Cold Case Suspect Shoots Himself in the Head During Live Zoom Interview with Police [WATCH]

A longtime suspect in a 14-year-old Oklahoma cold case died by suicide Saturday during a virtual interview with investigators, bringing renewed attention to the unsolved murder of 34-year-old Julie Mitchell.

Michael Wayne Thomas, 54, fatally shot himself in front of detectives and his attorney while being interviewed over video conference about Mitchell’s 2010 killing.

⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of violence.

A person of interest in the 2010 cold case murder of Oklahoma mother Julie Mitchell, 34, died by suicide in the middle of a Zoom call with police. Michael Thomas, 54, a longtime person of interest, shot himself in… pic.twitter.com/u3pS41wMFV

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Julie Mitchell was found beaten to death in the closet of the master bedroom of her Oklahoma City home on November 2, 2010.

Approximately $30,000 was missing from a nearby safe, and her one-year-old daughter was discovered next to her body when police arrived.

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Thomas, an associate of Mitchell’s husband, Teddy Mitchell, had been a person of interest in the case for over a decade.

At the time of the murder, Teddy Mitchell was reportedly on a flight to California.

Investigators previously interviewed Thomas five or six times, including by both local police and the FBI, but he denied any involvement.

Notably, his company checkbook was found inside the Mitchell residence.

Law enforcement had scheduled another interview with Thomas for June 1.

Though he initially agreed to meet in person, he later requested a virtual interview.

The Oklahoma City Police Department allowed the change, and the interview was conducted remotely with his attorney, Ed Blau, also present on the video call.

“Beggars can’t always be choosers, and this is somebody we wanted to talk to, we needed to talk to,” said Master Sergeant Gary Knight.

“There were questions we needed to have answered by him. He chose to pull out a pistol and shoot himself, ending his life.”

According to Detective Bryn Carter, Thomas began the call at 10 a.m. by dominating the conversation and speaking continuously.

“He didn’t give me an opportunity to ask him any questions,” Carter told KWTV-9.

“He controlled the conversation from start to finish. At about 40 minutes through the interview, he produced a firearm and took his own life.”

Carter said that in his 31 years on the police force, he had never experienced anything similar. “I’ve never had anyone commit suicide in front of me.”

Attorney Ed Blau described the traumatic moment Thomas pulled the trigger, stating the phone fell and landed next to Thomas’s head.

“We got to hear him die, hear the death rattle. It was as shocking and horrific as you can imagine,” Blau told The Oklahoman.

Blau also recalled Thomas saying, “I’m just worried about my daughter’s safety” and “I really hope you solve the case” shortly before taking his own life.

Thomas’s body was later found in a wooded area near the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kansas, outside Wichita.

Blau said he was unaware Thomas was in Kansas at the time of the interview.

Police have not released footage of the interview or any related reports.

They also declined to explain the timing or specific reason for the renewed focus on Thomas.

At the time of Julie Mitchell’s murder, Thomas was working as an insurance salesman and had a close financial and personal relationship with Teddy Mitchell, tied to their mutual involvement in gambling.

Investigators later uncovered that Teddy Mitchell had been running illegal high-stakes poker games and unlawful sports betting operations out of their home.

In 2011, Thomas told the FBI he had participated in Teddy Mitchell’s poker games and placed bets with him. He admitted that his debts were so large he allowed Mitchell to become a partner in his insurance business.

Thomas also provided insurance coverage for Mitchell’s properties and vehicles.

Detective Carter said Thomas’s suicide left key questions unanswered.

“Him taking his own life without answering the questions that I needed answered to eliminate him as a person of interest—it speaks volumes that maybe he couldn’t answer those questions,” Carter said.

Though Thomas is now deceased, authorities say he remains a suspect in the case.

Teddy Mitchell was never publicly accused of involvement in his wife’s murder, but in 2014 he was convicted on federal conspiracy charges related to money laundering.

He served 27 months in prison and was forced to forfeit $1 million in assets to the federal government.

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