Opening statements were heard Tuesday in the trial of former Columbus Police vice squad officer Andrew Mitchell.
Mitchell is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter for the August 2018 shooting death of 23-year-old Donna Castleberry.
Mitchell picked up Castleberry as part of an alleged prostitution sting.
Former Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said that Castleberry stabbed Michell in the hand, then jumped to the back seat of the car, where Mitchell shot her six times.
Assistant Franklin County prosecutor Sheryl Prichard played audio of the incident for the jury Tuesday, arguing that Castleberry was trying to get away from Mitchell when he pulled the trigger.
"The shot cadence here, 12 seconds for 6 shots, is not an officer fighting for his life. It's retribution," Prichard said.
Mitchell's defense team argued their client believed he was under imminent threat of great bodily harm or death and acted in accordance with police training.
"What you did not hear in that audio recording and what you will not hear and what you will not see is any evidence of our client acting in a sudden fit of rage or provocation," said defense attorney Kaitlyn Stevens.
Mitchell has been held in federal custody since 2019 on unrelated accusations that he forced women to have sex with him under threat of arrest.
In November 2020, the city of Columbus paid $1 million to Castleberry’s family to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. It was the largest payout in the city’s history.
