Two Indianapolis men have been charged with murder in the 2019 killing of a 19-year-old man, who police say was lured to a riverbank and shot multiple times after the suspects posed as his girlfriend online.
The body of Rodney Steve Mitchell III was found on December 9, 2019, along the White River, according to court documents obtained by WTHR.
He had been shot three times in the head and once in the hand, and his pockets were turned inside out. Both live and spent rounds were found nearby, suggesting a robbery and execution-style killing, police said.
Mitchell had been reported missing two days earlier. His dark blue 2001 Honda Accord wasn’t initially at the scene but was discovered there the following day.
Then in 2024, a new IMPD detective took on the case and a fresh investigation linked Alexander Russell and Jonathan Hayes to the killing, according to police.
Russell was already in jail for a separate shooting. He had pleaded guilty in March 2025 to the attempted murder of a 16-year-old he suspected of sleeping with his girlfriend — the same woman who once dated Mitchell.
That girlfriend told police Russell had taken her to the White River spot before and threatened her life. She also said she believed Russell used her social media accounts to lure Mitchell there in the early morning hours of December 8, 2019.
When she confronted Russell after Mitchell’s body was discovered, she said he told her: “Tell them you don’t know nothing about it.” A former roommate later told detectives Russell confessed to the shooting.
Investigators also spoke with Hayes at Westville Correctional Facility, where he allegedly admitted to helping Russell dump Mitchell’s car — and later, to being present during the killing. He said he saw Russell exit a car and then heard three gunshots. Surveillance footage supported parts of the timeline, according to police.
Detectives later interviewed another alleged accomplice, who claimed Hayes was the main person assaulting Mitchell and that Russell ultimately pulled the trigger.
In April 2025, DNA testing from Mitchell’s car confirmed the presence of DNA from Mitchell, Russell, and Hayes.
Russell is currently serving a 25-year sentence for attempted murder. Hayes is serving four years for armed robbery. Both now face additional charges of murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, resulting in Mitchell’s death, prosecutors announced.
