Delvin Mitchell case on The Murder Tapes: A detailed case overview

In the early hours of January 25, 2019, a quiet neighborhood in Evansville, Indiana, was shattered by gunfire. Twenty-five-year-old Delvin Mitchell was found shot in the head inside a black car on the 2300 block of Frisse Avenue, his life ended abruptly in what police quickly identified as a homicide.

This tragic event sparked a two-year investigation marked by tips, federal assistance, and the eventual arrests of a husband and wife duo. The case, centered on an alleged drug deal gone wrong, highlights the challenges of piecing together evidence in urban shootings.

Delvin Mitchell, remembered by his family as a pure soul with a bright future, left behind a grieving community seeking justice. The story of Mitchell's murder is explored in depth in episode 5 titled The Tipster from season 10 of The Murder Tapes, a true-crime series on Investigation Discovery (ID).

The episode, which focuses on how detectives sifted through community tips to close in on the killers, aired on December 17, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Viewers can catch it on ID via cable providers or stream it on discovery+.

The Murder Tapes: The night of the murder

Shortly after midnight on Jan. 25, 2019, Evansville Police Department patrol officers were summoned to the 2300 block of Frisse Avenue, a neighborhood on the Southeast Side. They found Delvin Mitchell slumped over in the driver's seat of a black sedan with a single gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced deceased by emergency medical personnel at the scene.

The city's first homicide of the year occurred. And the vehicle indicated one of a close-range shooting with casings lying just feet away, suggesting a deliberate act of violence rather than random violence, as per 14 News.

One or two loud pops, followed by a car speeding away, was the scene described by witnesses in the area, though initial descriptions were vague due to the lateness of the hour and the general darkness. Detectives then canvassed the neighborhood, gathering surveillance footage from neighbor homes that captured a suspicious vehicle leaving the area.

Delvin Mitchell's phone showed him in contact earlier that night with acquaintances, perhaps setting up a meeting. Toxicology reports later confirmed no drugs or alcohol in his system, ruling out impairment on a personal level as a factor.

The Vanderburgh County Coroner's Office ruled the death a homicide, launching a full investigation into what appeared to be a deliberate execution. Family members described Mitchell as a hardworking young man with no known enemies, fueling speculation of a dispute over money or substances. This stage set the foundation for a probe that would rely heavily on community input and forensic recovery, according to Tri State.

The breakthrough in the investigation

The case had been dormant for months, with the leads going nowhere, when, in the summer of 2019, a crucial tip came in naming a suspect for the shootings: 27-year-old Amber Brewer. The suspect had known the victim,  Delvin Mitchell, and had actually planned a meeting with the victim for the night of the shootings, supposedly for the purchase of a drug transaction, for which there had been supporting phone records of calls from the suspect to the victim a couple of hours prior to the shootings, as per 14 News.

A significant breakthrough came in June 2019 when the FBI Evidence Response Team, with divers, found a .40-caliber handgun in Pigeon Creek, near Diamond Avenue, the murder weapon.

Forensics matched this with broken bullet remnants found in Delvin Mitchell’s body, and further investigation unmasked that Brewer’s husband, 33-year-old Justin Brewer, had a criminal record that forbade him from owning a weapon.

Additionally, witnesses placed them and their car at the corner of Frisse Avenue during the eventful evening of the murder, and deleted texts about “the deal” found on their cellphones revealed much about the motive.

These factors moved the investigation to the Brewers, who had left the state several months following the shooting. That, coupled with the tipster and the waterway searches, changed this cold case into a pursuit that had legs and underscored the inter-agency cooperation in solving urban homicides. By September, enough evidence had accumulated to issue warrants, as reported by Tri State.

Arrests and federal involvement

Amber Brewer was arrested on September 25, 2019, in Evansville on a murder charge and was being held on no bail at the Vanderburgh County Jail. In the court affidavits, Amber was shown to have participated in the act of driving Justin to the meeting location and fleeing the scene after the murders.

However, two months after the murders, on November 20, 2019, Justin was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was pulled over in traffic on outstanding warrants. They had been using assumed names, but the federal authorities, tipped off by the police, picked them up on weapons charges, as per 14 News.

They were charged in federal cases: Justin for illegally owning a firearm as a felon, and Amber for illegally transferring it to him. Initially, in January 2020, Justin pleaded guilty in federal court to receive 37 months in prison with extradition to Indiana. Amber pleaded guilty in her federal case and received time served.

The delays included stalling murder trials but brought plea agreements and new information, including the path of custody of the gun. The arrests received attention regarding their inter-jurisdictional nature, where U.S. Marshals assisted in their arrest. By early 2020, both were back in Evansville, where they faced life imprisonment if convicted on charges related to premeditated murder, allegedly a result of a trivial disagreement, according to 14 News.

Trial, conviction, and aftermath

The murder case of Justin went to trial in Vanderburgh Circuit Court in May 2021, with four days of testimonies from cops, forensics analysts, and family members. The prosecution showed in court the murder weapon that had been retrieved, ballistics analysis data, and accounts of the Brewer family’s whereabouts on the day of the murder.

The jury remained in deliberation well into Friday, May 20th, with a guilty verdict on murder, aggravated murder with use of a firearm, and habitual offender, as per the Courier Press. On June 18, 2021, Judge Celia Pauli sentenced Justin to 85 years in prison with 60 years for murder and an additional 25 years for enhancements, giving him credit for time served since 2020.

Amber was sentenced separately, pleading guilty on June 17 to aiding and abetting in crime, with murder charges being dismissed, and was given time served for her incarceration of 15 months. The family of Delvin Mitchell was relieved over the sentencing, according to the Courier Press.

The case emphasized the importance of continuous police presence and tips that help solve murders, as the EPS crime clearance rate improved after the conviction. Justin is currently serving a sentence at the Indiana Department of Corrections as of 2025, while Amber is free and moved to another location.

Watch The Murder Tapes season10, episode 5 available on Investigation Discovery.