable condition after receiving treatment for his injuries.

Inmate was already facing slew of charges for abusing, murdering mother of his young child

WTHR reported separately that Mitchell had been awaiting trial in October for the alleged murder of Krystal Walton, 32, with whom he had a toddler son, outside a daycare center in September 2022.

Prior to that fatal shooting, he had been facing multiple criminal charges that included domestic battery, breaking and entering, intimidation, invasion of privacy, and violating a no-contact order.

During the arrest for the killing of Walton, Mitchell had allegedly threatened the police with an AR-15-style rifle and, after refusing to comply with demands to drop the weapon, was shot by officers and taken into custody and transported to a hospital for treatment.

Condolences for the loss of "a good guy"

In response to the tragic murder of Deputy Durm, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said in a statement, "It pains me to attempt putting into words again the unfathomable loss of a man in uniform who was protecting Hoosiers from harm’s way. Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy John Durm made the ultimate sacrifice, and we owe him our utmost gratitude."

WTHR noted that Durm is survived by his wife, their four children, his parents, and several other family members.

According to the Star, Durm's wife works for the medical office in the sheriff's office, and one of his sons is in training to become a deputy, according to Sheriff Kerry Forestal, who lamented Durm's untimely death and said, "John was just a good guy, he really was."